Marleen and her boyfriend set off on their SA trip to get a feel for the country before moving here for an internship. They plan on seeing so much more.
Marleen decided to share her South African experience with her boyfriend. He had never left Europe before and she wanted to show him where she would be staying during an internship. Marleen shared her thoughts with Good Things Guy on this SA trip and gave us some great insight into the experience of being tourists in South Africa.
We started the trip off in Joburg but didn’t see anything of the city as we just picked up our hire car and left towards Kruger. I regret this afterwards, but guess that just means that we have to come back! The other parts we missed on our way along the coast were the Drakensberg and we didn’t see much of the Wild Coast. Inland we didn’t do too much besides going up to Oudtshoorn and the small Karoo. I’ll definitely go back for these bits as well.
Marleen shared her thoughts on how beautiful SA is and it is filled with amazing people from so many backgrounds.
But the other parts we did were just amazing. It is incredible how diverse this country is and there’s a surprise waiting for you around every corner. Everywhere we went people were so hospitable and friendly. “Welcome to South Africa” is what you would get from any local you spoke to; just made you feel really welcome and I think that’s not something you find in every place or country you go to. As we stayed with people on Airbnb most of the time, meeting locals and get to know a little bit about them was quite easy and then, of course, you meet people from all over along the way.
We asked Marleen to share her favourite part of the SA trip with us and she shared this,
We didn’t really plan ahead, just made up a rough route and were then winging it day by day, which I find is the best way to go as it encourages you to explore somewhere new every day and there is this simple joy you take from that. Stumbling over all these beautiful spots along the way and the scuba diving we did, these were probably my favourite parts of the whole adventure.
Lastly, Marleen shared her views as a tourist in South Africa. She noticed the struggles and beauty that live side-by-side. None of this discouraged her, only opened her eye’s to what South Africa is truly like.
I think for tourists it is a beautiful country to travel to in which you can find anything for any budget. The landscapes, the food, the two oceans and the diversity of the cultures you experience as you travel through this country is something really special.
Yet, we found that when you leave the touristy pathways you begin to realise that there are a lot of issues South Africa struggles with; I’d say it’s a country full of light and shadow.
You can watch the full video of their SA trip below.
by 