South Africans often ask me why I left the United States to move to South Africa. It’s not a purely inquisitive question, but one laced with a hefty dose of, “are you crazy.” And while it’s easy to formulate an answer explaining why I came here, it can be harder to articulate why I want to stay.
There are places I keep returning to, despite having a long list of travel destinations I want to explore. In South Africa, with three visits in nearly seven months, the place I keep returning to is Phinda, a private game reserve in KwaZulu Natal. This trip like all the others was truly amazing. I don’t know when I will be back, but I know I will return.
Every visitor who comes to South Africa and is going on safari asks me what to pack . . . and then they obsess, visit an outdoor store ten times, and obsess some more. I have seen guests climbing onto safari vehicles in skinny jeans clutching designer handbags as well as guests in vests covered in pockets, floppy hats, and those hideous pants that zip-off into shorts.
Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that this weekend I flew to Pietermaritzburg and drove 45 minutes to Hartford House for a meal. I have been slowly eating my way through the 2013 Eat Out Top 10 restaurants in South Africa and while I don’t get think I will get through the list this year, I have managed to eat at six of the top ten restaurants.
This week marks my one year anniversary in Johannesburg and after one year, I haven’t sufficiently explored my adopted city. This post marks the first installment entitled exploring Jozi. I had a free Sunday afternoon and I returned to one of my favorite spots, Market on Main at Arts on Main in the up and coming Maboneng precinct.
“Shoot, shoot, shoot” James Gradwell, my photography guide instructed. I was trying to get a shot of the tide coming in with Table Mountain looming in the background, but I only managed to get one photo because as I crouched in the sand the tide soaked through my pants.