Phindile Bavumile Ndaba (Paul Botes/M&G)
I think the first time I went on a trip it was in 2008, when I went to Durban on a bus with my then boyfriend — now husband.
It was the first time going outside our comfort zone. We saw new people; a new province.
So we decided it was something we were going to do often — to learn how other people live. Since then we have been to many provinces, and outside our borders
to Swaziland [Eswatini] and Mozambique.
I get to relax my mind and meditate when I am travelling. When I discuss other things with my partner outside of our comfort zone, they make sense. We also get to talk about uncomfortable truths and difficult situations in our relationship. It’s easier to talk when
you are in a different environment.
Growing up, I was not exposed to people who travelled, so it never crossed my mind that I would be a jet-setter like I am today. I love it and it is something I want to instil in my kids. They need to travel. They need to see the world.
In the previous years I used to travel five to six times in a year. But with our economy now we try to do about three trips in a year. I will not stop travelling as long as I am healthy and have the financial means to do so.
I still need to go on international trips.
Travelling is a big part of my life now. I get excited when I have to do planning for my travelling. If three or four months pass without going anywhere I feel like some-
thing is wrong. So even if I just do a sho’t left somewhere around the province, I am at peace — Phindile Bavumile Ndaba (33) as told to Bongekile Macupe