If you’re like me and you have a bucket list of places to travel to, South Africa is one of those trips of a lifetime. It’s been two weeks since I’ve flown back to Canada, and even though I’m happy to be back, safe and sound, the country will always have a special place in my heart.

Now even though I love to travel, I never thought I would be traveling within the African continent in my 20’s. However, this was an opportunity that I was not willing to pass. This is one of those memorable moments that may or may not ever happen again. We only have one life, why not seize moments that create a positive memory?

So here are my moments, from the places, to the museums , the wonderful people, and anything else in between:

South Africa…

From me…

To you…

In my perspective.

A) Johannesburg

 

 

 

 

Known as the modern day El Dorado due to their gold mining, this intriguing city is one the biggest cities in the world and is the capital of province, Gauteng.

1. Soweto

 

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The day that we had travel, April 2, was also the day that Winnie Madikazela-Mandela had passed away. We had already booked the events ahead of time, and funeral was taken place in the significant township of Johannesburg, Soweto. We just happen to be there the day of the funeral, April 14. Talk about timing! Yes, it was hectic, cops surrounded the entire area where both her and Nelson Mandela, temporarily lived at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, after he was released from prison in 1990. Now this street is known to be one of the most important streets in the world because two noble prize winners lived there. Of course you can guess Nelson Mandela is the first one, and then there’s the notable Desmond Tutu, a Bishop, who was also, like Winnie and Nelson, a big part in the anti apartheid movement. Overall Soweto has an immense amount of black people living there, one community that is the upper middle class, then another where they living in the poorest conditions. Like many city within countries around the world, Johannesburg (also known as Jo’burg) has one extreme to another. You have the rich gated Jewish community, with a bunch of security at every door entrance, and wired fences while they live in their space, then you have the upper middle class blacks living five minutes from what’s known as the slums of Soweto where the average pregnancy is around 16, with young teenage girls contracting HIV/AIDS, also resulting in violence and the list goes on.

2. Apartheid Museum

This entrance set the tone of intensity for this historic museum. As you enter, the theme gives you a taste of what it was like from 1948 to 1994 living in the times of Apartheid. For example, I got a ticket which was listed as ‘white’. My mother had one that listed as ‘non-white’. So as you can see above pictured, I had to enter the ‘white’, while my mother entered into ‘non-white’. Apartheid was all about segregation, institutionalized racism along with many other topics , if you were coloured, one of your parents were white while the other was black, or you were mixed, or another scenario would be that you were not white. For example if you were Indian, you were coloured. The blacks (indigenous people of the country) were listed as black. This terminology is still used by some today, but it is not an offensive phrase.

This is a museum you should visit before you die.

Sorry to be dramatic, but all aspects that were shown here brought all sorts of emotions out me. This was also the same day as Winnie’s funeral, there was tribute to here with music and that was it for me to cry. I can’t explain that feeling because she did a lot of wrong in the past to South African, but she also did a lot of right in which we also cannot forget. Being the ex wife of Nelson Mandela, who was 18 years older than her, he had spent the majority of their marriage in prison with two kids together. For her stance as an activist in equal rights for black people and everyone else, she is known as the mother of South Africa. The day of her funeral, was also a day of celebration of her life by many as people more particularly on Vilakazi Street were at the house, playing music and drinking on her behalf.

3. Nelson’s House Before He Passed Away

 

Mandela lived in this gated community just before passing away. His widowed wife still lives there. The stones are dedicated to the noble man, who was the first Black President of the country and was part of the negotiation of ending Apartheid, by people from all over the world, including myself.

B) Cape Town

Now there has to be a special mention for this city because of their water crisis. Everywhere we went, there were signs that warned tourists to be mindful of how much water to use along with how many litres to use per day. In some places where did excursions, the washrooms did not have water and instead had sanitizers in order to decrease the use of water. Think about every aspect of water usage… we had to strategize, plus there was not a single drop of rain in the city, Jo’burg got some drops.

1. Robben Island

Robben Island is where Mandela spent 18 out of the 27 years in prison. This picture listed above was his jail cell and of it was evident that I had to take this picture. Everyone did, from selfies to the Canon cameras swinging left to right, this was moment to capture. The tour guide at the beginning of the tour was also someone who spent time at this prison, speaking about what the prisoners went through. Robben Island is definitely a place where you have to visit when coming to Cape Town.

2. Bo-Kaap

This was scene necessary for the ‘gram along with Facebook, ah the colours are as unreal as the vintage car beside me. Just picturesque perfection! The eclectic area is intwined with a diverse community of people along with its rich history.

3. Table Mountain (National Park)

For all the hikers, rock climbers and anyone that loves nature, Table Mountain will not disappoint! You’re thousands of feet above land overviewing Cape Town along with the clouds. There’s a reason why it’s one the 7 wonders of nature.

More Scenery

Some pictures are just best left unexplained, but I will mention how welcoming the people in South Africa were. I cannot say that enough. From the singing, to stories along with one chef who spoke 14 languages (there are 11 official languages in South Africa and it’s almost a norm where the citizens speak at least three languages). You need to make this country one of the places to go to.

 

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Of Course I Can’t Forget: The Animals

The pictures below are a combination of areas where we saw baboons crawling freely on the streets of the most Western part of the continent, then there were penguins! Of course this trip would not be whole if a Safari was not included. I thought I saw it all when seeing the zebras, lions, monkeys, but then it felt like a movie when seeing the elephants.

 

• South Africa to the world!