Travelogues from Southern Africa by an African at heart…
Who doesn’t dream of wide-open spaces, endless deserts and wild canyons? Southern Africa has all the makings of a post-confinement treasure trove! Like all SATravellers, from the founders to the rangers, I’m deeply attached to Africa in general and South Africa in particular, where I’ve lived for almost 20 years.
For once, I’d like to share with you my experiences and favorite things about these vast lands that have become mine!
Mozambique – Organized chaos…
Southern Africa, starting with South Africa: as soon as I arrived in Johannesburg, my heart sank! In just a few hours, I realized that this continent would make all my childhood dreams of Africa come true. At the time, I was only in transit, on my way to Mozambique, where I was immediately charmed.
There are no similarities between South Africa and neighboring Mozambique: the order, the languages, the culture, the South Africans and Mozambicans, the former more reserved, the latter exuberant. Arriving in Mozambique, it only took me 15 minutes to get used to the somewhat chaotic environment; you either love this country unconditionally, or you want to leave straight away – I stayed for four years!
Mozambique is a paradise of picture-postcard landscapes. With its white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons and tropical temperatures, it’s the perfect destination for lounging under coconut palms, diving in lagoons, scuba diving and snorkeling.
It’s a little adventure that I remember fondly, a wonderful encounter! On a snorkeling trip, I was lucky enough to swim very close to a whale shark. It’s by no means dangerous, feeding only on plankton and small fish, but I was impressed!
South Africa – The variety of landscapes
Since then, I’ve been living in the “Rainbow Nation” at the gateway to the Kruger Park, in Mpumalanga, where nature is superb, rich in diverse landscapes, with 380-degree views. The third largest canyon in the world, the famous Blyde River Canyon, attracts visitors from every continent.
South Africa is my adopted country, with its wide variety of landscapes, its wildlife parks, its wine route and its 3,000km of coastline, giving me a thrill every day of the year. My fondest memories are undoubtedly the trips to Kruger Park and Cape Town, the city of my heart!
One of my favorite memories is a trip to Golden Gate National Park. To get to the little rustic wooden cottage, you had to have nerves of steel, as the path leading to it was particularly steep! At an altitude of almost 2000m, the view of nearby Lesotho and the surrounding mountains is magical. I felt alone at the end of the world!
For over twenty years, I’ve been criss-crossing the countries of Southern Africa, as passionate about each one as the next. I come back from every trip with my eyes full of stars and the desire to go back.
Swaziland – The Switzerland of Africa?
Very close to home, via spectacular mountain roads, I have visited the small Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) on many occasions. The country is blessed with beautiful parks.
In order to get to know the Swazi people, I let myself be tempted by a traditional lunch… you stop by the roadside at a “butcher’s”, choose your piece of meat, then behind the “butcher’s” a large fire on the ground awaits you to cook the meat, which you then taste accompanied by lipalishi, a kind of white cornmeal porridge… verdict: delicious, provided you cook your meat yourself!
Namibia – The great outdoors
The country that completely enchanted me was undoubtedly Namibia. Namibia, a land of contrasts and vast expanses, offers some exceptional moments! It’s an immense territory of grandiose natural spaces. Here you can discover some of the planet’s greatest deserts.
I loved the Kalahari, situated between the basins of the Zambezi and Orange rivers. It’s the driest part of the world’s largest expanse of sand. The dunes are an intense red and in the rainy season the savannah is covered with green grass and trees bloom. The Kalahari is home to a population of Boshimans, the original inhabitants of Southern Africa.
And the great, majestic Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world, to which Namibia owes its name because of the Nama people, is made of reg, tortured reliefs, canyons and the highest sand dunes on the planet.
Do you remember the American film “Bagdad Café”? I found myself in a western atmosphere!!! During a stopover in Solitaire, I discovered a sleepy village with a chapel, a gas station, a grocery store and carcasses of vehicles from another era.
Apart from all these discoveries, I had two highlights, when a curious sea lion on a sea excursion jumped into the boat and expressed her crush on me… she put her head on my shoulder and felt right at home! The Captain explained that it takes 3 months to tame them.
At sunrise, I had the chance to fly over the plains of Namibia in a hot-air balloon. After the flight, a champagne breakfast awaited me… a grandiose experience worthy of “Out of Afrika”.
Botswana – Nature and animals
In Botswana, I was captivated by the Okavango Delta, a wonderful place where the Okavango River meets the Kalahari Desert. A magnificent landscape of marshes, lagoons, canals, islands and flood meadows. The delta is a paradise for birds, home to over 400 species – a feast for the eyes!
In Botswana, I had a rather impressive encounter when a hippopotamus came to pay me a little visit! I was near Gaborone, in a National Park, and a vertebra in my lower spine had forced me to sit on the terrace with a little monkey who shamelessly nibbled at my fruit. As night fell, the hippos came out of the lake and approached… fortunately a ranger was passing by!
I discovered the majestic, tumultuous Victoria Falls on a visit to Zimbabwe.
My stay was grandiose, staying in the mythical, very British Victoria Falls Hotel with breathtaking scenery, the gorges, the bridge spanning them and the Zimbabwe flag flying against the azure blue sky.
A private trail through lush vegetation populated by mongooses and baboons leads to one of the seven wonders of nature, Victoria Falls.
And many other little corners of paradise…
Other countries in Southern Africa, although smaller in scale, give the impression of infinite space, including Malawi, Tanzania and Zanzibar, as well as the islands of Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion.
I hope I’ve made you dream – who knows, one day you’ll be able to take a closer look at these splendid Southern African countries!
SATravellers and its team are thinking of you; take advantage of this period of confinement to carefully prepare your next trip.
See you soon,
Irina.
Africally, the SATravellers team
