Driving South Africa - Introduction

It’s 4am on a Saturday morning. The car is packed to the brim, the coffee is hot, and the fuel tank is full. We are ready to take on the open road. I have always believed that the sound of the seatbelt clicking into its buckle resembles the perfect officiant of a road trip.

About the only thing we planned about this trip was the direction in which we would drive, and a few friends and family members we would visit along the way. That being said, this road trip ended up teaching me that the best trips are those unplanned. During the 30 days on the road, we visited 5 of the 9 provinces, 13 towns, and covered about 5000km (3106 miles).

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Some of the highlights included a 4.5km zipline adventure through the biggest gorge in South Africa, seeing about 900 hippos in one space, and visiting Blood River - one of the most significant heritage sites in the country. We spent nights in big towns and small towns. We spent some days lying on the beach, and others in front of fireplaces drinking homemade Gluhwein. These instances truly illustrate the diversity of not only the geography of South Africa but the people too.

During the course of the next few blogs I relive some of these experiences with fellow Steemians with the hope of encouraging you to look for adventure on home-ground before feeding the urge to pack your passport.