Africa, I can see you from here.

I am a South African, born and bred. My heart is embedded deep in the African roots and I consider this beautiful continent to be far more than just my home, she is my soul mate. You would think, considering my love for this place that I would have done a fast amount of travelling in it, but sigh, that is not even near the truth, besides having recently ventured across to Thailand my travelling history comprised of. . . . well not much really. I have explored my home town of Cape Town as much as possible and I have seen what there is of Johannesburg and East London, but other than that, I have been forced to view revolving pictures of the places I dream to visit. I’m a pretty free spirited person at heart; I love adventure and the thrill of new experiences and most importantly I LOVE to travel. Even though, I haven’t seen much of the world, it took nothing more than a trip to Thailand for me to get a serious bite from the travel bug and it’s safe to say that I can no longer stand to be in one place for long, all I want to do is see, taste, explore and experience, I desperately want to travel. So, it was whilst planning my next overseas trip to Italy, that I stumbled upon a fact that I was, well, quite humiliated to realise. I began to wonder why I, and so many other young first time travellers, are so desperate to travel overseas before even exploring their own countries or better yet, the countries that make up their own continent. I am so desperate to leave home but I haven’t even given myself the opportunity to explore my own back yard. I live in one of the most culturally and physically diverse continents in the world, where every square inch is filled with beauty and wonder and I haven’t even seen it yet. So, it was with this realisation that I decided to put Italy on hold and began planning a three week trip to my neighbouring countries in an effort to not only discover what Africa has to offer but to release the inner African in me. A true “roughing it” experience is in the works which let’s be honest, doesn’t comprise of much, so this could possibly be one of the cheapest holidays I’ll ever embark on. Score. To be honest though, I really am unbelievably excited. I recently read a book called the “Elephant Whisperer” written by Lawrence Anthony about his journey with a group of “unruly” elephants that ended up on his game reserve after he was the only one who would take them and save them from a devastating fate. He formed a bond with these elephants that is like no other I have ever heard of, he was able to not only communicate with these animals but he gained their trust and their loyalty, a true feat with a herd of wild animals. The book touched a place in my heart and I haven’t been able to shake the feeling since. Now, besides desperate to see elephants, all I want to do is smell the African bush and feel the environment that houses those beautiful creatures. So, out come the old tents, sleeping bags and plastic mugs. . . I’m sure this will be one hell of an adventure and I will fill you in on its progress.