Africa’s first high tea tour bus: Woman turns scam hurt into dream on wheels | News24
What started with one woman’s love of feeding people, entertaining guests and creating beautiful experiences has become an unusual Cape Town tourism experience – and a story of determination after a devastating financial setback nearly brought the dream crashing down.
The Lorea High Tea Bus Tour is believed to be a first-of-its-kind concept in Africa, combining the elegance of high tea with a scenic bus tour through some of Cape Town’s most picturesque routes.
But behind the glamorous pink carpets, double-decker bus, fancy attire, delicate treats, and breathtaking views lies a story of heartbreak, financial loss and sheer determination.
Owner Miriam Mokoena says the idea began about a year ago, born of something as simple as her “love of feeding” people and a desire to find unique experiences for guests visiting Cape Town.
Last July, she saw something on TikTok that changed everything.
“I see this fancy-looking bus that people are queuing to place bookings to experience the vibes. What it didn’t say was where the bus is located. Naturally, I assumed it was in South Africa.
“I then tried to book this bus tour. A day or two later, I get a call advising me that they got my request, but that the bus is not in South Africa, it’s actually in New York and London,” Mokoena said.
She took the idea to her husband, and the pair decided to take a leap of faith.
“I talked to my husband, I said, the way I saw this thing, the way I love this whole bus on wheels exploring the city with our people. We put together the finances, sold this and that, and then acquired the double-decker bus in August last year.”
It cost the business-savvy couple just over R1.1 million to purchase the bus.
After it was purchased, the plan was to transform it into an elegant, moving high tea venue.
The bus was sent to a company in Paarl to be remodelled. Mokoena says the company took hundreds of thousands of rands from them, but the work they had paid for was not completed.
Instead, she says, the bus was vandalised and eventually had to be towed back to Cape Town.
At one point, she says the bus had been driving perfectly, but after returning from Paarl, it could no longer operate.
“They cut the wires for the bus so that the bus must not move. Oh man, it was devastating. I still remember the tears streaming from my face when I saw her [the bus] being towed to us,” she tells News24.
There was also R8 000 worth of diesel in the bus, which, according to Mokoena, was stolen.
Mokoena estimates that Lorea lost just over R900 000 in the ordeal.
The remodelling company came highly recommended by the company that sold them the bus.
“We then started doing some checks on the company. Turns out that the company is not supposed to exist,” Mokoena said.
For the Lorea team, the loss was not only financial. It was the loss of time, momentum and the excitement of finally launching a dream they had poured their money and energy into – originally planned for November.
Guests had already been invited, including people who had travelled from Germany and America.
The team was left with a painful choice – cancel the launch or continue.
“It was going to be an exciting day, but, in fact, it’s a day where we were fighting back tears,” she said.
Instead of allowing the setback to destroy the launch, they held a soft launch using photographs, portraits and banners to showcase what the experience would eventually become.
The bus was eventually towed back from Paarl, and the team started again, this time with another company and months of work to follow.
Now they had another challenge: transforming a double-decker bus that seats 32 into a fully compliant mobile hospitality venue.
The bus required numerous compliance certificates, including a permit, roadworthy certification, liability insurance, food-related compliance and fire safety requirements.
Eventually, after months of setbacks, testing and refining, the dream began to move.
By March and April, the team tested the experience with their first group: a bridal shower.
The bus was later showcased to some of Cape Town’s top hotels, including the Mount Nelson, One&Only, Twelve Apostles and The Silo.
The Rockefeller Hotel eventually became the boarding point for guests. And now, the experience that once existed only in Mokoena’s imagination is taking guests along one of Cape Town’s most scenic routes.
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Guests arrive at the Rockefeller Hotel, where they walk along a pink carpet before climbing aboard the high tea bus.
The regular route takes three hours to travel through Sea Point and Camps Bay, past the Twelve Apostles and Llandudno, before reaching Hout Bay.
Inside the bus, guests are treated to an elaborate high tea menu. Instead of simply loading the tables with bread and cake, Mokoena says the menu was deliberately designed to offer variety.
There are savoury treats, including pastrami rolls, barbecue potato sausage rolls, kebabs, and salmon, with nine to ten savoury options.
Then come the sweet treats, including chocolate cake, vanilla cake, meringues, macarons, biscuits, dips and mousse.
Everything is bottomless. Guests can enjoy hot and cold drinks, as well as mocktails, throughout the experience.
The concept is designed to encourage guests to dress up, with passengers arriving in their finest attire before boarding the bus.
“It’s not a requirement, but people come dressed in their finest outfits, and we will never stop them. In fact, it brings more fun to the experience,” said Mokoena.
For Mokoena, it is about far more than simply taking people for a drive. It is about creating a moment.
The experience currently operates mainly from Friday to Sunday, with plans to expand to Thursdays starting in September due to demand.
The bus can also be booked for groups, tours, team-building events and private experiences.
Despite everything, the business has endured. Mokoena is already thinking about the future and another bus named Doria.
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Mokoena hopes Doria will eventually join the fleet next year.
That determination is perhaps the most important part of the Lorea story. The business could have ended when the money disappeared. Instead, Mokoena and her team started again.
For the woman behind it all, the journey has been anything but easy. But perhaps that is what makes the experience even sweeter.
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