NEW MOSSEL BAY FEAST SITE IN SOUTH AFRICA

An exciting new Feast site has been secured on the Southern Coast of South Africa in the historical town of Mossel Bay, which is the start on the Cape Town side of what’s known as the ‘Garden Route’ – an area popular with both local and international tourists stretching for about 200km along the east coast to Storms River, and characterized by a beautiful variety of vegetation and scenery. Mossel Bay claims to have the second most moderate climate in the world after Hawaii, and boasts 320 sunny days a year.

United Church of God has one Feast site in South Africa and last year’s attendance was just shy of 150. We're enthusiastically looking forward to welcoming our international brethren and hope to use this new site as an opportunity to fellowship and make new friends from across the globe.

The primary purpose of the Feast is to appear before God at this appointed time at the place where He has placed His name, and with everyone staying within walking distance of the central venue, the opportunities for fellowship are tremendously enhanced, and overseas visitors are most welcome and encouraged to join us in experiencing this new opportunity. We’ll be able to accommodate about 150 visitors.

Accommodation

Central to the Feast venue is the Diaz Hotel and Resort conference facility, where most of our international visitors will be staying and where services will be held. It’s a large, modern facility with direct beach access and all rooms facing onto the Indian Ocean. Besides the single and double hotel suites, there are also self-catering units available for small groups, families, or those wishing to do some of their own catering. With the proximity of shops and facilities, and the availability of very affordable taxi services, having your own transport is not a necessity. Just be aware though that Uber does not operate in Mossel Bay.

Being a new Feast site, we’ve negotiated special rates with the hotel for both their rooms & suites, as well as their self-catering apartments. The hotel rooms & suites rate includes a full buffet breakfast, but the same breakfast will be available at discounted rates for all church members, irrespective of where you might be staying. The hotel will also offer a 3-course dinner every night for a discounted rate to all our attendees.

Accommodation costs and breakdown are explained more fully on the housing page, but as this is our first Feast at this site, we’re asking all international guests to liaise and book via Isella Wallis (our office manager and treasurer) - unitedchurchofgod.sa@gmail.com.

Isella will be available via email to help you with accommodation selection and reservations, booking additional meals if necessary, planned excursions (when they are announced) and shuttle information and bookings.

Please visit the Hotel website for a visual overview: https://www.diazbeach.co.za/

Because the Feast begins on a Sunday evening (13 October), a good number of people will arrive in Mossel Bay on the Friday (11th). So we’re planning to hold a Sabbath service in the Diaz Hotel, Mossel Bay on the Sabbath of the 12th.

For those passing through Cape Town on their way to Mossel Bay, there will most likely not be a Sabbath service on that Sabbath. But we will confirm that closer to the time with whoever might want to know. For those wishing to arrive on that Friday, the special accommodation rates still apply.

Getting to Mossel Bay

International visitors have three options for getting to the Feast –

1) Fly into Cape Town. Spend a day or two sight-seeing. Take a connecting flight to the George domestic airport (less than an hour’s flight from Cape Town.) Transfer via taxi directly to the Diaz Hotel (only 39km, or 24 miles, from the George airport.

2) Fly into Cape Town. Spend a day or two sight-seeing. Take an enjoyable drive to Mossel Bay – a beautifully scenic drive or about five hours, allowing for some lovely breakfast or lunch stops along the way. A number if not all of the Cape Town brethren will be driving this route, some leaving on the Sunday the Feast starts (13 October) and some the Friday before.

3) Fly into O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Enjoy some sights and visitor attractions in the greater Johannesburg area. Take a connecting flight to the George domestic airport (just less than a two hour flight from Johannesburg). Transfer via taxi directly to the Diaz Hotel (only 39km, or 24 miles, from the George airport).

Things to do:

Free time during, before and after the Feast, can be spent relaxing or touring, with exceptional opportunities provided by attractions such as:-

• The Diaz Waterpark, adjacent to the hotel - with special rates for Feast-goers
• Blue-flag and beautiful white-sand beaches
• Two nearby Game Farms offering four of the ‘Big Five’ wild animals
• Boat trips to Seal Island and for whale-watching
• Numerous restaurants offering local cuisine
• The Bartholomew Diaz Museum
• The Diaz rail express
• Wine and craft beer tasting
• Shark Cage diving for the more adventurous.

https://www.visitmosselbay.co.za/ gives you more information on some of these activities. In light of the above attractions we have a few church excursions already in the planning stages, but we'll make these available for registration as soon as everything is confirmed.

We sincerely hope you will consider joining us for our first Mossel Bay Feast! Please contact us for any questions or concerns you may have, and we'll do our best to facilitate your visit. Please visit (and like) our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MosselBayUCG/ for more of a visual overview, and to keep you up to date with our planning.

There is no registration fee for this Feast site, but a donation towards Feast assistance and administration would be greatly appreciated. This can be paid in cash at the Feast.

Regards,

Vivien Botha