I travelled to South Africa with extremely high expectations but also with some worries over the high crime rate that everyone talks about and of course omikron. The trip wasn’t confirmed until i sat on the plane. Luckily nothing was cancelled. With the crime I learnt it’s like any other big cities - move around with common sense and omikron was rapidly going down in South Africa so didn’t see any of that.

I left Sweden 27 December with a temperature of minus 8. My skin was white and dry all over. To say the least, i was excited to go! Weather in South Africa is very unpredictable and we experieced some chilly and rainy days and evenings and some days with over 40 degrees. So what i didn’t know; pack clothes for almost 4 seasons.

I joined Nomad Adventure Tours in Durban and we travelled approx 3500km via Drakensberg and garden route to Cape Town during 13 days. A country and people that has (like many other) suffered from loss of tourism incomes over covid. That’s why it felt so incredibly good to do this trip and to support local companies and people in villages selling souvenirs and services. We have been treated with love and appreciation wherever we have been! Lodge owners that haven’t seen groups in 2 years were so happy we were there!.

The group that i travelled with, from mainly European countries, but also USA consisted of very well-travelled people. People that do not worry, complain or get stressed if situation is not exactly according to plan or not as comfortable as to what you are used to at home. People with social skills that are contributing to a nice and warm atmosphere. We spent the whole days together and i am surprised how well we all got on. I have made some friends for life!

South Africa has an unemployment rate of 40%. The townships (kåkstäder) are crowded with people without jobs. They do however get some help from the state. I find the country being hugely segregated with many of the countrys’ black people in the townships and white in the well organised towns and areas. It’s just an observation I have made but there is probably a lot more to it that i don’t know about.

The infrastucture in the country is well developed apart from maybe trainline and public transport such as busses, tubes and trams in the cities. It’s a well developed country in general and it’s not until you drive past enormous townships you realise that there are a lot of poor people in the country.

The prices in South Africa for Europeans are extremely low. The flight here is long and expensive but once you get here it’s sooooo cheap and for the quality you get it is really good value for money!

The country reminds me of America with all the chicken fast food restaurants and very large portions wherever you go, Australia because it offers a lot of adventurous outdoor activities and some places where surfers get together, New Zeeland because of big areas with green hills and of course Africa with all its culture, wild animals, wine and history. So much to explore and so much to do.

Two (or maybe three…) main problems they are struggeling with are poverty/inequalities and illegal hunting of wild animals - trofé hunting. The third quite irritating problem is that the toilet paper is too thin….. everywhere you go…. if you know what i mean, but with extremely clean public toilets everywhere and with soap and water to wash your hands it was not a big issue.

So thank you wonderful South Africa for showing me the best of what you can offer! It worked and I will definitely be back!

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