After a terrible, spooky night in our awful accomodation in the Magaliesberg near Rustenburg we got up very early, did not even bother about breakfast but just left this place. At least the peacock greeted us in the morning nicely. The house was really kind of spooky at night. Do not get us wrong, we love remote places to stay. But this house was cracking the whole night. The thunderstorm did not help. The house was huge and we had the feeling that some other souls are walking around at night. So, not much sleep for us. Anyway, the drive out of the beautiful landscape in this area in the early morning hours was wonderful. We were heading further north, Pilanesberg National Park it was. After a fantastic time in South Africa so far we did ... read more

To put it shortly, our days in Johannesburg were simply magic, mindblowing and it is difficult to express it in words, but I will try. First it was a long drive up from Durban through the ever changing landscape. But it was a relaxed journey and traffic is super-easy to handle in South Africa. Just be aware of the speed controls - there are many! It was a bit tricky to find the right streets without a GPS, but we somehow managed to arrive safely in Jozi (how the locals call Johannesburg), in the suburb of Emmarentia which is just north of Melville. We stayed in a Bed & Breakfast called 43 on Congo and it was amazing! Our lovely host showed us the rooms (also our friends were staying there). We had a huge appartment ... read more

Coming from the spectacular Drakensberg and driving into the suburbs of Durban was quite a change for us. Finally the rain started to ease and by reaching the suburbs of Durban it completely stopped. Durban was surprisingly green and hilly. For whatever reason we expected it to be flat and dusty. But no, it was green, hilly with lots of exocitcs flowers blossoming. But it was hot and humid! For 6 days we had been on an average height of about 1700 metres where it gets a bit chilly in the evening. Not so in Durban - it was definitely a different climate. But nice for a change for us, for sure! We navigated through the highway to our accomodation in Durban North. We had opted for a room a bit out of town, because we ... read more

Settling down and getting used to the travelling lifestyle again was an easy affair in Clarens. We loved our little Gnome Cottage. It was basically a 1-bedroom appartment with a huge garden. There was a corner for the kitchen and a cosy seating area insid next to the bed. The garden was all around with lovely flowers (mainly roses) and an old peach tree with table and chairs underneath. So our daily routine was, getting up early, enjoying the birds chirping while doing our morning meditation underneath the peach tree, having a superhealthy breakfast with fresh fruits lake papaya, mango and melon in the garden enjoying the tranquility and simply being happy. Then it was off to town for a wonderful cup of capuccino or by car to some scenic activities around. We are fans of ... read more

It is exactly 10 years ago that we started our big trip around the world. Markus had always wanted to travel through South America and my dream was to travel through Africa. So we put both wishes together and added 2 countries "on the way" and our round-the-world-trip was born. We did not prepare a lot. Basically we decided to go on the trip half a year before. So the preparation was more about quitting the job, informing friends, selling the car, finding a new renter of our appartment and selling lots of unnecessary stuff. The first country we prepared well - but the rest..... Well, we had wishes and many ideas what to do, where to go and what to see. Looking back it was a fantastic feeling when we handed over the key of ... read more