NAMIBIA Turning hurt into hope
There are a few rare trips you do in your life that you remember forever. Those trips are more than "holidays" - more than a pleasant break from routine, in other words. They're formative experiences that give you much more than a suntan.
In December 2021, our family did one such trip. It was the tail end of the Covid-19 pandemic and new variants lurked in every news broadcast. PCR tests were compulsory at borders around the world. On top of all the virus dread, my wife Jess had recently lost her mom to cancer. We were a family in the throes of grief, both immediate and abstract, with Christmas plans dashed and an uncertain festive season ahead.
One night, Jess and I made an impulsive decision: Let's go to Namibia. The boys were only seven and nine years old, but we could all get PCR tests and go for a long drive. Drive and drive until it all felt better.
At the time, tourism businesses were desperate. Although travel was allowed, Covid had wreaked havoc. There were ridiculously cheap specials everywhere. We found accommodation in lodges that we'd never have been able to afford under normal circumstances.
With our itinerary locked and loaded, we packed the Subaru Outback and went north, into the shimmering heat of a Namibian summer.
Esta historia es de la edición February/March 2025 de go! - South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February/March 2025 de go! - South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
My best holiday ever
Most holidays are enjoyable, but some stand out for different reasons. Something on that trip - be it a destination or an experience - stays with you. Seven writers tell us about the getaways they'll never forget.
Choose a wild life
Africa is the home of the safari, and who unlocks this experience for tourists? An experienced, knowledgeable field guide, that's who. But how does it feel to sit behind the wheel of a Land Cruiser twice a day, answering the same questions over and over?
The day I almost became a Himba bride
Why do we travel, asks Sophia van Taak? One reason is to see how other people's lives differ from our own. But sometimes it's what we have in common that's most surprising.
BIRDS
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR BIRDERS
Benin for the Bokke
By late October 2023, adventurers Jean Cooper and De Witt Oosthuizen were somewhere in the middle of Nigeria. Their plan was to be in neighbouring Benin in time to watch the Springboks play in the final of the Rugby World Cup. But they ran into roadblock after roadblock..
There's something about White River
White River is on a hill between Mbombela and Hazyview. You're a bateleur swoop from the Kruger Park, the Panorama Route and the Sudwala Caves, but why rush through? Come see what the town has to offer.
A farm stall? Here?
The Tankwa Karoo usually looks like Mars. It's an empty landscape where you can sometimes see the outline of a springbok shimmering in a distant mirage. It's remote. The main road, the R355, cuts a lonely 250 km slice from Ceres to Calvinia. The last thing you expect to see is a farm stall...
SKRIK VAN RONDOM FARM STALL, REDELINGHUYS
The road from Piketberg to Elands Bay leads from the Swartland through the Sandveld to the reeds of Verlorenvlei.
In a holy land
English explorer William Burchell stopped recording his southern African exploration at a Tswana settlement called Litakun, in the koppies north-west of modern-day Kuruman. As we make our way there, it becomes clear: South Africa is a sacred place.
Two's company
If you could park two Fords in your dream garage, which would they be? Most of us would pick the mighty Mustang and an apex bakkie like the Raptor, but there's also an awesome new Tourneo minibus that throws a spanner in the works...
