CABOUS VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

Cabous was born in 1965 in Cape Town, the second son and youngest child of Henno and Susan van der Westhuizen. His early years were unremarkable, but he was an active boy and enjoyed rugby and the outdoors.At the age of 19 he went to Stellenbosch University to study Physical Education and upon graduating began his rugby career.

Rugby

In 1989 he was recruited by the Transvaal Lions, playing forty games for them, but he is best remembered for his time spent with the Natal Sharks.From 1992 to 1998 he played one hundred and twenty eight games for them, achieving the club record for
most career tries - ninety, most tries in a season - twenty eight, most Currie Cup tries in a season - thirteen (a record shared with two other players), and most tries in a match - four (shared with ten others since 1968 but the only player to do it twice and in one season). For ten years, 1989-1999, Cabous, in his number eleven shirt, was renowned, not only for his tremendous pace, but also as, "... the only guy with long hair in those days. It became my trade mark, so lots of people still recognise me." His two and a half years and sixteen games playing for the Springbok - including the 1995 world cup - became his golden era, "It becomes any guys dream when you play for your national team." But the fame and fortune did not go to his head, which is just as well because the career of a rugby player is not a long one, "There is only a short period of time that one can play professional rugby, because of the physicality and getting injuries, knocks and bruises." Though Cabous does not miss the spotlight, he does miss his mates, "...sitting around the fire, or at a bar, or at home, having a good laugh." The "Price" is right, so is the sushi.

The next stage in Cabous's life was working for the recently opened Mr Price as sports and marketing manager. He spent the next six years there and used the experience to start his own clothing business "Pro Stuff" which produced corporate clothing with logos, such as caps and bags. A trip to a sushi bar in London inspired Cabous and an old rugby colleague to start their own sushi restaurant business in Umhlanga, just north of Durban, and so "SoSushi" was born. Another, called "Sumo's Sushi bar", was soon to follow, this time in a place called Morningside. They were both very successful and the menus included such delights as lime-dressed prawn and litchee salad, bamboo rolls, salmon and tuna roses, crab California with pecorino cheese and Sauvignon Blanc from Raka - for lovers of good wine.

Mauritius

In 1994 Cabous met Moira, an "animal crazy" chartered accountant whom he was later to marry. It was on a holiday to Mauritius in May 2008 that they fell in love with the country and decided that they would like to live here.They were attracted by the friendly people and more basic lifestyle, as neither of them are particularly materialistic.
They also consider Mauritius to be a good place to raise children, which is something they plan to do in the future and have adopted a local dog "Zoë" as a companion for their two Jack Russells, Merlot and Uzzi. By October they were back in Mauritius and Cabous was working on his new business, the Beachhouse restaurant and bar. It was a major undertaking and is still an ongoing project, for example a tarpaulin is soon to be added to the roof to provide shelter from the sun and rain. Despite the workload, Cabous has found time to invest in the local community, which is something he considers to be very important. He sponsors a local rugby side called the Northern Pirates and coaches the Under Fifteen and the First teams. He has also sponsored the Anti Drug Squad in Grand Bay, for their purchase of soccer kits.

But there is more, as part of the South African Rugby Legends Association he plans to help under privileged areas in Mauritius by building community centres, complete with rugby or soccer pitches and spotlights. Cabous is undoubtedly a very likeable person and he has already made some good friends on the island. A taste of his true nature became evident when I asked him what he would like to be remembered for, "I was privileged to be part of a successful [rugby] side, but I don't want to be remembered as a rugby player. I would like to be remembered as a person who lived life to the full. A person who was loving, caring, fair, a people's person."

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PAUL VAN FRANK

Paul was born in the Congo in 1957, second son to Sylvia and Claude van Frank, who were English and Belgian respectively. He remembers little of that country, as the family moved to Belgium when he was three years old.

Tennis was Paul's first love, though by the age of sixteen he realised that life as a professional player was probably beyond his ability. Not to be discouraged, he qualified at an early age as a tennis coach in England and thereafter worked with the likes of John Newcombe, at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in San Antonio, Texas, and Harry Hopman, at the Harry Hopman International Tennis Academy in Tampa, Florida.Travelling extensively around the globe and staying in luxurious hotels was part of the job and he helped to coach some of the top fifty ATP professional tennis players.
At sixteen Paul also became financially independent, due to his tennis career.

He put himself through university in Ghent, Belgium, studying law and marketing but continued to work as a tennis coach during the holidays. By the time graduation arrived, he had come to the conclusion that life as a lawyer was not for him and subsequently became manager of a local tennis and squash club.However, the urge to travel once more soon became irresistible...

Moving to Antigua, Paul became Sports and Recreation Manager for the Jolly Beach Resort and thus began is career as an hotelier. Island-hopping the Caribbean over the span of he next thirteen years, he worked as Resident Manager at Club St. Lucia (in St. Lucia) and landed his first job as eneral Manager (GM) working at the Fort Young Hotel in the Commonwealth f Dominica. The Renaissance Aruba Resorts and Casino was his ext port of call and he stayed there for three years working as GM.

Over the years Paul has troubleshot numerous resorts around the world, averting them from financial liability to profitable enterprise. As fate would have it, his last job in the Caribbean brought him full-circle back to the Jolly Beach Resort, this time as GM.
Here he had "The most significant turnaround of my life..." in the form of Wendy, an English lady, solicitor and disgruntled customer staying at his hotel.
Ten days later he proposed to her and they have now been happily married for seventeen years. In 1994 Paul and Wendy moved to the Seychelles, but fourteen years of island life had created a certain amount of ennui for Paul and they soon moved to Istanbul, in Turkey, where he worked as the Managing Director of Kemer Golf and Country Club over the course of the next four and a half years.

In 2000 Paul was tasked with resurrecting the Begawan Giri Estate in Bali (now known as the Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri). In 2002 the resort was not only voted number one in the "Top 100 Best of the Best" Conde Nast Readers' Travel Awards, but also "Best Overseas Hotel Spa" - a rare and prestigious achievement indeed. Paul was soon head-hunted to work in Thailand as Chief Operating Officer for a number of properties, but with the main focus on Rayavadee. Located in Krabi, it has played host to films such as "The Man with the Golden Gun" and "The Beach", due partly to the fantastic natural beauty of the location.

Two and a half years later Paul had his first appointment managing a world class "destination spa",Ananda, in the Himalayas. "Destination spas" have been around, at most, for fifteen years and there are only twenty or so well-known, high quality such destinations in the world.They differ from resorts in that the spa is the focus of the establishment and other facilities are supplementary.The Ananda was voted the number one "destination spa" in the world for three years running.

In July of this year, Paul began to apply his skills to "Shanti Ananda Maurice". Specialised in Ayur vedic treatment, there is, "... no other spa of this calibre in the Indian Ocean," and they employ expert therapists, yoga instructors and Ayur vedic doctors, trained in Southern India, to provide a variety of programs such as weight loss and detox treatments, stress management and over sixty types of health therapies. This luxury spa-resort also appeals to couples and honeymooners, as well as families, and provides activities such as tennis tuition, non-motorised water sports and special events for children.

Paul's work is very much the focus of his life at the moment. He works seven days a week and does everything possible to make this resort reach it's full potential. Despite his global success in management, he derives utmost satisfaction from training and developing the people he works with and as an "antique dad", he loves to spend time with his three and a half year old daughter, Phoebe. Ironically, though Paul is great at planning the future of hotels, the path his life takes he tends to leave, at least to some extent, to destiny.

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