Creating content since 2008, Carlinn Meyer also known as @campsbay girl is a travel and lifestyle photographer with a huge passion and love for adventure, visiting epic places and showing people hidden gems within their own country. Let’s go on a little adventure and get to know her!

Hello Carlinn! You have made quite an amazing travel blog and have visited many places with in our country and continent! How did your travel journey start?

Hi there! My journey started in 2007 when we moved to Malta. I had started a blog and got into social media. That combined with the passion for photography I already had made it easy for me to move into the digital space. When we moved back to South Africa at the end of 2011 all we wanted to do was explore our country and the world!

And explore you did! What have been some of your favourite destinations to visit in South Africa and why?

My favourite place in South Africa is the Cederberg. We love hiking, stunning landscapes, adventure and being in the middle of nowhere and I think The Cederberg ticks all the boxes.

What about international destinations? Any great memories?

I feel like I bring back unique memories from each place I visit. From hiking barefoot in Sri Lanka with leeches all over my feet or spending the day with local photographers in a Nubian village in Egypt. We like travelling like locals where we can, so we always have great stories behind our images.

What are some travel tips and hacks that you believe every person should know before setting out?

Chat to locals where you can, we have gotten some of the best tips on what to see and where to eat from simply chatting to people that live in the area. I also like to be spontaneous, but I do double-check things like weather, sunset and sunrise and opening and closing times when we head somewhere just so that I know we won’t leave disappointed!

As you know September is the month of spring and our heritage! What would you say are the best spring destinations to visit here in SA?

The West Coast from Cape Town all the way up to Namaqualand is always popular this time of year but I always feel like the Klein Karoo is such a charming place during Spring!

Those are great suggestions! Have you ever experienced spring in another country or continent? If so, how is it different from South Africa?

I have been, in Europe as well as Central America. When we lived in Malta it was really similar to South African spring just minus the flowers. Costa Rica was very different though and every day would be perfect and sunny till about 2 pm when a massive downpour would come and be over just in time for sunset.

What do you love about spring and why?

I love how everything comes alive again, not just nature but it’s like everyone is coming out of hibernation to spend some time in the sun. It’s a really good feeling to sit outside and just soak up the fresh spring air.

It is heritage month! What makes you proud to be South African and why?

No matter what happens, South Africa is home. I feel a connection to the country and its people. I love how we have experienced help and good vibes from strangers all over our beautiful country and most of all, how proud we are when we talk about it!

Lastly, what are your future plans? Any new adventures on your horizon? 

There is always a new adventure brewing in our household! We don’t like making plans too far in advance, so we usually just jump in our Jimny when the urge hits us and go find adventure! 

Words: Thuveshnie Govender |  Photography: Courtesy images