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SCATTERLINGS OF AFRICA

If you were born on the African continent you are a scatterling of Africa, You know about the dust, the smells, the sun and the heartbeat of Africa settles in you, but the most iconic scatterling of Africa undoubtedly is the legendary White Zulu. Johnny Clegg was born in Lancashire, England and moved via Zimbabwe to South Africa with his family. This is where he came in contact with township life and the heartbeat of African music. This was in the apartheid era and he was arrested several times due to his involvement with Black musicians. However, Johnny Clegg stayed true to the music that he loved, mixing pop music with strong Zulu influences and pursued a successful career locally and overseas. His voice is unmissable in the band recordings of Juluka and Suvuka. From 1993 onwards Johnny pursued a successful solo career and featured with his son Jesse Clegg… Read more >

SPAR EASTERN CAPE IS JOINING #PlasticFreeJuly

#PlasticFreeJuly is probably the biggest anti-plastic movement for 2019. It is thus comforting to see that big retailers like SPAR Eastern Cape has entered their next phase of STOP Plastic campaign earlier this week. Retailers are the link between manufacturers/distributors and consumers. It is them that thus sub-consciously force us to make better choice, to live a little greener. At a function at the Boardwalk Hotel in Port Elizabeth on Monday, Angelo Swartz, who will soon take over from Conrad Isaac as the SPAR EC managing director, said they were ready to strengthen their commitment to cleaning up the environment. These are no empty promises as SPAR EC has sold 4.3-million fewer plastic bags since the launch of the campaign in April 2018 compared to the corresponding period the previous year. However, both Isaac and Swartz agreed they needed to continue their commitment to the project in collaboration with various… Read more >

DO YOU NEED A VACCINATION FOR YOUR DESTINATION?

Vaccinations is a personal choice however there are some that is compulsory like Yellow Fever and for which a card is issued to confirm that you have been vaccinated. If you cannot show your Yellow Fever card after you have visited a high-risk area you stand the chance that the health authorities will probably give you one on the spot! I have seen this happening at Lungi Airport in Sierra Leone, so I rather play safe and get the vaccination at home. Getting vaccinations depends largely on where you plan to go and if you plan a prolonged stay and the destination that you are going to visit. Under destination this includes remote and poorer areas where health precautions is not as up to date compared to a formal five star hotel in a first world country. Am I a high-risk traveler? Destination – Developed countries = lower risk… Read more >

GETTING THE HANG OF TYRE PRESSURE

I am a Landy wife so I am sort of “expected” to know the right tyre pressure for the job or shall I say the terrain I am tackling to get me out of trouble when needed. So, here I go! First of all, there is a little (or bigger) sticker pasted on the inside of your door frame on the driver’s side that displays all kinds of figures. Make time to read and understand what it is telling you, it can make life a lot easier than a random thumb suck figure! Note ladies: these figures are recommended by the vehicle manufacturer in order to assist your driving pleasure and eradicate tyre problems. When you throw into the tyre pressure mix different surface types – sand, thick sand, pebbles, shaled surfaces, tar – the pot gets a different mix altogether. Another factor that adds a little salt to the… Read more >

WANDERING IN WILDERNESS

When you visit the beautiful village of Wilderness, that lies in the heart of the Garden Route, you will experience rivers, lakes, beaches and forest, all within easy reach of each other. With many accommodations to choose from this is a perfect base to explore from. You can spoil yourself with some good eateries, adventure activities (kloofing, abseiling, paragliding), excellent farmers markets and beach strolls. So, why NOT visit Wilderness? This is South Africa’s own lakes district. There are various bird hides along the lakes system that you can, well, hide in, to watch some bird life along the lakes. Find Gullilule and Malachite Bird hides for some splendid bird activity along the lakes. The chances are good that you will be the only person in the hide. By far one of the best kept secrets still in the Garden Route! Stop at Dolphin’s Point and enjoy the view both… Read more >

SMALL THINGS MATTER

#GlassAndAHalf #TheLittleGenerosityShop This year we have decided to live our motto that “Small things matter”. During our extensive travels in Africa and closer to home, South Africa, we have seen many scenes that makes you stop and say a little prayer saying thank you for what we have back home! Since the beginnings of our travels, when I was still a child, growing through my teenage years, as a young adult and even now, I’ve always had toys in the car to keep me busy. The only difference was that the toys became more and more expensive the older I got, because I was privileged like that. When you travel through different sections of the continent you very quickly realize just how fortunate you are and that the fluffy toy you wanted to buy from a National park’s curio shop, was in actual fact not necessary…. Read more >

TRAVELING AS A FAMILY

by Inge Some of you have read at least one of our articles and for some of you this may be the first one. Whether you are an avid follower of Travelbucket or a fly-by reader, I’m sure some have wondered how we actually do this whole thing they call TRAVEL. So here is our take on Family Travel. The Travelbucket Team is a team of three members. Dad (Carl) is the brains behind the trips. He is the gadget guy. The one responsible for the vehicle and all camping equipment. What he says, goes. After all, he IS the expert on tried and tested products. He is also the driver, instructor and brains behind the planning of all trips. Mom (Felicity) and owner of Travelbucket Blog is the typical mother hen. She has the responsibility of keeping our tummies full and keeping us hydrated. She is our walking, offline… Read more >