African Sands Blog

So what is an adventure really? I think it is as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” 

I think this means exploring the world around us, learning about other nations and cultures, experiencing different foods and lands. Seeing how other people live and love. Reaching out eagerly to see and do everything!

I think this means trying to get away from the more traditional forms of travel, and going for the more intimate and local experiences. In KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, there is a lodge called Isibindi Zulu Lodge where the whole design is taken from the local Zulu people and their culture – all the chalets are shaped like beehive huts and are completely sustainable making the whole project eco friendly. The land has been granted to Isibindi by the local community and they have returned the favour by creating jobs in the community, with great self improvement projects and infrastructure upgrades in the local area. It is a win-win situation.

I think this means immersing yourself in the land you have chosen to travel, perhaps taking an unusual form of transport. In South Africa there is a train called the Shongololo Express which is a restored 1950’s South Africa Spoornet train and carriages and it does a fantastic route through the country called the “Good Hope Adventure”. This journey offers an amazingly comprehensive view of South Africa taking in the internationally regarded “must see” locations. As the train travels the length and breadth of the country guests can enjoy the great variety of landscapes, shorelines, cultures and lifestyles that the “Rainbow Nation” has to offer. It is a perfect way to travel if you are a single traveller as it is easy to make friends on board.

I think it means doing as the locals do, which means trying out new and exciting foods. What about Biltong (dried cured meat), Boerewors (farmers Sausage), Pap and Saus (a maize meal type porridge with a tomato based sauce), Bobotie (a spicy Cape Malay mince dish), Waterblommetjie Bredie (a type of stew like curry)… all local dishes that offer lots of flavour. How about trying Ostrich or other game meats. South Africa has excellent award winning wines to wash the new foods down… so it makes it all worth it!

But above all, I think it means having fun! Many of life’s most memorable moments come from reaching the peak of a small mountain and taking in the view, from a quite walk on a secluded forest trail, or from a trek along a coast with pounding waves, from sitting silently in your safari vehicle while wild Africa roams free around you in their natural habitat, from sitting in a buzzing café and having an interesting conversation with a local person, from exploring a small side street that not many other tourists have been to, or just chilling on a bench, surrounded by nothing by the setting sun…..

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