I’ve been travelling since I was born. In fact, since before I was born actually. My first trip abroad was to Disney World in the most luxurious way possible: in the womb. I’ve now come to realise that being shaken and rolled as a waiting-to-be-born infant on that trip caused a few things to things to shake loose in my cranium. And, that the trip was also responsible for planting a small, but very addictive gene somewhere in the tissues that make up my meagre frame: wanderlust.
Being born and instantly knighted with the royal title of ‘crew family’ (my father is an airline pilot for SAA) has afforded me opportunities that a lot of people are prepared to sell body parts for: to travel where I want, when I want, at a ridiculously minimal cost. Apart from having had a few (okay, quite a few, no lots…) fairytale family holidays as a child, I’ve made use of the the pickings to be taken on the golden platter myself, at every opportunity. An upcoming trip to Buenos Aires in November will mark off trips to six of the seven continents at the age of twenty-two. And I still haven’t complained once.
Over the years the wanderlust has ebbed and flowed in my veins from “high” to “very high” but mostly the imaginings and desires that it sparks within me remain at a rather comfortable level (where I’m comfortable planning my next destination abroad, that is). I can’t lie, I’ve already lived a luxurious globetrotting life. I’ve travelled everywhere first class, I’ve sat in the cockpit chatting on the airwaves and playing with buttons. I’ve ordered champagne from good-looking Australian air-hostesses and stayed in five-star hotels. All those boyish dreams, I’ve lived them. And I’m glad.
But with my glamorous background I still have an insatiable lust to travel simple. Do things the hard way, rough it, soak it all up, get dirty, all of the above. It’s strange though, in my tenure as a student it would have been more expensive for me to embark on road trips across South Africa than it has actually been to travel overseas. I see this as a shame, but I’m working on finding the balance…
So, I knew that if I wanted to start filling my bucket-list with the travels that I’ve so wished to experience in our beautiful country, then this was the year to do it. 2010: FIFA World Cup, no more said. I hardly even thought twice. In fact I don’t remember hardly even thinking twice so I’ll just say that I didn’t. I phoned a friend, I said “we’re going “˜round the country in my car.” That was it.
Three months down the line and I am still on fire with the desire to do and see it all again. I was smacked with amazement in every place I visited and in the eyes of every person I spoke to and danced with along the way. If I had their names I would thank them all individually and make plans to go and visit them again. The last remaining haze on my culture-goggles was demisted and on the horizon I can now see all the opportunities to travel across our beautiful country again, brimming and glowing like a true African sunrise.
I am still going to make use of my opportunities to travel abroad, with no regrets. But I’ll be sure to start marking my little tracks on journeys to the countless little gems and wonders that this country is home to. And I’m already getting impatient that I haven’t seen them all.
I’ve put in a few photos from the first of what I know will be many memorable trips to come. The World Cup was a truly special time for us South Africans. And I’m glad that with my selfish desire to travel the country, came the opportunity to really feel the unity being weaved into our souls. Besides for being a great event, my experiences during the World Cup changed my perception and expectations of embarking on trips across our land, and replaced them with a little voice that precursors all thoughts I now have on the topic. It only speaks one word: unity. That makes me happy.
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