Trev here. Frequent Flyer/Cruiser/Coaster of the interwebs and Master Chef of Awesomesauce (note: always serve hot.) Anyway in between cooking up blog posts and rubbing shoulders with lady friends by the beach (or since it’s winter, up in a loft somewhere by a fireplace) I’m roaming the atmosphere from place to place and just this week, I had an epiphany: we both have something in common: flying…and the less glamorous planning for flying.

I was pretty stoked to find out about TripIt, which takes the hassle out of managing the paperwork of a typical trip. We all know how the high life leaves you with a lot of receipts (airline tickets, hotels, restaurants, maps, gold chains, beach balls…well at least the ones related to travel.)

So whether it’s maps, directions, weather or a bunch of other useful travel details, TripIt pulls in your itinerary (all you’ve got to do is email it to them and they automatically put up all your details on one easy-to-use page) So stay up to date on flight changes, check-in times, book restaurants, rent cars, theatre tickets, and share travel plans in groups online all in one snazzy little site.

Works for experienced travellers such as myself, regular patrons of the sky or newbies trying to keep it all together. Trev says tres cool.

Trev here. Professional handmodel. kulula’s travel blogger extraordinaire. A man bent double. Why bent double, you may ask? Because my online travels brought me to a very special video today. A video starring the fairy godfather of comedy, John Cleese. As a pilot. Playing all sorts of fun flying games. While kulula’s pilots never play such fun jokes, I have faith that somewhere out there an aviator with a sense of humour is adding a little spice to a flight.

Trev here. International handmodel. kulula’s travel blogger extraordinairee. And most recently, local weblebrity. And I’m here to light up your winter fire with these holiday package specials from kulula.com.

Check, from R999 you can get
-    2 nights accommodation at the Protea Hotels in Sea Point, Tygervalley, Stellenbosch (Western Cape) or Protea Hotel Karriden (Durban)
-   return flights from Joburg or Lanseria to Cape Town / Durbs
-  Car rental from J Group with standard insurance cover

Let’s just see what we are dealing with here:

So what are you waiting for? Best you click here to pick up one of these sweet deals before they’re all sold out.

The legal stuff:

Excludes 10th June – 12 July 2010 (for obvious reasons)
Must fly Thursday or Saturday for Cape Town Packages
Specific flight times are applicable for the R999 packages
Should you wish to fly outside of these times, flight supplements will be incurred
Packages are available until 30th August 2010

Trevor here. Your part-time travel-blogger-lover and your full-time friend.  And today I’m blogging about something you’ll want to keep your eyeballs on, especially if you enjoy a bit of a jaunt to esoteric destinations like Mauritius? Or is it exotic? Does it matter? See kulula have got a great thing going here with some Last Minute Specials.  Basically you can save money the way my Oom Frikkie would save his good whisky for special occasions, such as the purchase of a new bakkie.

You may wonder what this means for you, but simply put it means you can get some serious and intense savings. Allow me to explain:

Instead of paying R11 490,00 for a Deluxe room at The 4-Star Sands Hotel, you can pay from R8 689,00.

And instead of paying R11 898,00 for a Superior Room at The 4-Star La Palmerie Boutique Hotel, you can pay from R8 793,00.

Instead of paying R13 458,00 for the Pondicherry Room at the 5-Star Paradise Cove & Spa, you can pay from R10 383,00.

And instead of paying R15 850,00 for the Privilege Room at the 5-Star Maritim Hotel, you pay from R13 302,00.

What’s the catch of the day, I hear you ask? Well, you’ve just got to book within 30 days of departure. Hence the name ‘Last Minute Specials’. But best you don’t wait till the actual last minute to book. Click here now to pick up a a last minute Mauritius holiday.

All packages include:
-    return flights on British Airways
-    all pre-payable airport taxes and fuel levies (approximate taxes of R1 723,00)
-    return airport transfers
-    7-nights accommodation
-    daily breakfast and dinner
-    various non-motorised water sports
- 1 free 50-minute massage per adult per stay
- complimentary and unlimited access to Ernie Els’s golf course
- Free shuttle to Ile Cerfs and discounted rate at Ile Cerfs golf course (R5 100 instead of R8 700)

All packages exclude:
- all meals and drinks not specified
- travel insurance and all personal incidental expenses
Valid 01 – 03 May 2010

Legal Stuff: The package prices are from a starting price, per person sharing. There’s limited availability and Saturday departures are from British Airways only. Standard kulula.com legal stuff applies. E&OE.

Destination: The Mondazur Hotel, San Lameer
Stars: ****

So after The Shining Game incident, I arrived home, feeling a little sheepish. I realised that not everyone shares my outlandroverish sense of humour. Which is why swore on my manicurist’s life that I would use my next trip to make friends and influence concierges. Lucky for me, my favourite air hostess Marietjie happened to be on board my flight to Durbz, which is when I knew things were going to go peachy-shaped. I’ll be landing in a few hours, let’s get this 4-star party started.

Special alert! kulula is running some serious specials on a stay here at the Mondazur. You can book a 2-night stay here for R2 205,00 pps. This would include return flights (JNB / DBN / JNB) and 2 day’s standard Group J car hire with 200km free.

Click here now, as the offer ends 31 / 08 / 2010

Sitting on my suitcases outside the Peermont. Have learnt that not everyone finds The Shining Game funny. I tried to explain that I couldn’t sleep because of my jetlag and I was bored, but the hotel staff were having none of it. A pity, I liked this place the way a hand model likes a good lathering of Dr Palmer’s cocoa butter.

Want to retrace my miscalculated footsteps and book yourself an adventure here from R2 205,00 pps? Click here.

Have decided to play The Shining with hotel staff. Have written the words Red Rum all down the corridor. Let’s see how this plays out.

It’s a stinker here on Joburg today. Luckily I am able to retreat to my Superior Room where I can kick back with a good movie on DSTV in an air-conditioned haven on a room. Have some blogging to catch up on.

Destination: Peermont Metcourt, Emperor’s Palace, Johannesburg
Stars: ***

Hello my little travelbugs. Trevor here. Runner up in international scrabble tournaments. Former Professional Handmodel. Now full-time travel blogger for kulula.com, coming atcha from the poolside wifi party at the Peermont Metcourt at the Emperor’s Palace in Joburg. Try saying that three times fast. I’m going to be here all week, kicking it by the pool while I watch fifa gets its knickers in a twist over the latest kulula ads. It’s like a game in itself! Going to get me a long plastic whistle (if you catch my drift) to create some ambience here at the hotel. Tune in to check out what I get up to here at the Peermont.

Destination: Protea Fire & Ice, New Church and Victoria Street, Cape Town
Stars: ***

When you hear the words Fire & Ice, you think extremes. Well let me tell you, this is an extremely exciting hotel experience. From its extreme name to its extremely exciting lighting, I haven’t been this stimulated by a hotel since that smash hit came out a few years ago about a hotel in California. From the moment I walked in and, was greeted by a friendly suspended pod chair, I knew I was in for one crazy ride.

Every which way you turn in this restaurant, you are greeted with a fiddly little surprise. Why, while I was eating my breakfast, I was amazed to see Khoi fish swimming past the window, which I assumed to be some form of CGI. When I enquired as to whom the hotel’s effects guy is, I was informed that the fish are actually real! I gave the concierge a tip for delivering this piece of extremely exciting information.

When it comes to the cuisine that is on offer, The Fire and Ice hotel really gets the concept of a milkshake. Scoff not, for finding this skill in a hotel is like finding a Sandton Princess at Ronnie’s Sex Shop, ie. one in a seven-hundred thousand and five.

Now, I am not a smoker per se, but I can appreciate a joke about a smoker’s expenses. No doubt you will chuckle your bits off at the coffin chairs where you can seat your smokey bum and puff away to your heart’s contentment, while being reminded of your fate. It is this kind of attention to detail that warms my healthy, non-smoker heart.

To get in on the extreme action that is a stay at the Protea Fire & Ice in Long Street from R2 115.00 per person sharing, click here and you can experience the following:

2 nights accommodation
Return flights  JNB / CPT / JNB
2 Day’s standard Group J car with 200 kms free
Valid until 31 / 05 / 2010