Whether you’re a hiker, an island hopper or an explorer, this article will quench your travelling thirst.

Need inspiration for your next adventure? Four local women share the places and experiences that have touched them most deeply.   

Lira

The songstress  

In 2001, Lerato Molapo quit her accounting job and threw herself into a singing career. With her velvet voice, she’s performed for former presidents Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, and her iconic status motivated Mattel to fashion a Barbie doll after her – it has her signature short hair and a billowing Ankara fabric dress.  

‘ IT ALMOST BRINGS ME TO TEARS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT – MOTHER EARTH AT HER MOST I. GLORIOUS. ’ 

She’s known to us as Lira, a cultural treasure who, in May this year, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut album. Escaping is something Lira loves to do, and she has been deeply affected by her travels within Africa. Her first time out of South Africa was on tour in Namibia. “We travelled with a truck that transformed into a concert stage.  

Swakopmund, especially, took my breath away: the ocean alongside a vast, empty desert is quite magical. I even went skydiving while I was there; witnessing that contrast of desert and ocean from above is surreal.  

You see the red sand dunes and how the sun hits the sand. It almost brings me to tears just thinking about it – Mother Earth at her most glorious. I’ve been back to Namibia often.  

“One of my all-time best holidays was on a boat, island-hopping along the coast of Madagascar. We saw all the best parts – the pristine, very beautiful and idyllic natural wonders that one associates with Madagascar and its clear blue waters. But we also had opportunities to go ashore and visit villages and engage with local people.”  

Jay Roode  

The photographer

“I’ve always been passionate about nature conservation,” says Johannesburg-based photographer Jay Roode, who has traversed Africa to capture the most riveting images. Much of that exploring took place in a tiny four-seater plane, piloted by her husband, Jan, as they surveyed southern Africa from the sky.   

The couple’s travels can be seen in Aerial Art, their self-compiled book brimming with captivating images of wild habitats taken from above. “We’ve had many spectacular experiences – and disasters,” Jay recalls.  

“We’ve had our propeller chewed off by a zebra in Namibia, had hyenas eating our tyres in Botswana and we had a spectacular crash on Matemo Island off the coast of Mozambique.” While Jay is rhapsodic about the saltpans and wetland lagoons south of Walvis Bay, she loves seaside holidays in Mozambique, where you can hop on a boat to the islands within the Bazaruto Archipelago.  

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“Seeing those fishing dhows with their butterfly sails, drifting across that beautiful turquoise water – it’s like being in a parallel universe,” she says. “That coastline never fails to take my breath away, and I love the simplicity of snorkeling along the shore and braaiing on the beach.” The Aerial-Africa founders also find that a break from city life is closer than you might think.   

“I love staying near tiny Rosendal or in the Maluti mountains in towns like Ficksburg, Fouriesburg or Clarens, which are very close to Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The mountains are ravishing and it’s especially exquisite during cosmos season,” says Jay.  

Saray Khumalo

The adventurer  

In May 2019, Saray Khumalo became the first black African woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.  

She had been climbing for just seven years, during which she’d reached the summits of Mera Peak and Lobuche East in Nepal, Elbrus (Europe’s highest mountain) and Mount Aconcagua (South America’s highest mountain).  

She is also the first African woman to reach the South Pole, and has since conquered the highest peaks in Africa, Antarctica and North America.  

‘ I LOVE HIKING – THE FACT THAT YOU CAN BE WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND YET STILL BE ON YOUR OWN, ABLE TO PRACTICE INTROSPECTION.’  

One of Saray’s favourites is Sani Pass, a steep and staggering road linking KwaZulu-Natal to Lesotho. She knows the pass like the back of her hand, having trained there ahead of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. “At the top of Sani Pass – 2 876m above sea level – you just want to have a cold drink.   

Fortunately, up there at the lodge is Africa’s highest [situated] pub. Instead of hiking up and down, you can drive up and spend the night at the lodge [which is now called the Sani Mountain Escape]. I have good memories of staying at the backpackers there.” Saray is not only about high-impact adventures but enjoys relishing in the tranquillity of the outdoors with good people.  

“I love hiking – the fact that you can be with a group of people and yet still be on your own, able to practice introspection. One of the finest hikes I’ve ever done in South Africa is the Otter Trail on the Garden Route. There is no intense climbing but it’s so beautiful and pristine – one minute you’re on the beach, the next moment you’re in thick indigenous forest, and then you’re at a rock pool.”  

For a quick hike, Magaliesberg is a must: “I love that within a short drive – an hour or two – from the concrete jungle of Sandton, I can get lost in nature, reconnect and spend a few affordable days in the countryside.”  

Nomonde Makaula

The tourism fundi 

Nomonde Makaula works for the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, where she’s responsible for tourism development. She is passionate about encouraging people – especially fellow South Africans – to visit some of the country’s lesser-explored areas.   

“The most beautiful part of the Eastern Cape is the Wild Coast. I love the scenic beauty, the wild ocean, the waterfalls… So many of them all along the coast. In one area, you can hike for a full day and see at least five spectacular waterfalls, including Waterfall Bluff and Magwa Falls,” she says.  

“The other magnificent part of my province is the southern Drakensberg Mountains, which are ranged against the province’s border with Lesotho. Hiking in this area takes your breath away with its wonderful contrasting landscapes of tall mountains, vast grasslands, wetland birds and expansive views.”  

Nomonde recommends using the Mehloding Adventure Trail to get the best views of the landscape. It’s managed by a community trust and starts at the Malekhalonyane Chalet near Mariazelle, a church and mission station established about 100 years ago. Following the trail to Qacha’s Nek, you can expect to be blown away by natural pools to swim in, lush vegetation with protea trees and, in some sections, rock art paintings.  

“The closest town to the trail is Matatiele, which we locals call Mata. It is a special place for me, not only because I was born there but also because of the beauty of the enfolding area: farmlands, wetlands and tremendous views of the high-rising mountains right in front of you.”   

Words by: Keith Bain  

Photographs: Supplied, Getty images