3 Epic Months in South Africa: The Recap

I really don’t know where to begin recapping these last few months. That is pretty evident by the fact that I’m starting with Johannesburg, despite it being my absolute last stop on the trip. What started off as a simple photo dump escalated into explosive photographic diarrhea. I clearly don’t have a beautiful way with words, which is why I opt for pictures to tell stories.

However, the sheer number of pictures I posted at least needed some context and details. That escalated into me sitting in my dorm bed for eight straight hours, to the point that my friend asked me if I was depressed from having my phone pickpocketed the other night. I mean, it did put a little damper on my mood but despite it, I am leaving South Africa with a full and happy heart and a lifetime’s worth of memories.

Here are those memories, except the ones that I forgot (and the ones that were forever lost on my phone).

Johannesburg

Beneath its rough and gritty exterior is a city bursting with life. The dilapidated buildings and decrepit walls splattered with beautiful murals define the city. It lacks the natural beauty that blessed so many other parts of South Africa, the tourist hubs that many travelers understandably skip Johannesburg for.

It may not be naturally beautiful but there is beauty everywhere. However, that beauty wasn’t gifted to the city, it was crafted by it. It was created by the inspired voices and the adept hands of its people.  Each mural you see wasn’t painted overnight. It was a process that took years of grit and dedication to one’s craft.

Those murals are a metaphor for Johannesburg. Every wall, every musician, every artist, every shattered window and tired face has a story to tell. What you see on the surface only tells a fraction of the story. The tenacious hustle of each individual is what brings Joburg to life. Hustle’s not just a word here. It’s their entire culture.

Color

Grit

Curiocity – The Home Base

Soweto

A trip to Soweto was my first real venture into a side of South Africa that many travelers choose to ignore. I’ll save you the clichéd travel tale of how such an experience changed my life. Seeing the scars of apartheid still so present is a hard reality for anyone to process, yet seeing the happiness and humanity in what some might consider inhuman conditions brings hope for a brighter future.

Cape Town

I started this epic journey with a month and a half in Cape Town. The first month was spent with PACK. Coworking Retreats as our group of rough-and-tumble digital nomads took on the city together. We shared sunsets and cervezas, sob stories and sleepless nights, and built bonds that would last as we jetted off to our respective homes at the end of the month. Except me of course. I missed my flight, an impulse decision that led to a sweeping whirlwind adventure.

Table Mountain

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Revisiting a few of my favorite places through old photos. A little over a year ago, I spent two months in Cape Town at the beginning of the sizzling African summer. The first thing one notices is Table Mountain in the background, impossible to ignore. Still, I was skeptical at why it was crowned one of the world’s Seven Natural Wonders. It was incredible, but of all the marvels the world had to offer? • Over the course of two months, it showed me why over and over again. Table Mountain was always in the background, stoic and unwavering in its watch over Cape Town. Yet it was also ever-changing, and never just blended into the background like things usually do when you’ve seen them a million times over. It was as fluid as the clouds blanketing it, or the sun rays basking it in its golden glows and shadows, the light sneaking into every craggy corner of its jagged facade. Three photos shot from the same spot within a span of minutes, delivering completely different results. Miss this place. 🇿🇦

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Lion’s Head

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Sunsets

Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

Miscellaneous

91 Loop – The Home Base

Lion’s Head

Side Adventures Into The Winelands

Garden Route Adventures

Following the impulse decision to remain in South Africa, I opted to leave Cape Town (which is basically Europe). The first leg of the journey was the Garden Route. I landed an awesome project with Baz Bus, a popular door-to-door transportation option for backpackers all the way from Cape Town to Johannesburg. I commandeered their Instagram for the following weeks as I weaved my way along the Garden Route to the Wild Coast and eventually all the way up to Johannesburg.

Robberg Nature Reserve

Tsitsikamma

Knysna, Wilderness, Sedgefield

A Little Foray Into The Klein Karoo

Coffee Bay

The Wild Coast indeed. Whether it is called that for its violent coastline, untamed countryside, or lack of any of your usual comforts, wild might be the only way to describe it. A few days here spent in the Xhosa village of Rini was my first real experience outside of the tried-and-true tourist trails. I gorged myself on stunning views and on pap, a cloud-like food that could only be described as a rice-bread-potato hybrid that is also somehow none of those things.

Eastern Cape Drive-by Views

KwaZulu-Natal

My first stop in KZN took me to the muggy hub of Durban, madness compared to the serenity I had gorged myself on along the safe confines of the Garden Route. Behind the city’s chaotic exterior lies a unique charm, one that took a while to grow accustomed to but one that drew me in regardless. Despite the initial reluctance to step out on my own, I ended up exploring as many corners of the city as I could.

From its surprisingly modern downtown areas to the extremely traditional muthi market, I found Durban to hold an impressive range. I spent a morning exploring a modern space that reimagined trash and waste in a unique way to create one of the most beautiful urban gardens I had ever seen. Then in the afternoon, I held my breath as the stench of dried animals, skinned monkeys, and god-knows-what-else filled the air of the local healers market. Thankfully, I was able to catch a breath of fresh ocean air along the endless strip of beach where thousands of people gathered to wind down and remember to enjoy life. Durban is a vibe that can’t be missed out on.

Durban

Do you ever think about how many different crazy things have to happen for you to end up where you are? Going with the flow has always been my thing, whether it’s being too lazy to plan or being too chill to care what happens. However, this South African expedition was the least prepared I had ever been.

It was also my first real time traveling during a peak holiday season. What was I going to do for Christmas? For New Year’s? My usual method of taking things day by day was all of a sudden no longer an option. Everything was booked and I didn’t feel like waltzing off into some random party by myself.

Rewind two years ago to Cusco, Peru. Actually, no, let’s take it back further to a few weeks before in Colombia. I was on my first real solo trip and very lost and clueless. I meet a group of British backpackers and decide to tag along for a bit. I assumed they had a plan (they probably didn’t) and I was an orphan so why not?

We split off at some point, reunited in Lima, hiked Machu Picchu together and then found ourselves back in Cusco, Peru. They had met a South African a few weeks prior and we all decide to meet up. The Brits catch their bus to Bolivia later that night, leaving me with Andrew. We drank on the steps of an old church for a few hours before parting ways. We would reunite once again in La Paz, Bolivia a few weeks later on the last night of the British girls’ trip. A mandatory exchange of Instagram handles and a teary farewell later, I thought that was that.

Until I set foot in South Africa. Andrew had moved to London at this point but had been religiously following my Cape Town adventures via Instagram. Our paths were not meant to intertwine but thanks to my missed flight and the holiday season, fate played its hand. We had not really spoken in two years, but does that stop someone like Andrew from being the most stand-up guy you could imagine?

I spend a few days at his family’s beautiful farm in the lush countryside of KwaZulu-Natal, preparing for a New Year’s festival that thankfully took care of my New Year’s worries. Two years ago, I found myself drinking outside of a church with a random guy in Peru and next thing I know, I am helping the same guy build a flippin’ dragon in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Life comes at you fast.

That festival was one of the best damn times of my life, by the way. In all my years of traveling, I don’t think I have ever felt so welcomed and loved by a massive group of people who really had no obligation to even acknowledge me. South African hospitality, man. It is something else. Love you guys.

My Brus and Bru-ettes

Like really, I mean it. This trip would not have been remotely as good as it was if it weren’t for all of you insanely amazing people that were with me every step of the way. From my PACK. fam that I spent a month with to my fellow backpackers that I might have just shared a beer and a laugh with, all of you have made it an unforgettable trip. All of the locals who have made me feel like home and shared your love of South Africa with me, thank you. Or shot bru or whatever you weirdos say. It wouldn’t have been the same without y’all.

To maintain the integrity of this immense photo dump, I have opted to only publish pictures I deemed pretty enough to post. So to all of the friends I have made that only appear in drunken Snapchats and ugly selfies, I apologize that you didn’t make the cut. I still love you guys regardless.

PACK. Cape Town

Island Vibe – Jeffrey’s Bay

Smoking Dragon Fam (like 10% of the fam)

Reveler Tours

Game Drives

And because I don’t want to end it on such a cheesy note, here’s some badass pics of lions and cheetahs and shit.

63 thoughts on “3 Epic Months in South Africa: The Recap”

  9. Oh my no wonder you needed 3 months to do all this. I’ve never been but it looks so diverse in culture, nature and activities you’d have to find something there you liked.

  10. Wow! What a trip of a lifetime! So many incredible places and things to do in South Africa! The landscape is just gorgeous!

  14. I have a chance to go anywhere in the world, and this is the one place that I hadn’t considered, until now. So beautiful!

  20. I’m South African and I love that you teavelled as extensively as you did in this magical place! I’m a Joburg resident born and bred. We don’t get our diverse and high energy city featured much by travel bloggers, which is sad! Nice to see you had something good to say about it.

    There is a ton to do here, and the city’s location serves as a good launchpad to places like Kruger National Park

    Thanks for the great review!

  21. You really captured beautiful photos and moments! Lion Head is now on my travel bucket list as I can’t get over how magical it is!! You must’ve experienced a lot during that trip! I can’t wait to have my own experiences there.

  23. So many things to love about South Africa! It’s really beautiful out there. Such a wonderful place to take a wonderful vacation.

  25. Your photos are fantastic! I love that you have visited less touristy places as well and discovered some real gems of South Africa. I would love to travel there sometime and interact with the locals, same as you did.

  28. I have always wanted to visit South Africa. Your trip looked absolutely incredible. All of the photos and activities especially Cape Town I am dying to do! -Tonya Morris

  29. Your photos are amazing! You would totally need to keep notes to keep track of all you saw along the way. I’m sure you will remember the experiences for a long time.

  33. WOW you took a lot of photos and they are all amazing… You captured so much! I can imaging the memories you made…An adventure of a lifetime huh….and Cape town is just beautiful

    1. the pictures i posted are only maybe 3% of the total pictures i actually took haha. Too beautiful to capture it all

  38. you captured some really amazing pictures during your trip! I couldn’t stop looking at them all… I mean whoa, what a trip.. thank you so much for sharing your snaps 😊

  39. wow wow wow! What an incredible recap and few months you have had! Some amazing pictures and stories and those sunset pics are just amazing!

  43. wow! the trip looks so amazing, I wouldn’t mind you posting couple of recaps more! I really want to visit South Africe myself one day

  44. Such stunning pictures, you really did experience everything that South Africa had to offer – the holiday of a lifetime

  47. That’s quite a vacation! There is so much beauty in your photos; I don’t know what part of South Africa is my favorite!

  52. It definitely seems worth it to me! What a beautiful place it is! I’d love to visit someday in the future, perhaps when my children are a little older

  55. South Africa looks like such a vibrant and beautiful country. Your 3 months look awfully thrilling! Loved the photographs 🙂

  57. Your pictures are awesome. Well captured . IM From joburg but i stay in Cape Townnow and to see you appreciate Joburg art and our beautiful Cape Town is AWESOME. Big ups !

  58. Wow…lovely post…..truly an epic trip I should say. I liked the fact that you chose to venture to places that travellers ignore. Stunning photographs…Sunset, beaches and the art work is just too good.

  59. I can see how much passion and time went into collecting and illustrating your experiences. South Africa is just stunning and I am so lucky to be a resident here.

    Eli, you did such justice to my beautiful country and inspired others to visit too.

    What do you think of our blog post on Africa?

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