They came, the saw and they stayed. This sums up the story of Julie and Gerhard Geldenhuys, two South Africans who arrived in Andalusia three years ago, drawn by its reputation for beautiful beaches and coastline.

They began on the Costa del Sol, but with its expanse of buildings and hotels it was not the image of an idyllic paradise they had in mind. So they carried on their quest with fate taking them west to the Costa de la Luz where they found kilometres and kilometres of unspoilt beaches with fine white sand, a turquoise ocean and sunsets of unequal beauty - kilometres and kilometres of virgin coastline.

They immediately knew that they had found what they were looking for and where they wanted to live. It did not matter that their home in Cape Town was 8038 kilometres away at the very end of the African continent. Nor did it matter that their rented in Naveros, near Vejer de la Frontrera, was very different to the homes they had been used to in the past in London or Johannesberg. The new surroundings made it all worthwhile.

Experts in Television

They have worked all their lives in the world of documentary television, on Sky and Discovery Channel amongst others. Now they have decided to combine their considerable knowledge of Cádiz’s land and seascapes with their vast experience of the audio-visual media to produce a 15 minute documentary which captures the essence of the province, focussing particularly on the coastline but without forgetting its “fiestas”, monuments and nature reserves.

From the Straits of Gibraltar to the Bay of Cádiz, via Jeréz, the result is a video of international appeal which speaks for itself with no narrator necessary, just music.

A DVD as a souvenir of Cádiz

The idea is to distribute the work to hoteliers so it can be sold or given away to guests. As well as having rights to the layout and casing, one of the tracks has been reserved so that clients can add their own personalised message and advertising. In this way they can present guests with a copy of the DVD with a picture of their own hotel along with the general information and images of the whole coastline.

Various hotels and “casa rurales” have shown interest in this product, having been particularly impressed by the quality of the recording. It also fills a hole in the souvenir market since although many souvenirs of the province exist, up until now there has been no high-quality modern video available to the general tourist.

Julie and Gerhard have dedicated time and energy to this project. Gerhard is the cameraman responsible for taking the images. He began filming the moment he arrived at the Costa de la Luz so there was plenty of material to choose from. The light is what most impressed him and he has managed to capture it perfectly.

Julie was responsible for cutting and editing, looking through all the footage carefully and choosing the best shots. A close mutual understanding was their best ally. This long and close working relationship has proved successful in the past and they have won various awards including the prize for Conservation at the Festival of Menigoute for their documentary on the albatross.

Having finished producing and editing they are now in the commercialisation phase, taking their finished work to hotels, “casas rurales” and any oth