ABOUT ROB DAVIDOWITZ

I am Rob Davidowitz 

I am Rob Davidowitz and this is a bit about my family and myself.

I was born on 19 June 1958 in a small country town in South Africa called Paarl and I grew up in a farming village called Malmesbury. Both these towns are in the area called "The Western Cape" of South Africa, which is very famous for its agricultural production of wheat, fruit and wine. Farming and therefore the soil of the earth is a very important part of my heritage. I am unmarried.

I started my working life off as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer working for a helicopter company in Cape Town. During this time I did my Commercial Pilot's license and have been actively involved as a pilot since 1974. After nine years as an engineer, I decided to head off in a completely new direction and I opened a clothing manufacturing company in Cape Town where I employed 75 staff members, manufacturing ladies' clothing for a large retailer in South Africa. In 1998, after being in this business for 16 years, I decided to scale down, close my factory and start doing things that make me rich - Note this is different to Wealthy. So now I spend my free time exploring the bush, mountains, Wine, Cape cuisine and meeting amazing people from all over the world.

During the past 15 years I have however involved myself in numerous other skills in an attempt to broaden my horizons and further my interest in other passions. I purchased 2 aircraft and started a charter company that flew visitors around the Cape, the area that is so close to my heart and the area that I love to show off to visitors of our fair shores. I have also studied numerous computer languages and become fully proficient in Lotus spreadsheet design, AutoCAD, Accpacc, 3D Max, PhotoShop, Html, and others that are to numerous to mention. Another keen interest, which has evolved into a business, is architectural model building. I have been involved in this art form for about 3 years now and this occupies quite a lot of my time when I am not touring. A passion of mine is the art of winemaking, wine farming and beer brewing. I have to date produced four vintages of wine under my own labels, "Thirteen 2003", "Ca.4121 2004" and "Ca.4121 2005". I also manage an extensive wine collection in my own private cellar and I have just completed my Cape Wine Academy certificate in South African Wine and am currently doing the tasting education in preparation for my Diploma in International wine making.           

As food and wine MUST go together, I have been developing my cooking skills by attending numerous cooking and bread baking courses, specializing in Italian and Eastern cuisine. Eating out with friends is an absolute favorite pastime of mine and as my expanding waistline will attest, we do this very often. :)

Finally, and this is what has prompted me to start this personalized tourist service, is my love for international travel. During the past years I have traveled to the Italy, Far East Asia, New Zealand, America, France, England, Israel, Argentina, Austria, The Czech Republic and China numerous times to further business ties and learn the cultures of the various places. Saturnia in the heart of Toscana and The "Banyan Tree" in Thailand are two of my personal little gems.

I am affiliated to "SATOUR", our National tourism authority, with whom I am registered as an approved guide and I am also a fully paid up member of Cape Tour Guides Association. I have carved a niche for myself in the exclusive, highly personalized luxury tour market where I provide very detailed, tailor made, tours for mostly professional retired English speaking guests.

I only host private tours consisting of two guests and I only operate air-conditioned vehicles, one minibus and one 4X4 that are both certified and licensed by the public road transportation authorities. On the odd occasion I might host more than two guests but then only if they belong to the same group. I never mix groups, as this would defeat the entire object of my style of touring. The vast majority (95%) of my touring is with the Cape Grace Hotel on the V&A waterfront in Cape Town. As their specialist tour operator, I have been taking care of the hotel's private, individualized, non-scheduled tours, for almost 2 years now.

I hope this short resume gives you a brief insight as to what I am about and what my areas of interest and expertise are. I am very passionate about my interests, as I am about showing people the hidden treasures that abound in Cape Town.

"Anything is possible if you are prepared to try hard enough."

ROB DAVIDOWITZ

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