Before I left, people told me I was going on a trip of a lifetime. It’s strange hearing that phrase: trip of a lifetime. Every one of my trips should be a trip of a lifetime. Why limit myself to just one? Traveling, domestic or international, will always be a priority for me. Thinking back, …
One of my favorite things to do is go on free walking tours in every city I travel to. In Cape Town, I opted for the Apartheid to Freedom tour to learn more about the history that binds the city together so strongly. Before the tour began, our guide shared a quick introduction into the …
Continue reading South Africa’s journey from apartheid to freedom
It’s funny. The heart of Cape Town and the history that I wanted so very much to learn about was actually about seven kilometers off the city's shore on a desolate, isolated place known as Robben Island. Robben Island is infamous for being the place of the informal battleground against the apartheid movement. The island’s …
Continue reading One prisoner’s story of surviving Robben Island
Cape Town had a big reputation to live up to. Named by The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph as the best place in the world to visit in 2014, it served as our final destination on our four-week journey across the southern part of the continent. Up, up, up we go to Table Mountain …
Continue reading How best to spend two and a half days in Cape Town
Our last real tourist attraction in Namibia was the massive gash in the earth known as Fish River Canyon. We drove all day to our campsite, where we were promptly told not to leave any food out for the baboons who willingly tear you limb for limb if you get in their way. Thanks for …
Continue reading A stroll along Fish River Canyon followed by a South African wine tasting
Onwards to our desert experience, we stopped for a quick photo stop at the Tropic of Capicorn. We then moseyed on down to our Namib Desert-adjacent campsite for the night to prepare for another sunrise adventure. Back up three weeks… What exactly is overlanding? Many people aren’t that familiar with overlanding, so I figured I’d …
Continue reading Overlanding, the Namib Desert, and some tree graveyards
Swakopmund is the little Germany of Namibia. Sophie and I immediately saw the heavy German influence from its paved streets to its half-timbered houses to its grocery stores. This town is known as the adventure capital of southern Africa. Having already checked sky diving off our bucket list, Sophie convinced me to sign up for …
Continue reading Swakopmund: More than a German colonial town
Spitzkoppe, German for pointed dome, is the tallest rock in a group of granite peaks in the Namib desert. The granite is over 120 million years old and sits pretty at 5,850 feet. Such a shame I didn’t have Charlie to lead the route and my climbing shoes handy. A couple years ago I went …
Etosha National Park is known as one of the world’s greatest wildlife-viewing venues. It’s got four out of the big five. Luckily, we’d already seen the one that they didn’t have, the buffalo, in Chobe National Park at the beginning of our trip. There’s also this group of animals called the ugly five: hyena, vulture, …
Disclaimer: A majority of this information and opinions have been taken from Ian’s talk on the bushmen at Matobo National Park. He said he’s worked with and studied the community for about 40 years. I recorded his talk and transcribed it for use in this blog post. I have not checked facts and statements online …
ticket for two 