The Friends Issue

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles — Tim Cahill.

This month I went to my high school reunion in the beautiful Kwa Zulu Natal Midlands. In the many years that have passed since we graduated together, our bonds have remained as strong and deep as ever. It was wonderful to spend a weekend among old friends and I left the reunion feeling restored and happy.

This experience reminded me of how important friends are, how they enrich your life. Your friends are the people who love you for who you are, who lift you up when you are going through hard times, and the people with whom you share fun adventures!

There is nothing quite like going on holiday with a group of friends. In 2005 I did a summer holiday in Zanzibar with a group of 22 friends, including a friend who was at the same high school reunion. Some of these people are pictured below. We had the best time — swimming in the aquamarine water, snorkelling, trying all the food and cocktails available, partying, resting, sunset cruises on traditional dhows, playing cards. I have since done many more holidays with friends and have one coming up next month in Spain, with French friends and a close friend from London. Holidays with friends are an excellent way to reconnect with those special people in your life. They are a break from the intense demands of daily life and are time to just have fun with your favourite people!

If you want to get away from it all in the bush, relax on the beach or have some sophisticated fun in Cape Town, Leopard will take the headache out of coordinating your next holiday with friends. Whether it is a high school or university reunion, a badminton team holiday or a 50th birthday, the team at Leopard will make sure we select all the hotels and all the activities to perfectly match your needs. Contact us today.

Happy travelling!
Diana

P.S. Leopard’s designer and a close friend since high school, Jessica Maitland-Stuart, ran the Comrades ultra marathon earlier this month and finished just shy of a silver medal. She was 34th woman out of a field of 4000 female runners. Amazing run Jess, we are so proud of you and privileged to have you and Barry as part of the team! Barry also ran but did not finish the run due to a heart issue early on in the race. He wrote this inspiring article on his recovery from throat cancer and then running his first comrades in 2017.