Country 27: South Africa | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! Our sweeping South Africa trip took us from Johannesberg to Cape Town and then back again. We finished in the Vredefort Dome, a lush and dramatic area about an hour and a half outside of Jo’Berg. We’d seen some animals in…
Read More
This post is part of a series. You can read about the origins of our travel tradition here. Listed as one of the new 7 Natural World Wonders, the flat-topped Table Mountain dominates the view in Cape Town, it’s grey-brown bulk the perfect antidote to the sparkly cerulean waters opposite. But the question niggling my mind…
Read More
“It doesn’t matter how much experience you have,” said one of the rangers as we pulled into Pilanesberg park. “Seeing animals comes down to luck.” That’s absolutely true—you may visit the same park on two consecutive days and see wildly different groups of animals. Or you might nab sightings of every member of the Big…
Read More
So, you’re planning your epic adventure somewhere in Africa. Obviously, you want to incorporate an African safari of some sort. The question is, do you want to do a self-drive or guided tour safari? There are pros and cons to each, it just depends on your travel style. Should I do a Self-Drive or Guided…
Read More
Kruger National Park is highly lauded and applauded as being the best park for safaris in South Africa. As one of the largest game reserves in the entire African continent, I guess it’s not hard to see why. But if you are looking for something less touristy and more off-the-beaten-path, here are three varied and…
Read More
Joe’s bright eyes pierced into mine. “If he charges the fence,” he said, “You need to stand your ground. Don’t run away. You got it?” I nodded. We were standing knee deep in the bush, alongside a thin wire fence where, just beyond, a massive male African lion was thoughtfully sniffing the air. But this…
Read More
The car in front of us was stopped next to a huge acacia thorn bush. Behind them, we looked impatiently at each other. What could they possibly be looking at when parked next to a bush? The question answered itself not two seconds later, when a gigantic horned head swung out in front of the…
Read More
Well, I survived my first surf lesson in the waters of Cape Town! Given the hype about sharks and the abundance of terrifying Youtube videos, I assumed the surfing itself would be the most notable part of the day’s experience. To my surprise, it was our instructor, Apish, who turned out to be the center of…
Read More
“But aren’t you worried about the sharks?” It was a refrain echoing in my head from the moment I booked our Airbnb experience, Surf with Purpose—further amplified by friends, colleagues, and near-total strangers in the weeks leading up to our trip. So much so that, even though it was meant as a surprise Christmas gift,…
Read More
Imagine. You’re sitting in a patch of sunlight in a garden of almost Biblical beauty. A small stream runs alongside you. The bricks beneath your feet are warm from the heat of the day, but the glass of white wine in your hand is cool. A duck and her ducklings—their soft baby down fuzzing them…
Read More