Jay joined Baz Bus in 1997 and is an invaluable part of the Baz Bus team not only as a driver but also in his dedication to making a difference, however big or small, in the lives of villagers in disadvantaged communities along the Baz Bus route between East London and Chintsa.

 

He has gone beyond the call of duty and used the resources available to him to reach people in need.

 

Jay offers the passengers not only a “ride” on the bus but also background information on the region he drives through and the harsh realities of the villagers living in these rural villages.  He explains to the passengers his food outreach programme and then asks passengers if they would like to make a donation and join him in distributing the food. With the passenger donations he buys additional food at one of the shops and the passengers then distribute it themselves to the villagers. Jay is always amazed at the keen participation and how the passengers are so encouraging and want to be part of the food distribution. 

 

For the last 10 years Jay has donated 10% of his monthly salary to buying food daily to feed villagers along the route. Other monthly donations come from his sister and brother-in-law in Durban and who also send clothes collected from their church.

Our Durban drivers also collect clothing and send them to Jay to distribute to the villagers.

 

Beavers Restaurant is the breakfast stop along the route. The owners have also become involved and now give Jay surplus food everyday which they don’t sell within 24 hours to be handed out.

 

 He has established amazing relationships and now has 3 permanent daily stops where he distributes food to the poor and needy.

 

The first stop is between 8:15 – 8:30am and there are 2 boys from Alexandria Township which collect food.

 

 The next stop is at 10:00am at Wesley where a grandmother collects food for an extended family which includes 8 children.

 

And the final stop is along a 10 kilometers stretch after Wesley where there are children and hungry people waiting for bread and food. Sometimes there are over 50 villagers along this stretch. For these villagers this food is their only meal for the day.

 

On his return trip if there is food left over then he will give food to labourers on the side of the road in East London.

Jay epitomizes William Wordsworth words “That best portion of a good man's life; his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love”.  

INTRODUCING THE BAZ BUS TEAM 

 

It started with Barry Zeidel’s vision of creating a backpacker transport network where international backpackers could travel safely within South Africa…with one bus and 1 telephone.

 

Baz Bus was born from his passionate interest in pursuing a Hop- on Hop - off Door- to- Door backpacker service across South Africa. Baz Bus is now the largest backpacker transport network in South Africa with a route that extends from Cape Town to Johannesburg with stops along the coast…and many more buses.

 

 

Our drivers play an important role as they are the “driving” force and the “face” of Baz Bus. Our drivers make passengers feel comfortable and offer information along the route. Their main focus is to ensure that passengers are picked up and dropped off directly at the door of the hostel in the cities along our route.

 

We would like to introduce the crew who will “Buzz” you around South Africa!!!

  

Our Head office is located at 32 Burg Street in Cape Town and is also where you can visit us to buy a ticket or simply pop in and enjoy a cup of coffee while using our Free Internet services.

 

We have a team “A…buzz” behind the scenes!!! These are the managers, call centre consultants and sales representatives who keep the “Wheels Moving”.

 

Some of these dedicated staff members have been with the company over 10 years and have been part of the exciting expansion of the company.

 

Roy Rambajan is our Transport Manager and has been running the Durban depot since he started at the company in 1998.

 

Sakhile Fakazi is another long serving employee in the Durban region who also started as a driver in 1998 and is now Assistant Depot Manager.

 

Sharonique Beukes, our General Manager, has been with the company since September 1999 as an Information Centre Consultant. She currently oversees bus operations, human resources and the general office.

 

Darren Kennedy is our Accounts Manager and runs the account department. He is also one of our long servicing employees and joined the company in 2001.

 

Janine Carelse, our Office Manager, joined the company in 2003 as night staff and is now responsible for the call centre consultants and drivers.

 

Cecilia De Freitas is our Marketing Manager and became part of the Baz Bus family in 2007. She joined as our Sales Representative for the Cape Town and Garden Route region.

 

Taliep Pietersen is our Cape Town Depot Manager and joined Baz Bus in 2008 as our Cape Point day tour driver.

 

Other staff members who have been with Baz Bus for over 10 years are Rene France who works in accounts and is our Credit Controller and Dalene Botha who is our Internet Consultant.

 

We hope you enjoyed meeting everyone and remember when you are in South Africa to choose Baz Bus to “Buzz” from city to city!!!

 

Baz Bus has been part of the ELUNDINI HOME for mentally and / or physically disabled children in De Noon for 3 years. We have been privileged in our role as a sponsor to have been part of the process which has improved the lives of the children on a daily basis over the last 3 years.

 

This is our long term project which we are committed to assist with improvements to the home.

 

In 2010, we contributed towards a bus to transport the children to and from their homes in Du Noon.

In 2011, disabled ablution facilities were built and Baz Bus was a very proud sponsor. This important upgrade to the school changed the lives of the children, teachers and volunteers forever. 

This year we generously offered a donation to so that the bathrooms and toilets could be tiled.

 

Since the end of 2011, an occupational therapist has been involved in setting up appropriate toys for the children. She also recommended that toys and activities be stored in large plastic storage containers which have an identifying mark on them and then the teachers take one and work with a small group using that ‘ box of goodies’ and then rotate to another box to create variety of activity with the children.

This year, Baz Bus bought all the toys and boxes suggested by the therapist.

Many of our hostels also kindly donated toys and items so a “MASSIVE” thank you from the children.

 

It has also become an annual tradition to visit the crèche and provide an afternoon of entertainment with lunch thereafter.

 

We have a special magician, Madeleine, who has been part of this event for the last 3 years. She has the “magic” touch with the children…the favourite trick is always the rabbit which gets the most amazing reactions from the children. 

The show was followed by lunch …thank you to everyone lovingly assisted in feeding the children.

 

Afterwards we handed out party packets which created such excitement. We had cartoon character themed party packs filled with delicious treats. The children so enjoyed being the centre of attention!!!

Indy, the principal, thanked Barry and everyone for spending the afternoon with the children.

 

A great afternoon of giving and sharing!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Christmas time again and Baz Bus believes in getting into the spirit of the festive season by sharing and giving to others.

 

When SaltyCrax backpackers approached Baz Bus to get involved with their first annual surf competition we wholeheartedly agreed. 

 

The event was held on Friday, 9 December 2011 at Big Bay Beach.

 

These children are underprivileged and came from the nearby Du noon settlement. There were about 20 kids who joined in for the surfing competition and about 50 kids for beach games and a swimming competition.

 

Firstly, the children were fed and Baz Bus was thrilled to sponsor the food for the event. Energetic children enjoyed hot dogs and refreshments!!!

 

The weather Gods blessed the day with amazing weather, cloudless skies and perfect waves.

 

It has taken months of dedication to teach the children how to swim and surf so they were very excited to be competing against each other.

 

The surfing competition was a huge success and all the credit goes to the SaltyCrax team for their great team effort.

 

Games were set up on the beach e.g. maze runs, hula hoop, volley ball, red light green light so that the children could participate and enjoy different games if they were not swimming or surfing.

 

The swimming competition was fantastic and watching the children apply their new found swimming skills in the water was amazing. Pure delight on their faces!!!

 

I spent a lot of time chatting to the children and capturing their smiles and joy on camera is a moment I will treasure forever.

 

Keep up the great work SaltyCrax and Baz Bus will gladly be part of the next annual surf and swimming competition

We would like to update everyone on the progress of the project Helping the blind to see

If you would like to read how this project originated please read the blog post  Helping the blind to see  18 September 2011

Since then, another 3 villagers have had eye operations and Baz Bus once again provided the transport. Here are some pictures of the villages taken pre and post operation.

It’s is such a privilege to be involved in such a worthy cause. They will certainly enjoy an improved life and joy in being able to see.

Baz Bus strives to be a proactive company involving ourselves in various community projects.

 

 

 

As they say, Christmas is about giving and sharing.

Normally, our director hosts a dinner every year to say thank you to all the staff for their hard work and efforts during the year. 

 

Barry has worked really hard running Baz Bus this year, so the staff decided to host a Christmas dinner in his honor.

 

We pooled our resources, worked out a budget and we then decided on a themed dinner party at the office. Aloha, Hawaiian themed party, here we come!!!

 

Staff was involved in decorating the office, making food, shopping etc and it was a real team building effort.

 

We had a wall dedicated to our guest of honor with photos which brought back good memories for Barry.

 

The hoola and limbo competitions were so much fun and we saw some spectacular displays of hoola..ing and limbo…ing!!!

 

The joint winners of the hoola hoop competitions were Momosa and Yumna and they won a Birds of Eden and Monkeyland vouchers!!!

 

 

Yumna and Roxanne were joint winners of the limbo competition and won Bloukrans Bungy jump vouchers.

 

Yumna definitely has the moves!!!

 

 Janine Carelse won best dressed and secured a fabulous 1 night stay at the Garden Route Game Lodge

 

 

Mario, our Cape Peninsula Tour guide, won the Shark Cage Diving tour with Marine Dynamics for best dressed male.

 

Throghout the evening we had more competitions and spot prizes our staff were delighted!!! They won Tsitsikamma Canopy tours, African Story Wine tours and Abseil Africa tour!!!

Thanks to Melanie who organised all the fabulous prizes and the sponsors for being so generous.

 

Barry planned a surprise quiz with trick questions on Baz Bus products, timetables and general information. The quiz was so much fun as everyone wanted to answer the questions…so many hands went up at the same time so real arbitration was necessary!!! If you answered correctly you were rewarded with a delicious slab of chocolate.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a tasty dinner with excellent cocktails and a great time enjoyed by all.

 

Thank you Barry for all your dedication and hard work in 2011!

 

Baz Bus Hop-On Hop-Off ticket options allow you to travel in one direction until you reach your final destination. There is no time limit on your ticket.

Watch our newly updated Hop-On Hop-Off video:

Click here to find out more and to book a Hop-On Hop-Off tickets.

A few weeks ago a long-time friend, Dr. Will Mapham, came to visit Bulungula again. He's an eye-specialist and together with our Community Care worker, Nomzingisi Hopisi, he managed to assess all community members with eye problems. They found a number of people with cataracts that could be removed with surgery. Will, the Bulungula Lodge and the Bulungula Incubator then kicked into action. Dr. Will managed to arrange that the blind patients could get their surgery done at Uitenhage Hospital by Dr Mark Jacoby – awesome!

The next challenge was how to get the patients to Uitenhage – 9 hours away. Bulungula Lodge, through its membership of the SA Youth Tourism Confederation contacted the Baz Bus and they generously offered to transport the patients and Nomzingisi for free from Mthatha to PE and back again. Next, we contacted Lungile Backpackers who generously offered free accommodation for the duration of their stay in PE. The Bulungula Lodge and Coffee Shack shuttles were used to get them to and from Mthatha to meet the Baz Bus. And lastly the Bulungula Incubator raised the funds to pay for their food and provided the chaperone.

Nomzingisi set off with the two patients, Zwelithembile Dodwana and Mabele Boklein on the 21st of August 2011, filled with trepidation as neither of them had ever left the village before to travel so far and to such a foreign destination. After a comfortable trouble-free trip on the Baz Bus they were warmly welcomed by Lungile Backpackers – this was the first time either of the two men has stayed in a lodge/hotel in their lives!

Nervous! Mabhele and Zwelithembile on their way to PE on the Baz Bus.

The next morning Dr. Will met the group and they set off to the Uitenhage Hospital where Zwelithembile and Mabele were assessed again. Unfortunately Mabele's eye was found to have additional damage that couldn't be surgically treated but Zwelithembile's cataracts were deemed to be operable and so all was set to go for the surgery.

Awaiting surgery...

Dr Jacoby performed the surgery on Thursday morning and within a few minutes Zwelithembile could see! He had doubted all along that this operation would help – and so he was absolutely amazed just how quick and painless the surgery was and how profound the results were.

After that, there was the whirlwind journey back to Bulungula with the Baz Bus and the Coffee Shack shuttle. There was great excitement in the village as never before had a blind person regained their sight – and when Zwelithembile walked about pointing out all the things he could now see there was genuine amazement at this medical “miracle.”

Zwelithembile and Nomzingisi at his home over looking the Bulungula River

As Zwelithembile said: “while I was blind, a road was built to our village, but I never saw it. All I could see was the difference between night and day. Now I can see everything: the road, my cattle and my family. Thank you to everyone who helped me!” He will be slaughtering a sheep soon for a feast in celebration of his eyesight.

I can see!!!

The view from Zwelithembile's house that he can now see

Once again we would like to thank everyone involved in helping Zwelithembile regain his eyesight:

• Dr Mark Jacoby, Dr Will Mapham, Sister Safers, Sister Kosi and all the theatre staff
• All the SAYTC members who helped: Baz Bus, Lungile Backpackers and Coffee Shack 
• and a special thank you to Nomzingisi Hopisi from the Bulungula Incubator who displayed great determination and passion to ensure that this project was successful.

Baz Bus strives to be a proactive company involving ourselves in various community projects. Find out more about our Community Projects on our About Us page.

We booked a 14 day travel pass with Baz Bus which allowed us two weeks to reach our goal. Our aim was to see as much wildlife and birdlife on our travels which South Africa is famous for.

We started off in Cape Town with the Baz Bus Cape Peninsula Day Tour.  We automatically qualified for a R50 off the day tour as we had a Baz Bus ticket…a great bonus!!!

 What an amazing start to the day, the scenery was spectacular; we saw hundreds of lazy seals on our on cruise to Seal Island from Hout Bay and quirky penguins at Boulders Beach and this all in one morning!!!

The encounter with three hungry baboons was frightening and a cheeky one even jumped on the bonnet of the bus. Advice from one traveller to another, do not feed the baboons. Over many years of being fed by tourists they are now accustomed to being fed and can be aggressive if their demands are not met!!!  Otherwise they are very entertaining and intelligent as you can see in the picture below.

 As we drove through the Cape Point Nature Reserve we were amazed at the scenery, beaches and hiking trails. A definite must see if you in Cape Town.  We stepped up the pace with a 6km cycle to the picnic site. An exhilarating ride with gale force wind blowing ...what an adventure and now we were ready for lunch!!! After lunch we spent the afternoon hiking and spotted zebra, eland and ostriches all gracefully strolling about. Photo opportunities at every turn!!!

 

The next day we started our 14 day journey to Johannesburg and our first stop was Hermanus. During whale season we were told you can watch massive whales on their annual migration.  As the “Whale Gods” were with us and it is currently whale season (June-November) we spent the afternoon sipping cocktails while watching Southern Right whales playfully frolicking in the ocean. Hermanus is best land based whale watching spot in South Africa. It was a spectacular experience. The next day we booked a Shark Cage Dive tour and got a great deal with a local operator. In the space of only three days I got to see the cutest penguins, magnificent whales and had an encounter with 10 Great White Sharks. The marine biologist on the boat mentioned that the past week they sighted on average 5-12 sharks daily. This trip can only get better!

Our second stop was the Garden Route Game Lodge where we spent the night and we had two game drives booked. Baz Bus drops off passengers just in time to check into the luxurious accommodation and to explore the area before the sunset drive. We saw a baby cub born two weeks ago and the lioness was fiercely protecting her cub. We experienced a magnificent sunset while watching Springbok, Giraffe and Elephants go by. An early rise the next morning to spot more wildlife. I got to see the big five - Rhino, Lion, Leopard, and Elephant & Buffalo. What more could we ask for!!!

Third stop, off to Oudtshoorn. As Baz Bus does not drop off directly in Oudsthoorn we arranged a shuttle service with the hostel which then meets the bus.

 My next adventure led me to ride an ostrich all of 5 seconds but it was great fun and after that Marlen went cage diving with crocodiles at the crocodile farm. Oh my frayed nerves…. way more adventure than I’m used to, however Marlen is known to be the adrenalin junkie.

Off to Plettenberg Bay and we spent three nights here and here we wanted to see as many dolphins as possible so booked some tours to see these amazing creatures. The first day out on sea, we spotted seals rather than dolphins and enjoyed the stunning ocean waves. The second day we had better luck, we sighted a pod of 9 dolphins. It was spectacular. Definitely another wow factor of the trip, the third day we just spent lazing on the beach.

The next few days we stopped off in different towns hiking and exploring the beautiful Garden Route and finally making our way to Port Elizabeth where we booked a full day Addo Elephant Park Tour. It is just breathtaking to see these gentle giants roaming in their natural habitat. This trip definitely exceeded my expectation.

After Port Elizabeth, we headed to Johannesburg and spent our last days relaxing before heading home. I plan to come back next year as I chatted to some passengers on the bus who booked the African Wildlife safari with Baz Bus and highly recommended it!!

 

View more photos from the Peninsula Tour on the 30th of August.

Our guided tour is really a fun way to see the Cape Peninsula. 

The tour includes:

• Registered tour guide & driver
• Biscuits & fruit juice / hot drink
• Lunch (cheese, cold meats, salad, rolls, fruit, chips, lollipop, fruit juice)
• Entrance fees (Boulders Beach, Chapman's Peak Drive & Cape Peninsula National Park)
• Use of mountain bikes
• Accommodation pick up & drop off

Here is a short video we put together for our Cape Peninsula Tour:

You can visit our website to find out more about our Cape Peninsula Tour or to buy a ticket.