My Travel Essentials
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I landed in Atlanta, GA after a 15 hour flight from Johannesburg. I was tired, had hardly slept, my ears hurt from wearing either earphones or earplugs the entire trip and all I wanted was to contact home and let them know I was safe. In my drowsiness and altitude-hangover, I ran to the nearest tech store and grabbed an American charger and SIM card. I tapped my card and before I knew it, I had spent $90 on these two items.
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Everything was dandy until I arrived in Charlotte, NC and was taken to camp where I would be working for the next 3 months. In the middle of Pisgah National Forest wifi was limited and signal was so spotty. My data ran out before I knew it and it would be way too long to wait for the van to take me into town before my parents put out an APB on me for not responding to them.
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I had remembered seeing these Tiktoks about a virtual SIM card so I decided to search it up and see if it would work. Airalo popped up first on my screen and I went for it. Safe to say, it was the easiest and best thing I could have done and saved the local sheriff's office 100 calls from my mother to find out how I'm doing.
Camp Carolina, NC
Seagulls stealing our food at Robberg Nature Reserve
Am I the only one who has thousands of half-used diaries and journals lying around amongst piles of scrap paper notes and pens without their lids on? Since school days I have yet to find an organisation system that works for me. If I mess up one word, it's over and I have to start again. I tear pages out and try to refile them in a way that suits my brain but nothing seems to fit right. All these online platforms aren't laid out or formatted efficiently for my taste. It's even worse when I am planning trips, until I found Wanderlog.
Whoever they are, they just get me. It's literally like they looked into my mind and created something that solved all my problems and then added extra features. Honestly, we would have been so lost and disorganised on our Garden Route Road Trip if I hadn't used Wanderlog for my budgeting, flight information, hotel and Airbnb reservations, notes, reminders etc. etc. They show you the directions to places, can calculate the most efficient route for all your stops, you can add your own photos of places and make guides for other people as well. My proudest achievement in life is that I am ranked Seasoned Adventurer on the app.
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I do not go anywhere, plan anything, without it. I have trips planned out that I might not ever go on, but they're there just in case. It's like my bucket list as well and everyone I recommend it to falls in love as well. They have a free plan and a paid Pro plan; I'm on the free plan and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything, it's so comprehensive. So this is a shoutout to my heroes at Wanderlog, you guys are killing it!
My best attribute has always been my incredible gift-giving ability. I PRIDE myself on giving great presents, but I'm not so great at receiving gifts. I get all awkward and shy and don't feel like I said "thank you" enough. I'm also just a very particular person; very fussy with clothes and room decor but at the same time also very simple, I don't use fancy creams and always forget to light my hoard of candles. I don't know if it was my influence (I like to think it was) but recently, my boyfriend has been giving me STELLAR gifts. He's great at determining a need. He somehow figures out a solution to a problem I didn't even know I had and does it in style.
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Last Christmas he gave the the most beautiful leather handbag from Freedom of Movement (a local South African brand) with a 1000 different compartments, just as my old one started to break - great timing. Then, as I was about to leave for America, he gave me a travel wallet from the same brand with a note and photos of him in it and I kid you not, I use it every. single. day. Before it, I would just chuck money and cards and slips and coins in whichever compartment was easiest. It's slim and easily accessible, holding plane tickets, passports, medical aid cards and more.
Since I couldn't cart my big handbag with me across the world, the travel wallet helped so much as I could slip it into any bag I was using and it took up no space at all. You can get them almost anywhere, but the quality from FOM is unmatched and I'm a huge advocate for buying local #localislekker.
Mom with her new beignet friends in NOLA
You are going to meet some amazing people on your travels. People who show you cool places or invite you over for dinner or even who watch your bags while you run to the loo. Sometimes, just the smallest gesture means so much, especially if you're travelling alone. My dad gave me a whole bunch of local souvenirs to take with me overseas. He told me that it somehow makes them feel like you helped them in return. By giving them a small "thank you", it
gives them something to remember you by or even encourages them to visit you in your home country in the future.
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You can find souvenirs almost anywhere, but I like to visit AIDS centres where they sell crafts made by locals, Woza Moya, in support of the fight to end the spread of the sickness. I buy beaded earrings, packs of playing cards with African images or even just hand-painted postcards.
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Travelling is all about experiencing a new place but it can also be so daunting; don't take the kind people you meet for granted.
Saying goodbye to campers
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My camera and 3 lenses: Nikon D3400, Nikkor 18-55mm, 70-300mm and 50mm
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Lowepro Camera Bag (doubles as my everyday backpack because it is so spacious).
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3 x 128GB memory cards from SanDisk - my favourite brand and personally most reliable.
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A crossbody bag. You can hardly ever go wrong with these. They are easy to travel in because you hardly ever have to take them off. Everything is so conveniently right in front of you where you can also keep an eye on it. I got my Oak and Reed one from Marshalls for like $12 but it's no longer available unfortunately. This one from Amazon seems quite similar.
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A large waterbottle: while in the US for summer camp, I ended up covering my waterbottle in stickers from every place I visited. It is now my prized possession and I am going to start doing it every trip from now on.
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Carabiners: they are the handiest things I didn't know I needed. I clipped my cap and bottle to my bag every day or hung my fake Crocs from it if I was going on a hike and swim with the kids.
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Earplugs. Trust me, you get used to the feel of them but you don't get used to the person snoring next to you in a hostel or the noises of a bar outside your window at 3am. I like my sleep, thank you.
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Nova Fitness Trainers from Mr Price Sport. When I tell you they are the comfiest shoes I have ever put on my feet, it is the absolute truth. They are easy to slide on and off, breathable, cleanable/machine washable, double as water shoes if you forgot yours and go with most casual outfits. Find similar on Amazon here.
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SUNGLASSES. Pretty obvious, I know, but they are so necessary and also pull together almost any look. When travelling, comfort is key but sometimes that sacrifices style, so a nice pair of sunnies can go a long way.
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A sunglasses chain !!! I honestly wished I had had one while I was in America, it may have prevented my vintage RayBans from ending up lost that the bottom of Sliding Rock.
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I'm sure as my travels continue, this list will grow to be several pages long, but off the top of my head, this is it for now. If you have any recommendations, send them through via the button below - any piece of advice helps!
