The Natal Midlands has a magical draw to it and although there are many other fantastic destinations in South Africa, also offering a wide range of experiences to diverse audiences, there are some unmatchable aspects to it.
Each town has its own charm and it’s difficult to figure out what keeps their economies buoyant. For the most part, there are coffee shops and antique stores in each town that gives tourists a reason to stop and visit.
With sweat dripping down our faces, we catch the bus by a split second. We’re not too sure yet if it is, in fact, the correct bus, but we keep our fingers crossed. I’m trusting that my basic Italiano will not fail us today on this mission.
I am slowed down to a halt by a road worker waving a red flag just a few kilometres from my final destination. It’s in these moments on a dusty road in front of a stop-and-go boom that I begin to ponder if this might be how the magic dies for this whitewashed coastal town.
Our expectations of an ancient city with cobbled street, crumbling monuments, elaborate fountains and crazy vespa-filled traffic circles would soon come to pass. Once we had collected our luggage, we hastily exited the terminal to find any road that, as the popular idiom promises, would lead us to Rome.
Our plan for the next two weeks is a road trip exploring the Scottish Highlands and islands, recently rated by Lonely Planet as one of the best regions in the world to visit this year.
The connections between South Africa and the island of St Helena are numerous, given that Cape Town has shipped food and supplies to the remote British Overseas Territory ever since the two were bases of the Dutch and British East India Companies respectively.
Upon receiving an invitation to attend an April destination wedding in Inhambane, Mozambique, my scuba diving yearnings immediately increased. Visions of brilliant blue warm-water currents flooded my mind.
The sun is bright. In fact, so bright that I struggle to see out of the front window, thanks to the dust of the Ford Rangers in the convoy in front of us. We’re seriously climbing up this mountain over rocks and ridges…
A red Coca Cola-branded water tank, a light blue skedonk with its bonnet buried in the ground, and a signboard that reads “Free Wi-Fi” indicated that this must be it. It’s hard to believe that there’s any form of network connection here so we remained sceptical…
