Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry should have been a tour operator. Imagine it, packing your suitcase and boarding the starship Enterprise, zooming at warp eight to your chosen destination and beaming down, baggage and all, to your well-earned holiday … No long-haul flights, no lengthy check-in queues, just speed and efficiency.
Instead, here I sit, trying to decide where I should spend my annual rest, counting the number of beans the bean-counters have allocated me and wondering what I will be letting myself in for this year.
Don’t get me wrong, I love holidays, I just hate the physical process of going on them — you know, the packing, the journey, the unpacking at the other end. It’s almost like moving house, just on a smaller scale.
My goal is to reduce the distances I need to travel to achieve a low-stress, relaxing holiday that doesn’t see me become chief cook and bottle-washer in a different kitchen for a couple of weeks.
There’s a commonly held belief that a good holiday means a great trek to the farthest-flung corners of our nation or fleeing the country altogether. Hogwash is my answer to that. Local is definitely lekker.
All it requires is a break with normality to appreciate the benefits of holidaying at home.
We, as South Africans travelling in our own country, don’t seem to like change too much. We find a nice spot and keep going back to it rather than pushing the envelope and trying somewhere new. It’s a well-documented anomally that most of us who travel do so more in other countries than in our own.
But good old South Africa has most, if not all of the attractions of its international competitors and most of them are within easy reach, both in geographic and financial terms.
All we have to do as a nation is shake off the old holiday habits and develop some new ones. Value for money, and by money I mean rands, is still attainable across the board, from camping and caravan sites, guest houses and family resorts to five-star luxury hotels and exclusive game lodges.
There’s a little something for everyone out there, and an ever-growing network of top-notch travel agents, tour operators and tourism service providers eager to give you a taste of what you’ve probably been missing.
It all begins with a change of mindset. You have to say to yourself: “South Africa is huge, let’s explore it bit by bit.” With this as a starting point you can begin to broaden your horizons without ever leaving “home” too far behind.
Kind of like the Enterprise’s holodeck where crew members go to experience holographic holidays. Except that playing in your own backyard is much more fun, because it’s a big backyard with lots to see and do. And, like soccer, playing at home has definite advantages.
Once you get over the misconception that taking a break in South Africa is not a “real” holiday you can begin to enjoy the bounties within our borders.
The first step is to discover what’s out there … “To seek out new life and new civilisation and boldly go (go boldly, Jim, dear) …” Well, you know the drill.
I’ve just come back from my first visit to Limpopo. Up until now it’s been somewhere I’ve driven through on my way to somewhere else. I was gobsmacked at what I found there and how little I knew about it.
For a start it’s a truly beautiful province, with mountains, moonscapes, forests, deserts, fruit farms, tea plantations … you name it, it’s there. Then there’s the people — they’re friendly, welcoming, hospitable, interesting and, well, cultured. A shock, I know, for those of you who believe culture begins and ends in Jozi.
There’s a rich history in Limpopo and all the space in the world to enjoy exploring it.
Hands up out there those of you who have spent actual time in Limpopo? (And the northern reaches of the Kruger park don’t count!) See? That’s a case in point. You think you’re well travelled and then you discover Tzaneen and your illusions are shattered.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of overseas holidays too, but let’s face it, how many of us can really afford to see the world the way we’d really like to? The cost, in time as well as monetary terms, is frightfully prohibitive. And even if you do have the readies, think how much further they’d go if you spent them here going to places you wouldn’t normally think of going.
I suppose it all boils down to what you expect to get from a holiday. For most of us I would hazard a guess that it’s the change that’s as good as the rest. Relaxation has its place, but a break with the everyday routine is often what makes a holiday special.
Then there’s the soul food aspect and the amazing effect some places have on our spiritual well-being. For me it’s the bush, for others it’s the sea (a close second for me too) and for some it’s the urban buzz of a modern metropolis.
One thing I do know is that all of the above can be found in good old South Africa. So let’s go find them and celebrate the experience of doing so.
On that note I return to the Enterprise and consider my five-year mission — to seek out new holiday destinations and prove beyond doubt that South Africa is the best place in the world to spend your holiday.
Wow. I better make a note of that in my captain’s log and get cracking so as not to miss my deadline. Let’s just hope I don’t turn into Voyager and end up kilometres from anywhere and in the middle of nowhere. I’ll keep you informed. Watch this space.