Suzuki is all about empowerment, inspiration, education and fun; and in honour of Women’s Month, they organized an event with just that in mind. I was so excited when I received an invite to join Suzuki’s Women In Motion Celebration which took place at the breathtaking African Hills Safari Lodge & Spa. Of course, I had no idea what to expect, we only knew there would be some spa treatments!
I arrived early Friday morning and indulged in a refreshing breakfast, sipping away on fruit juice as we waited for everyone to arrive. After meeting some amazing women from the industry we were told to hop on the game drive vehicle as we were on our way to our first experience.
Breathing in the fresh morning air was exactly what I needed to end my busy week. Slowly plotting through the bush I looked left and there they were, two huge (not fully grown yet) elephants. To my surprise, the experience was feeding and interacting with elephants! Not me wearing white shoes… Nevertheless, what an experience it was, some of the ladies were squealing as they received wet elephant kisses. Feeding these gentle giants is something everyone should experience, they have such a sense of peace over them—enticing you to step back and reflect on life.
After lots of fun and laughter, we were back on the game drive vehicle heading off to our next experience, some ladies were off to their spa treatments, but my group headed to the Plumari Heritage Museum. We learnt so much of South Africa’s history, including viewing the private collection of ox wagons and carts from the 1800s – 1900s. Rob Milner was our very well-informed tour guide and he flooded our minds with interesting facts and history about the Magaliesberg Region.
With our minds educated it was our turn for the long-anticipated spa treatment. Suzuki was speaking to every lady’s soul when they decided to add a spa treatment to the activities list. There is just something about being able to fully unwind and relax as someone massages all the stress out of your back and shoulders. I think I can speak on behalf of all the ladies, we walked out of there feeling recharged and ready to take on the rest of the year ahead of us.
Of course, by now we were all starving and we were met with the most amazing buffet meal. I would be lying if I said I didn’t eat more than I should’ve… Next up on the schedule was the educational part of the day. Suzuki have recently launched their campaign called DriveSMART with Suzuki. They have partnered up with FleetMax Africa to develop a special road safety curriculum that will conquer road safety awareness. We were lucky enough to receive a full presentation of this course, and I can honestly say that I learnt a few new things that would 100% keep me safer on our roads.
As part of this campaign, Suzuki will provide two Grand Vitara GLX models for a series of training programmes that will take place across South Africa. They will also be filming a series of road safety videos that will cover more than 120 different road safety topics; these include defensive driving, vehicle maintenance and much more. These videos will be shared freely across their social channels, as well as with other companies that value the concern of vehicle safety. Apart from this campaign, Suzuki have also partnered with Wheel Well, an organization that specifically focuses on road safety for children. They are supporting the Halo Beanie project that aims to reduce children’s pedestrian fatalities and injuries by providing reflective beanies to children in rural areas.
In my opinion, there is no better way to end the day than with a motivational speaker, and who better to empower us than the beautiful and inspiring Alison Botha? Many know her story, but for me, it was the first time hearing about the young woman who was abducted, raped, stabbed so many times the doctors couldn’t count the wounds, throat slit and left for dead in a clearing miles away from Port Elizabeth. It broke my heart to hear what she went through, but it inspired me when she spoke of how, despite everything, she fought and survived; and even though she could have easily given up or fallen into depression after the surgeries and recovery, she refused to give them that power over her. She made the choice to walk out stronger for it, and she uses that power in every situation in life.
She said “There will always be things happening around us, but it is how we choose to respond to it that will change our lives” and that really stuck with me. It is also our job to value ourselves and to know that we are unique and special in our own way. How we see ourselves relies entirely on how valuable we perceive our own life—once we realise that, we are able to push ourselves to the next level and achieve things we never thought we could.
I just want to thank Suzuki SA for having a heart for others, and for always giving back and caring for the people involved around them. Thank you for highlighting the ladies this women’s month and for the spoils and life-changing information; it goes a long way and is appreciated beyond measure.
