At the Thebe Meetings Africa inaugural awards function held on Tuesday night at a game lodge in the Dinokeng region just north of Pretoria, Hayward's Luxury Safari Events and Expeditions walked off with the illustrious "BEST SPECIAL EVENT 2007" award for the role they played in the Toyota launch late last year.
 

Hayward's were commissioned separately by Toyota International and Toyota South Africa to provide a unique 100 bedded luxury safari camp perched on top of a hillock in the Zebra Hills Estate overlooking the magnificent Rhino Reserve just south of M'kuze in Kwa Zulu Natal. This was the first time Toyota had run a SA/Euro two product launch from one mobile tented facility.

The press contingency comprised of well over 300 national and international motoring journalists from as far afield as Scandinavia, Poland, Greece, Turkey and Japan. For many of these influential journalists and editors in chief, this was their very first visit to South Africa. The launch of the all new Toyota Hilux 4x4 left hand drive and the all new Avanza for the SA market required that Hayward's provide two entirely different camp concepts back to back to ensure that the various press and the products being presented, each received a unique look and feel.
 

More challenging was the mandate that the launch itself, (held in camp over two nights/three days per group of sixty internationals at a time) be void of any special lighting, sound and entertainment and that the natural African ambience be left untouched, bar for an indigenous powerhouse team of Zulu warriors, dancers and drummers to create a backdrop of exciting colour and rhythm. A true no-frills safari ambience was created that achieved an ideal platform for the delegates to kick back and communicate freely about their product experience whilst enjoying that very special fireside power that mother Africa delivers so well.

The ride and drive aspect of this extremely important PR event for South Africa saw the legendary Hilux 4x4's visiting magnificent rural villages depicting a proud Zulu culture and an AIDS orphanage discovered en route soon became the focus of international attention as Toyota took responsibility to ensure this small forgotten centre of hope receive much needed containers of goods, from clothes to food and educational materials.

Overall Hayward's received an astounding 9.6/10 across 30 points of in-camp service measurement as experienced by the journalists, with comments like "I stay in hotels a lot but not one of them, not even the most luxurious, can beat the stay I had in this camp." - BG Holland to "If you hadn't this experience with Peter and his crew you wouldn't believe something like this exists - bravo to all the gears of this gearbox." - PD Greece

With outstanding support and collaboration between the project management teams of Toyota and Hayward's, an event of dynamic and far reaching public relations was achieved that should all go well towards achieving the sales targets set by both Europe and South Africa for these respective vehicles.

In 2004, Hayward's was presented with two outstanding achievement awards in Barcelona at the annual EIBTM awards evening. The coveted "Best Vehicle Launch Worldwide" and "Best Event Outside Europe."

This home-grown, South African pioneered concept started thirteen years ago by Peter Hayward, has been quietly taking the international special events industry by storm, annually winning recognition from wildlife and event industries and game park custodians for highly efficient eco friendly and sustainable safaris since 1993.

International opinion leaders, VIP executive groups and top celebrities are experiencing this best kept secret for their most private big group African encounters in a selection of southern Africa's most pristine wilderness regions and wild life reserves.

Most recently Hayward's was appointed by COLIN COWIE LIFESTYLE (New York) to run a 240 VIP celebrity safari in the Pilanesberg National Park.