Reasons why South Africa can be your dream destination

Have you ever visited a country for the first time and it ends up snatching your heart with all its beauty? This was my recent experience with South Africa.

It’s beyond being stricken by the novelty of everything; the people, the food, the surroundings and others. It's like you are walking in this charmed place that pleasantly lets your mind, body and heart be blissfully present.

Nicknamed the rainbow nation, reflecting the colours of its flag, South Africa is rich in terms of its tropic forests, iconic wildlife and incredible marine resources.

My recent visit gave me a taste of all these three during the Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI) expo which was took place in Durban, its picturesque home. I toured around Durban, Port Elizabeth and a little bit of Johannesburg.

Held by South African Tourism, the ATI gathered thousands of tourism stakeholders across Africa and the world.

After a lengthy flight from Dar es Salaam via Nairobi, I finally landed at O.R Tambo International Airport, which coincidentally is Africa’s biggest airport.

I could have developed ten pairs of legs and still I would not have completed walking on every corner of it.

I then headed towards Terminal B, which handles domestic flights. I checked in and walked past clothing stores, bookstores, art shops and a number of escalators before I came to the gate I was supposed to use. Eventually, when the time hit 2.15pm I left for Durban.

An hour later, I arrived at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban where one of my hosts picked me up. In less than hour, we parked outside the Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani Hotel, one of the most prestigious beachfront properties in Durban.

Like the tourist that I am, I had seven days to experience as much as I could and was excited to see everything in that timeframe. I also had to abandon my introverted self because I was aware how it would have prevented me from getting a deserved adventure in South Africa.

I toured both Durban and Port Elizabeth through different activities. While both of these coastal cities offer a great view of the Indian Ocean, Port Elizabeth is slightly colder than Durban. The difference in weather conditions made each activity stand out.

Bungee jumping at Bloukrans Bridge

I had not given this activity too much thought until I saw tense faces of my colleagues. We had just left the Fynbos Gold & Country Estate where we had been staying for a few days in Port Elizabeth. While I was enjoying a majestic view of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, one Journalist from Namibia asked me: “Lilian, will you be jumping?’ I looked at her and asked: “Isn’t everyone?’ She then mentioned that some people had chosen to only walk to the bridge instead of doing the actual jump. Hesitation began to call for me.

Bloukrans Bridge is an arch bridge that stands at 216m above the Bloukrans River.

I was given a number based on my weight and then called by one of the coordinators on the bridge. I bottled up my nerves and walked towards the other coordinators began to put me in a harnesses. A heavy rope was attached to the harness on my ankle and I slowly approached the edge.

My nerves were almost getting the best of me, yet I chose to cling to the words of two people who had jumped before me: “When you get to the edge, don’t look down” and the other one said “Don’t try to look up at your legs when you get down there.” With these voices in my head, I took three deep breaths and when I heard the word ‘Bungee’ from the coordinators, I jumped.

It was an indescribable moment at first till my senses hit me, I had just jumped off one of the world's highest commercial bungee jumping sites! I began to scream my lungs out, I thanked God, praised Him and unashamedly cursed out because while it felt like I was flying, it also felt like I was falling. Then everything went still. It was so quiet I could hear myself breathing and from afar, I heard sounds of birds chirping away.

It was at that moment, I began taking in everything. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen in my entire life. A very thick forest surrounded the river and on one of the far ends, the Indian Ocean was sitting pretty.

One of the coordinators came down the rope and attached a harness to my chest and this changed my ‘head down, legs up’ position to a sitting posture.

I came down and felt like I had just won the lottery because I defeated my fear and there is no better feeling. To add the cherry on top, we sky-walked back to the entrance and this gave us a time-stopping scenery as pretty as a picture that laid right below our feet.

Segway tour in Tsitsikamma

When I saw this activity on our literary, I was excited because I felt like it would have resembled a road trip but on a two-wheeled, self-balancing transporter called a Segway.

We were first given a tour guide who gave us instructions on how to safely ride them and when each person needed to find their balance before we left for the National Park. It was such a scenic ride that led us to Storms River and then we turned back to the streets of Tsitsikamma.

Hiking at Giba Gorge and Storms River Suspension Bridge

I am a fan of hiking, but only in places that would have me pause in admiration of nature and South Africa offered me exactly that.

We first went for 1.5 Kilometres at Giba Gorge during an event called ‘Be You Experience’. This event was coordinated to celebrate nature, music and self-discovery.

At the main entrance, each person got an inked band and settled before the hike began. While some participants disappeared in nature, some were chatty with the family and friends they came with. Midway through the hike, we came to an abandoned house and a music set by DJ Musicman.

Hikers got soaked in the music, dancing the day away. He played some beats whose songs were familiar to the South Africans as they sang along.

His set opened the stage to more performances from different artists and at the end of the hike, people had the time of their lives.

Another hike was at Tsitsikamma National Park where gigantic waves kept on hitting the rocks that sat on the ocean shore. We began the hike on the wooden stairs that led the way to a three-part suspension bridge, which led to a bed of some round colourful stones I had only seen on Pinterest.

From afar, there were four small red-coloured boats floating under the bridges.

Canopy tour in Tsitsikamma Indigenous forest

Before we began this activity, the canopy tour guide insisted on being attentive to the instructions he would be sharing during the entire activity. We got harnessed and left for the forest.

Once we arrived, he reminded us of the important tips and then we began gliding from one treetop to the next. At some point, we were as high as 30 metres above the forest floor.

On each tree were wooden fliers that shared details about different things related to the forest; they were either fun facts or some historical fun related to the particular trees. Some of the posts were words of encouragement that motivated us to complete the tour to the very end.

As we were approaching the end of the tour, there was a cable on which we were supposed to hold onto differently compared to the others due to the way it was built and I had not heard clearly.

When it was my turn to glide from the treetop we were standing on to the other, I stopped midway and could no longer move.

Curiosity got the best of me and I slowly looked down to take note of how high I was hanging on the cable. I could make out Storms River that was flowing below and birds ruffling the leaves in the forest. I made it to the treetop by pulling myself across the cable.

After we got to the end, we did a quick hike of 600 metres that took us to the outskirts of the forest.

Durban nights

For the lovers of night outs, Durban is the place to be. We were given a glimpse of a club-like experience and a quiet night out that sort of felt like a group date.

We first visited Max’s Lifestyle Village, which is situated in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal. This was my first taste of South African local food. On the buffet was steamed bread, grilled chicken and Boerewors, which translates to farmer’s sausage.

One thing that caught my attention is a food called pap, which resembles Tanzania’s Ugali. The taste and ingredients used to cook Pap in South Africa are the same as in Tanzania, with exception of the fact that that they have different kinds of making it, it can be stiff, runny or soft.

Like the name of the place, Max's Lifestyle Village was like an actual village with shops that sold different products like skincare products, anklets, waist beads and clothes.

All these activities made my adventure worthwhile to the extent that when it was time to travel back to Tanzania, a part of me sought residence in South Africa so that I could reminisce on the good memories I made through the people I met throughout the entire trip.