13 random things you didn’t know about NewcastleGateshead

Newcastle

Late last year, I spent two days exploring Newcastle Upon Tyne and Gateshead (on northern and southern banks of the Tyne River respectively). If you’re a keen street photographer, both towns are quite picturesque, especially alongside the Quayside, where seven bridges arch over the Tyne…

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10 FREE things to do in the UK

Free things to do in the UK

Travelling to the United Kingdom on the South African rand (and a number of other currencies) can be expensive, but it doesn’t mean you’ll have to eat nothing but two-minute noodles after your return. Many of the best museums and art galleries in the UK…

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Mauritius: beyond the resorts

Sugar cane fields, vanilla plantations and a dash of rum sweeten any stay on Mauritius. I had my first real taste of holidaying at a resort, when I visited the west and east coast of this Indian Ocean island. I was very excited, as it’s…

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48 hours in Dullstroom: what weekends are made of

Dullstroom

Each weekend Mpumalanga’s highlands welcome visitors, with fresh trout, macademia nuts and whiskey, plus some boozy cake on the side. Dullstroom is what weekends are made of. Like a curled up cat rising from a nap, the morning mist gently lifts from the dams, dances with…

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Bolivia: Why it should be on your bucketlist

Bolivia

Friends and people I meet on my travels often ask me about my top travel destinations. I still have many more places I’d love to visit, but based on the 34 countries I’ve travelled to so far, some are rather surprised when I mention Bolivia. I…

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How to survive the Clarens Beer Festival

Clarens

If you love craft beer, small-town living and spectacular landscapes then you have to join the Clarens Craft Beer Festival in the Free State. This small South African town is famed for its two-day annual beer festival, which happens around the last weekend of February. Besides beer,…

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Midlands Meander: A long weekend at Brahman Hills

Midlands Meander

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t visited one of South Africa’s most beautiful regions — the Midlands Meander in KwaZulu-Natal — until recently. Before I continue I’m posting a few more photographs below so that you can see just how beautiful this region…

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Panorama Route: A self-drive guide

Panorama Route

I followed in the ox-wagon tracks of the Great Trek through Jock of the Bushveld country along the Panorama Route three times in the last year. I wrote about my highlights for Travel Ideas magazine. Before you head out on a road trip along the…

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Road tripping along South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal coast

10 friends. 16 days. 2 300 kilometres (or somewhere in that region) makes for an epic road trip along South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal coast. Last year, nine friends and I, packed ourselves into three cars to road trip across South Africa. We started in Johannesburg and made…

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Kaapsehoop: The South African town you MUST visit in 2017

Kaapsehoop

“Magical!” That’s the one word Vincenzia Diedericks uses to describe Kaapsehoop (or Kaapschehoop, according to the Dutch spelling). After a day trip to this small town in Mpumalanga’s highlands they bought a holiday home. “There’s something here, it earths you. When I put my feet…

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2016 in Photographs

2016 in photos

I really enjoyed writing 2015 in Photographs earlier this year. It was a way to reflect on my travels throughout the year, to marvel once again at the magnificent paysages and UNESCO World Heritage Sites before me, to contemplate my smallness, to worship natural beauty, and…

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Weekend on the Vaal River

Vaal

When I was a kid I spent many weekends on the Vaal Dam because one of my closest friends had a holiday home there. We spent most of our time in or on the water. So I was REALLY pleased to head back there for…

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Durban in the summer

Durban

Durban always makes me think of down time and summer holidays, frangipanis, Indian curry, puri pathas and bunny chow, but also its warm-hearted people – the tropical climate has obviously rubbed off on them, giving them a sunny disposition. In 2014 CNN named Durban South…

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Seychelles: La Digue Island

La Digue

Of the three islands I visited in the Seychelles, La Digue may have been the smallest, but by far had the biggest personality for me. It wins. Hands down. Without a second thought. No competition. And I can’t say I wasn’t warned before arriving. “People…

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Seychelles: Praslin Island

Praslin

Praslin was the second of the three islands I visited in the Seychelles. Along with Mahé and La Digue, it is one of the most popular and easily accessible of the 115 islands that make up the archipelago. From Mahé it’s only a 20-minute flight with Air…

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Seychelles: Mahé Island

Mahe Island

On maps, the Seychelles seems like mere blips in the sea and in terms of land area they cover just 450km2. But these blips are spread over 1.4 million km2 of ocean, so there’s a vastness to the 115 islands and islets that make up this…

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Volunteering in South Africa #ResponsibleTravel

Volunteering in South Africa

Updated January 2023: The road to animal exploitation is often paved with good intentions coupled with innocent ignorance. If you’re considering volunteering in South Africa (or anywhere for that matter) at a legitimate wildlife conservation project that’ll mean getting your hands dirty and no interactions…

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