Srinagar(IANS) : Lizo, 17, is the grandson of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and he is thrilled to be part of a group of South Africans visiting Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am thrilled to be here. Kashmir is more beautiful than the pictures I had seen back home,” Lizo told IANS here.
The group of 29 South African visitors includes youths in the age group of 14 to 17 besides some of their parents and Klaus Konig, principal of the Johannesburg school that has brought the boys here.
“It is simply breathtaking here. We love the people and nature here. There is nothing like this back home. I am wearing many jerseys to keep myself warm,” Konig said.
“We went to Gulmarg (a tourist resort in north Kashmir). We rode on the Gondola cable car and saw the snow-clad mountains there. It is absolutely fantastic. Kashmir has a tremendous potential and this could well be a great destination for South African tourists.
“The lakes, the houseboats, the rivers and the mountains here are wonderful. Kashmir has an equally great potential for winter sports, golfing and water sports.”
The boys from South Africa played a cricket match with the students of the University of Kashmir here Saturday.
“Your boys won that match. Man, your boys play good cricket,” the principal said.
The students are going to Jodhpur from here, but say their Kashmir experience has been simply out of this world.
“We shall now be ambassadors of Kashmir tourism and tell our parents and relatives to come here for a similar experience,” said another South African youth.