Fact #1: Ethiopia was rated as one of the top countries to visit in 2017 This year Lonely Planet named Ethiopia one of the countries you should visit in 2017. After a two-week trip to the capital city, Addis Ababa, and the northern region – Axum,…
Ethiopian King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela ensured his name would always be uttered with awe, when he commissioned 11 interconnected monolithic churches and two chapels to be carved out of red volcanic tuff in the 12th century at his birthplace in the northern reaches of his…
“Leave your prejudices at home,” says Bijou, our Dlala Nje tour guide, and that’s the only thing we’re asked to do during the Taste of Yeoville tour. Inner-city Johannesburg still has a poor reputation and while many Joburg residents use the landmark to help them navigate the…
“We’ll meet many nationalities along the way,” says Jo Buitendach, founder of Past Experiences, as we start our Joburg inner city shopping tour from 1 Fox though the inner city of Johannesburg. Many of the people we meet along the way stop to hug Jo, provide…
South Africa is epic in so many ways. To honour of Tourism Month and Heritage Day this month, I asked local and international travel bloggers what they love most about South Africa. Here’s what they said, along with a few interesting facts, you may not have…
When you plan your trip to the mighty Zambezi River and Victoria Falls with Africa Odyssey be sure to do so during the full moon, so you can go in search of elusive moonbows. We clink our G&Ts to the setting sun on a sundowners…
The Kingdom of eSwatini (once known as Swaziland) is Africa’s smallest country at no more than 200 kilometres from north to south and 130 kilometres from east to west. Despite its small size I discovered that it’s a land of adventure and cultural experiences. eSwatini…
Each May Swaziland’s Ezulwini Valley reverberates with song and the thundering sound of thousands of stomping feet and clapping hands, as Bushfire Festival goers dance to Africa’s soulful tunes and most prolific voices. Don’t make the same mistake I did, don’t let it take you 10…
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…