Johannesburg’s Second Golden Age

Johannesburg

When you explore eGoli, the city of gold, you’ll witness traces of the city’s early days from the 1880s when it was established as a gold mining town, and you’ll also see remnants of its fall, but know that you’re partaking in its rejuvenation, that’s…

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Fall in love with Seychelles (in 10 easy steps)

Seychelles

After a week of cavorting around Mahé, Praslin and La Digue islands, I realised just how easy it is to fall in love with the Seychelles. This Indian Ocean archipelago is exceptionally charming… and knows it. It’s many allures are undeniable. Firstly, it’s 1 000…

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Solo female travel tips from SA travel bloggers

Solo female travel tips

In Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes the truest of truths about solo travel. It goes something like this. “It seemed an advantage to be travelling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially moulded by the company we keep, for we temper our…

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The Great Migration in Serengeti National Park

https://igamotylska.contently.com/

The Serengeti. It’s the safari to top off all safaris. All the superlatives you’ve heard, read and watched about the Serengeti are true. It’s not Tanzania’s most legendary national park for no reason, it’s also where you can witness The Great Migration – the seventh…

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48 hours in Cape Town: free things to do

48 hours in Cape Town

There’s really no time to waste if you only have 48 hours in Cape Town, so let’s get right to it. First off, make sure you plan a much longer stay in the Mother City on your next visit. A weekend getaway to Cape Town…

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Gamkaberg Nature Reserve: Big Sky, Klein Karoo Country

Gamkaberg

Daréll Lourens of The Good Holiday invited Louise De Waal of Green Girls in Africa, Alfred Thorpe of Let There Be Light, me and a few others to join her on assignment in Cape Nature’s Gamkaberg Nature Reserve near Oudtshoorn, as she shot their new promotional video.…

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Maputo’s (old) Fish Market

Maputo

Ask any local and they will tell you that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who love the Maputo Fish Market and those who loathe it.  During my trip to Mozambique’s capital city (read: 48 hours in Maputo: A guide…

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48 hours in Maputo: A guide to Mozambique’s capital

Maputo

Time passes quickly when you’re in Maputo, especially on a first visit. One moment you’re eating a pastel de nata for breakfast and the next you’re having flame-grilled crayfish for dinner. Here’s my advice about what to do during a two-day visit to Mozambique‘s capital…

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Bazaruto Island in Mozambique

Bazaruto Island

I first visited Mozambique in 2012 on a long road trip with my family to a seaside resort in Inhambane,  in the southern part of the country. At the end of last year I was fortunate enough to return – twice! I visited the capital city of Maputo (and…

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Chrissiesmeer: South Africa’s Lake District

Chrissiesmeer

I’m sitting on the verandah of Just Country Cottage, with my legs propped up on a wooden chair, looking out onto Lake Chrissie, as I eat breakfast, when a quacking duck waddles past. Two more follow suit. I don’t think much of it as I…

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Wakkerstroom: The Country Life

Wakkerstroom

Wakkerstroom is Mpumalanga’s internationally-renowned wetland and birding destination that many South Africans don’t even know about. This article featured in the January 2016 issue of FlySafair’s Inflight magazine. If you give 83-year-old Oom Chris Smit enough time, he’ll talk you through Wakkerstroom’s history, from the time…

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2015 in Photographs

Eager Journeys

This post is inspired by Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere Travel Blog and his 2015: A Year in Photography post. I travelled around South Africa quite a bit in 2015, more so than I have in previous years, both for work and leisure – I’m a strong supporter of…

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Val: South Africa’s Smallest Hamlet

Val

Until my recent visit to Val, I hadn’t even heard of it. My excuse? Its size: it is the smallest hamlet in South Africa with only 12 permanent residents. And it’s probably the safest too, as there are 28 policemen based at the regional police…

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An Ode to Nieu Bethesda

Nieu Bethesda

O Nieu Bethesda, thou breath of the Great Karoo nourishment in this desert land that lieth not far from Camdeboo with roads made of endless sand that leadth visitors along the compass– cardinal points: four to this, the place where owls kiss leaving everyone wanting…

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Swimming pools in Johannesburg

Joburg swimming pools

After two sweaty weeks in humid Tanzania – which I loved, don’t get me wrong, most of all because I am now bronze – I was looking forward to getting back to Johannesburg’s milder summer. Yet, I returned to a sweltering heatwave caused by a strong high-pressure system with…

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Graaff-Reinet: The Return To

Graaff-Reinet

Hundreds of South African Instagrammers and photographers packed their tripods, memory cards, and battery banks ahead of a cross-country road trip to Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province. They drove from Cape Town, the Garden Route, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Johannesburg and elsewhere. The reason was…

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Meet South Africa

Meet South Africa

In South Africa, September is both Tourism and Heritage Month, so no there’s no excuse needed to justify a road trip through the country. And here’s a mathematical equation that proves it beyond doubt: Tourism Month = 9 days + 7 South African provinces + 3000-odd kilometres &…

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