Rediscovering hidden gems in Southern Africa

This country’s vastness, as well as the huge variety of destinations and attractions, is simultaneously a joy and curse. Mzansi’s 1.22 million square kilometre sprawl is fast becoming a source of delight and frustration as South Africans take to the roads of their own country after the relaxation of Covid travel restrictions: there is so much to see and too little time in which to do so.

The beauty of the off-the-beaten-track travel experience

Now, more than ever before, domestic travellers are suffering from FOMO. Part of our fear of missing out stems from the haste that almost inevitably attends our journeys from home to destination and back. C’mon, admit it, the phrase “going nowhere slowly” has just about disappeared entirely from our vocabularies.

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I spend a heck of a lot of time driving or riding around Southern Africa and, believe me, my personal experience is that 99% of the sub-continent constitutes the back of beyond. However, by the same token, some of the greatest gems I’ve discovered along coast and through hinterland lie hidden in plain sight… albeit off the so-called beaten track. In most cases, everyone knows about these places – think the Wild Coast, Karoo, Namaqualand and northern KwaZulu-Natal to name a couple – but few make the effort to get there.

The hidden gems of Southern Africa

In other cases, memorable places go by practically unnoticed as we speed from Point A Go off beaten track with our new series to Point B. On Wednesday, I stopped for lunch at the top of Van Reenen’s Pass while on the way from the Drakensberg to Joburg. It was the first time I’d done so since I was a kid roadtripping with my folks half a century ago and, I can assure you, I didn’t realise what I’d been missing. Similarly, I only knew Sutherland in the Northern Cape as a place regularly referred to on news and weather reports as either home to the Southern African Large Telescope or the coldest place in the country.

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There might not be a million things to do or see (apart from stars) but an account of my recent visit on the following pages shows that it is a fascinating place in which to spend a few days, especially with a partner. Citizen Travel has accordingly started a periodic series of travel features called Southern Crossroads to bring some of these unheralded destinations to the attention of its readers. These are places you’ll encounter when you turn left or right at a road junction instead of going straight on to your planned destination.

Embarking on a thrilling expedition into uncharted travel territories

In the months ahead, this newspaper’s intrepid travel writers (myself included, God willing) will show you there is a world of difference between – for instance – Somerset West and Somerset East… that you might know Stanford and Arniston, but have been overlooking Elim and Baardskeerdersbos between the two. In the process, we hope to debunk some myths and create a few legends. We might even include a couple of regional specialty recipes and introduce you to what might initially seem to be quite wacky local customs (some of these might involve the intake of alcohol).

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Be warned: quite a few cases will entail journeying into areas where, in days of yore, navigators encountered uncharted territory annotated with the injunction “Here be Monsters!” or, in its 21st centure equivalent, “No Cellphone Reception”. You’d be well advised to buy the Automobile Association’s Book of the Road and learn how to read a map as well as you are able to follow Waze. Hang on baby, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride!

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