For our Wandering Wednesday guest posts we ask a fellow travel blogger to highlight one place (city or entire country) that has been one of the most memorable for them. It can be a fond type of memorable, or “my hair caught on fire, I contracted rabies, and my luggage was stolen”- type of memorable. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We’re taking it all.
For today’s Wandering Wednesday, we’re featuring Gus and Claudette from Luggage in Hand. They took a leap of faith and asked for a leave of absence from their 9-5 jobs in Toronto, Canada in May of 2011. They quickly put up their home for rent, packed up their belongings, and decided to start their 12 month journey around the world. They even have a big goal to achieve while doing it… and that’s to see 25 countries is 365 days.
They created their Luggage in Hand blog as a way to tell their story and showcase their photos to their friends and family. They don’t necessarily consider themselves travel writers, but we think they’re great!
Where to find Gus and Claudette from Luggage in Hand:
Website: http://luggageinhand.com/
Twitter: @luggageinhand
Facebook: Luggage in Hand on Facebook
First things first, Why do you travel?
It’s a big world out there with plenty of things to see! For us, long-term travel is about learning to explore the world, while at the same time, pushing the limits and boundaries within ourselves. We’ve learned an incredible amount about different people and cultures from our travels, but also about how agile we really are and what we’re truly capable of.
What brought you to South Africa?
It was always a dream of ours to visit Africa. When we decided to go on our RTW trip, we knew it was the perfect time to go. We spent one month in Kenya and then made our way down to South Africa. It wasn’t enough time, but it gave us a small taste of what this amazing continent has to offer.
What was your most memorable experience (good or bad) from your time in South Africa?
Our most memorable experience was definitely our 14-day drive across South Africa- from Johannesburg to Durban, and then on to Cape Town. In the end, we clocked a total of 2,905 kilometers on the odometer and spent on average almost eight hours a day in the car! We had some great laughs during that car ride!
Any advice for travelers headed to South Africa?
South Africa is such a diverse country with so much to offer. Our best memories came outside of the big cities and within the small towns we came across while exploring. We would definitely recommend:
- spending time hiking through Drakensberg
- driving along the coast on the Garden Route
- staying a few days taking in the sun and beach at Cintsa
How did your experiences in South Africa change you as a person and how you feel about travel?
It’s hard to go there and not take something away with you. The landscape and scenery changed so much as we drove through the country. From the beautiful mountain ranges to the stunning coastline, there’s beauty and history in every corner of South Africa.
Okay, last question. Where are you headed next and why?
We are about eight and a half months into our RTW trip and are about to head to Indonesia, which will be our 21st country on this trip. From there, we’re off to Australia where we’ll spend about four weeks travelling through the South Eastern coast making our way up to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef. Life is good and we’re so grateful!
Do you or someone you know have a memorable experience from your travels? Want to be featured on one of our Wandering Wednesday posts? Send an e-mail to captainandclark@gmail.com
Thanks for inviting us to be a part of this guys. We had a great time looking back! Keep up the awesome blog – we love following along!
Thank YOU for participating! It’s always so fun to read everyone’s answers and now, thanks to you, we have “road trip around South Africa” on our bucket list.
Thank you so much for sharing this post, I love reading about other peoples experiences in Africa. We have been on safari there on numerous occasions and love every minute that were there, we are going back to Tanzania this year for a safari beach holiday, were fitting in a beach holiday to Mauritius this time.
We’re right there with you. It’s so fun to come along on fellow traveler’s adventures. Your big African trip sounds amazing. Tanzania holds a special place in our hearts. We’re definitely yearning to go back!