South African Road Trip Realities

When we first started planning this trip we had all these grandiose ideas of visiting all those tiny little small towns and, you know, seeing the WHOLE of South Africa. Within 2 weeks of travelling, it became evident that there was absolutely no way that was even remotely possible. Not only because of budget but because there is SO much to see.

Anyone that has a South African education will know how rich our country’s history is, but even then, it is only a tiny glimpse into the big picture. There are so many small towns within South Africa, places that were decimated in the wars, that eventually built themselves up again and are still thriving today. Okay, maybe thriving is too generous, but people live, work and raise families there. Even though there is nothing there that the media would consider note worthy. These are the places that too often are overlooked. Why would you want to holiday in Ermelo, for example? I mean, really now!

Well, we stayed in Ermelo for 3 days. There is lots to see there but the tourism centre was vague, at best, about how to get there and what to see. So, we spent a lot of time in the library. I managed to finish a novel over the period of 2 days.

But then we moved on to Hazyview and man, was that a completely different kettle of fish! I mean, how many awesome things can you jam into one place? Blyde River Canyon, God’s Window, the 3 Rondawels, Mac Mac Falls, Lisbon Falls AND Kruger National Park down the road. Talk about winning the tourism lottery! And that’s just Mpumalanga.

It makes you wonder why people would rather go clean toilets overseas than invest in their own country. There is a reason you were born here, you know? It’s easy to say that you’re worried about safety and concerned about crime but it’s not exactly something you can escape. Heaven knows it can (and does) happen while you’re happily ensconced in your home.

These past 9 weeks haven’t been idyllic, by any stretch of the imagination. It often felt like anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. But not stuff you’d expect. For example, we have, so far had to replace the dual bearing in our gearbox, buy a new laptop, replace 3 tyres & brake pads and buy new clothes for the kids (because they don’t stop growing, even while they’re on the road). There have been places that have been inaccessible for us because we don’t have a 4×4. We had to turn around within 7kms of the gate to Blyde River Canyon. My VW Polo just couldn’t make it up that 70 degree, gravel hill. And exploring Lesotho well…how do you say you’ve seen Lesotho unless you’ve conquered the Sani Pass?

Then, for kids who are absolutely desperate to see snow, we first had to leave Hogsback before the snow arrived. The same thing happened after we left Fouriesburg. So, if you want snow in your town, invite us to come and visit. It seems like we leave snow behind.

The thing is that this is incredibly tiring. The kids are home sick, the grown ups are frustrated and the wallet is empty. We have seen so much of our amazing country and would love to see more but less than enthusiastic tourism people aren’t coming alongside us to make this possible. We have had absolute gems do amazing things for us but the majority seem to have a serious case of the mehs!

To our followers and fans, THANK YOU for every little bit of support you have shown us. You are all awesome and you have done so much to spread the word about what we are trying to do. Every comment, retweet, like or share has gone a long way in increasing traffic and establishing us as a family travel blog.

Unfortunately, in order to request sponsorship and get the help we need to keep travelling, we need MORE people to come on board. We need more readers, likes, followers and people who think that what we are doing is going to benefit our country and who want to share that there is something worth saving about South Africa. We essentially need to increase the sharing network and get more people talking about what TazzDiscovers is doing.

Will you talk us up and spread the word about what we’ve been doing? We would really appreciate any suggestions you might have.