South Africa – The Insider's Guide is a concise guide to South Africa giving informative and entertaining facts that should help overseas visitors, as well as locals, plan a visit nearly anywhere in the country, going beneath the skin of the usual tourist guide info.
It is part of a series including titles such as Zanzibar; Kenya & Tanzania; Botswana; and Victoria Falls & Surrounds. Packed with useful information, South Africa – The Insider's Guide also contains stunning photographs of destinations, people, natural beauty and wildlife that make a visit to our country such a diverse, rewarding experience.
Even as a local, this book (which would fit quite nicely in a backpack) had me dreaming of holidays to destinations I’d not considered yet. You'll find information on places to stay, a bit of history and also practical advice for any arrangements you may have to make. Even though I pride myself on knowing a lot about my own country, it was still great to have an overview as a refresher.
This is a book I'll be mailing to friends overseas, to tempt them to visit. Me? The UK can wait. I’ve got some exploring to do.
ND: While you were putting together The Insider's Guide, were there any destinations you'd definitely be visiting again?
TvS: The highlight for us was definitely the Klein Karoo, including Die Hel (the Gamkaskloof) and Baviaanskloof. We have returned to these areas and will continue to do so because these areas, particularly, embrace the soul of South Africa. The small communities are full of history and house such interesting folk.
The natural environment is spectacular.
ND: What, in your opinion, makes SA such a great place to visit?
TvS: There is a somewhat over-used by-line for South Africa: "A world in one country", but this was really apparent to us while we journeyed through our own country over a period of more than a year. We were struck by the rich diversity of landscapes and cultures, and the extremes, of course. These can be both jarring and exciting, but never monotonous.
ND: What are some of the future trends in SA travel that you expect?
TvS: We'd like to think that both the operators and the travellers are becoming more aware of the impact of tourism on the environment. Eco-tourism is a much-bandied-about term that tends to be used for marketing purposes only, rather than a true understanding of what we should all be doing to contribute to sustainable travel and the conscious use of resources.
So often the response from an operator will be that their product is market-driven. If that is the case then I’d like to believe there will be a trend towards the market becoming more discerning about the operators they use and their approach to consumption.
The current trend must change, where, for example, lodges in the bush get acknowledged for the luxuries and indulgences on offer, rather than on maintaining a small footprint or sensitivity to their environment. I’d like the market to begin turning their noses up at high-impact operations.
ND: In your local travels, did you have any highly amusing incident you'd care to share?
TvS: We still laugh about a conversation held with a delightful and very helpful young girl who was manning the tiny tourist information office in the remote village of Eksteenfontuin in the Northern Cape. When Ian asked her what the locals did around there on a Saturday night, she took a deep breath, sighed heavily and replied: "Around here sir, on a Saturday night, we people do very, very few!"
ND: Which was your best hotel/lodge/accommodation experience in SA?
TvS: There were too many to mention, but we'd have to single out the historical houses in the Great and Little Karoo that have been converted into B&Bs or lodges.
ND: What sort of follow-up plans do you have for the Insider's Guide?
TvS: Our little boy, Liam, was born towards the end of our travels for this book. At seven weeks old we took him on a road trip along the rough and remote routes of the old Transkei.
Now that he is running around he is a huge handful and certainly not as easy to bundle into a vehicle and go for weeks at a stretch, so our plans for the Insider's series are on hold temporarily until he is a little older. This is the fifth book of the series, covering most of southern and East Africa, with a few obvious omissions that would be great when the timing is right.
