An Imizamo Yethu film-maker and tour guide has a shot at promoting his tours overseas with a German broadcaster preparing to film an episode with him next month.
Wonga Lucas, 28, founded Wonga Tours in 2023, and last year, Mandilakhe – Let Me Build, a movie he and Adriaan Madikisa made about the wage gap in Hout Bay, was selected for screening at a UK film festival (“Hout Bay doccie to screen at UK film festival,” Sentinel, December 2023).
“Wonga Tours is a tourism business that started out of desperation,” he says, describing how he had to quit his job as an intern chef for health reasons.
His German friend, Alyosha Diebold, who had been staying with him in Imizamo Yethu, gave him the idea to run tours.
“One time, I had some friends over for dinner, and after I had cooked for them, my friend asked: ‘How much would you charge for a tour?’ This idea planted a seed which became Wonga Tours.
“As I’m also a documentary film-maker, I also use this platform to openly engage and spread awareness on the many issues within the IY community.”
Wonga Tours takes visitors to nine homes in Imizamo Yethu where they are served meals inspired by the many different cultures to be found in the township.
Mr Lucas is the main tour guide, and he is helped by two volunteers, Siyacela Melani and Todd Samko.
“So far, we’ve had up to 50 visitors join our tours. Another challenge was trying to introduce the concept of cashless transactions to our visitors, but it’s progressing slowly and helps to ensure safety too,” Mr Lucas said.
At the beginning of the month, a German public broadcaster, ARD, approached him for an interview on his tours.
“I just got a phone call one evening from a man named Anton Swart, a German television producer, wanting to speak to me about tourism with the focus being Wonga Tours and how it operates,” he said.
Mr Swart, a producer for ARD, said: “We were looking to produce an insert on township-based tourism and tour operators. I came across Mr Lucas in my research on options in Hout Bay.
“I was interested by his unique approach to tour guides, which deviates from the 20-minute walk through. We don’t have a firm filming date yet as that will depend on when he has a tour booking. The programme is envisaged for mid-May.”
Mr Lucas said he hoped to involve more young people in his tours and give back to the community.
“The community ‘give back’ is the ultimate reward of the tours as we also support direct entrepreneurs. My next goal would be training up to three community youth members to assist on the tours.”
For more information, contact Wonga Lucas at 084 453 6078.
