What Travel Adventure is on your bucket list
I’ve always wanted to go to Africa. But I hadn’t researched where and how to travel around such a large continent. Then I started watching @itchyboots and @charlineRibotta on YouTube and got hooked. That's when the Googling began, and I couldn't stop watching videos of other people’s adventurers in Africa. Suddenly, it has become my top adventure priority.
Contemplating a solo adventure to Africa
After spending a weekend of binge-watching YouTube’s @CharlineRibotta overlanding in her 4x4 Toyota truck with a tent on the roof around South Africa and Botswana, I am now feeling very excited. Why? Because I've realised that I want to go to Africa!
I've been to Morocco, which you can read about in my blog, but it felt very different from what I imagine the rest of Africa to be like.
I have spent my adult life dreaming about travelling and living abroad. My family doesn’t share the same adventurous desires, so I have to travel solo, which I don’t mind. I follow many YouTubers living in different countries, leading what appears to be adventurous lifestyles. I am always slightly jealous they have had the opportunity, or just taken the plunge, to follow their dreams.
For me, it's not about running away from anything. As I sit at my desk, listening to the birds singing through the open window on a beautiful morning in the English countryside, I have nothing to complain about my life. I’m fortunate to have a perfectly nice lifestyle and don’t have any regrets. I even enjoy my demanding job. But you can still have dreams!
For me, wanting to travel is about the excitement of visiting new places and having new adventures. It's also about the sunshine. I don’t need it to be scorching hot, just beautiful clear blue skies and the warmth from the sun makes me feel alive. I would love to be able to spend the majority of my day outside, wearing shorts.
So today my stomach is tight and knotted with excitement. I have a work teams meeting in 3 minutes and haven’t prepared for it, but I don’t give a monkey’s, which is very unlike me. I can think of nothing else. I really want to go to Africa for my next adventure, to witness it’s natural beauty and meet the people and wildlife.
Thanks @CharlineRibotta
I was researching online if I could volunteer in Tanzania at a local school for my next adventure, just for a week or so. Whilst searching on YouTube, I came across Charline and became hooked, thanks to her unwaveringly positive attitude, beautiful unedited filming of Africa, and her delightful French accent, I am now considering a solo overland trip in South Africa and Botswana!
‘Africa is Dangerous’
It’s interesting that if you mention travelling to Africa to your friends, the first thing everyone says is, “It's very dangerous”. A lot of the media still seem to focus on the negatives.
However, it's the same as saying Europe is dangerous because of an incident in London. Africa is a huge continent with 54 countries and each one is different. Any seasoned traveller will tell you that it's about being respectful to the people and cultures in the country you are visiting, being wise and using common sense, and most importantly doing proper research before travelling there.
Will I do it?
I truly hope so, this will be such an adventure. Watch this space!
If you're sitting at home thinking, "I would love to go on an adventure,” then start doing some research to see how feasible it is. With resources like Google and YouTube, you can find everything you need. Flexibility is essential when it comes to timing, destinations, and activities. If you feel the excitement building inside you whilst doing your research, especially at the thought of stepping outside your comfort zone, then you know it's the right thing to do.