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Jo’burg holiday guide



The December holidays are fast approaching and most people are in the process of making plans to go away or already have plans in place. But what if you decide to stay at home this summer? The beautiful purple forest of Johannesburg isn't as boring as we make it out to be. 

We tend to focus so much on what others are doing and how cool their Instagram looks that we often forget to appreciate all there is to do in our hometown.

Below is a list of some of the fun things I've tried or I plan on trying during the holidays:

1. Escape Room
I'm pretty sure that you will find a good few Escape Rooms around the country but if you're planning on staying at home this summer, why not enjoy a family outing, escaping a room filled with clues. Apart from upping your sleuthing skills, it also allows one to enjoy an intellectually stimulating experience. Take your kids (above 12) and enjoy a family team building session or go with your spouse for a fun 'working together' experience.

What is it? The escape room is a room which you and your team will be locked in. In order to get out, you have to work together and solve clues that will lead you out.

Where is it? There are multiple escape rooms around Johannesburg. Why not find the one closest to you by simply Googling it?

Price: Various (between R300.00 to R600.00 per person depending on group size)

2. White river rafting
To be honest, this is one activity that I never dreamed of doing. Mostly because it sounded scary and dangerous - but when my husband asked me about it, I ended up making an impulsive decision. White river rafting is super fun and perfect for those hot summer days. Just make sure you have someone who won't get as tired as you might in order to help you row! 

Note: May not be suitable for children of all ages

What is it? A water sport that takes place in a river using an inflatable raft and wooden rows. 

Where is it? We went to Lanseria to a place called Ground Zero Adventures. Ground Zero Adventures also hosts other activities such as: quad biking, go karts, horseback trails, abseiling, paint ball, archery etc.

Price: Approximately R350.00 per person

3. Quad biking
Quad biking is probably one of the most exhilarating ways to explore. Whizzing through forests, dirt roads and rural locations on a four wheel bike is a whole lot of fun.  

What is it? Exploring terrains with a four wheel bike

Where is it? All over Joburg. We went to Ground Zero Adventures. 

Price: Approximately R450.00 per person

4. Archery
Have you ever tried archery before? It's pretty fun! Grab a bow and arrow and try to hit a target. This age old sport is fun for the whole family (and it can quickly get competitive).

What is it? Rate your aiming skills with a bow and arrow.

Where is it? All over Joburg. Just ask Google for the closest archery range near you.

Price: Various

6. Ice Skating
Ice skating is always awesome. It's a great activity for the whole family. And it's a great way to cool down because the rink is always colder than its surroundings.

What is it? Ice rink. Skates are provided

Where is it? Northgate

Price: Approximately R200.00 per person (including the rental fee for the skates).

8. Paintball 
Grab a couple of friends or family members and drench them in paint. This activity is bound to leave you exhilarated and breathless - but it's all in the name of fun. For kids, you may want to consider laser tag because those paint balls can bruise!

What is it? Shoot each other with colourful paint balls

Where is it? All over Joburg. Just ask Google for the closest paintball range near you.

Price: Various

10. Horseback riding
I've never gotten a chance to go horseback riding but it's definitely something I've always wanted to do. Grab the family and go on a horse riding adventure!

What is it? Horse riding

Where is it? All over Joburg. Just ask Google.

Price: Various

12. Go karting
Can you believe that I haven't done this before? Honestly, I have no excuse though. I just haven't gotten around to it!

What is it? A flat, four wheeled vehicle you can zoom around a circuit in.

Where is it? All over Joburg.

Price: Various

14. Red bus tour
I've been living in Joburg almost all my life and I've never been on the Red Bus Tour. I've heard it's super fun and educational though!

What is it? A "hop on, hop off" tour that takes you through the city of Johannesburg

Where is it? Within Johannesburg

Price: R200.00

15. Bounce
Don't want the rules of gravity to apply? Head over to Bounce. It's literally a full-on bouncing experience.

What is it? An indoor trampoline park

Where is it? Waterfall and Fourways

Price: Approximately R110.00 per person

16. Maze
Make your way through a man made maze and feel as if you're in some sort of fairy tale! I've only recently been to a maze and although it was scorching hot, I quite enjoyed it (even though it took us ten minutes because I was a girl on a mission!)

What is it? Maze

Where is it? Various places around Johannesburg

Price: Approximately R200.00 per person

17. Lindt Chocolate Studio
Go for a Lindt chocolate class and enjoy the life of a Swiss Chocolatier for a day. You can choose from a range of delicacies to make, ranging from cupcakes, truffles, macarons, cake or fondant pudding. Sounds delicious doesn't it? (Note: Suitable for kids)

Please note that although most Lindt chocolates are halaal, one should take caution in these classes and verify the halaal status of the ingredients and the facilities.

What is it? Chocolate class

Where is it? Fourways

Price: Approximately R375.00 to R475.00 per person

18. Bungee Jumping
Ever wanted to go bungee jumping? To be honest, I think I'm too scared to try this after reading one too many scary stories. But if you're an adrenaline junkie, why not try this?

What is it? Jumping from a high place whilst secured

Where is it? Soweto

Price: Approximately R500.00 per person

19. Acrobranch
Craving some adventure? Why not try the various courses that Acrobranch has to offer?

My little sister could not stop speaking about how much fun she had when she went here with her school. And it's not only for kids. Adults are welcome too!

What is it? An "aerial adventure where zip lines, Tarzan swings, nets, bridges and other fun obstacles"

Where is it? Melrose/Huddle Park

Price: Contact Acrobranch to enquire

20. Lion Park
Ahh, the Lion Park. Have you really been to South Africa if you've never been to one of the many Lion Parks splashed across the country? 

What is it? Exactly what its called - a Lion Park. 

Where is it? Lanseria

Price: Various
Holiday, Summer, Travel,
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Majestic Maldives

Majestic Maldives

Paradise Island


As the aircraft began to descend, I peered out the window, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of land. We got dangerously close to the intense blue water before we felt the thud that indicated that the plane had just met land.

You know when you see pictures of stunning Maldivian islands and you’re almost sure that it can’t really look that perfect? I mean, those pictures are beyond words. But the Maldives actually look like those stunning pictures. In fact, it looks better than the pictures. The sight of the turquoise waters is sure to make you wonder if you’re dreaming.

The first thing I realised when we reached Male, the capital of the Maldives, was that it was incredibly hot. We went late August, the monsoon season, and there were barely any clouds in the sky (we only experienced light drizzles twice).

After we collected our luggage and went through passport control, we were met with a breathtakingly beautiful ocean view. The harbour was lined with countless speedboats or larger, taxi-like boats.

Island

Island: Makunudu Island Resort
Room Rating: 3.5
Island Rating: 5

We stayed on a small island that has about 36 land bungalows. It was an hour and a half from the airport with a speedboat. The boat ride was quite bumpy but it was enjoyable as we got to see stunning islands on the way. When we finally reached our island, we realised that we had to wear slippers. Shoes were not going to cut it on the island because most of it was beach sand.

Our bungalow had a straw roof and wooden finishes. It was a comfortable size and the back door was about five meters from the beach.

There was not a single TV on the island and there was no time to miss it. There was WiFi but it wasn’t very strong.

Each bungalow had their own beach chairs. The awesome thing was that the beach chairs were placed so strategically between all the lush greenery, that we were hidden from others.



Every two bungalows had their own beach. However, each beach was not limited to the guests of the bungalow. There were many occasions where we were the only two people in the ocean as it was a quiet time of the year.

The bathrooms were probably my least favourite part of the entire trip. We had issues with our flush and the plumber had to fix it three times before it finally worked, hot water ran out very quickly (it’s really hot on the island so some people may not mind this), and the shower was kind of placed outside (it’s obviously enclosed though).

Anyway, from our ‘section’ of the beach, we could go snorkeling (all snorkeling gear, including life jackets were supplied by the resort).

The island was lush and cosy. The water that surrounded the island was a gorgeous turquoise blue, it was absolutely breathtaking!

The islands that make up the Maldives are some of the most gorgeous islands I’ve ever laid eyes upon. Our island was pretty small, we could canoe around it in less than an hour and we could walk around it in about fifteen minutes.

Throughout the island, there’s beach sand so we were always in slippers.

The sands were white and some parts of the island had super soft sand while other parts had rough sand (from all the coral).

Food

Since the Maldives has a 100% Muslim population, all the food was halaal and every island had a dedicated prayer room/mosque.

Like most hotels, they had a separate bar and they served bacon during breakfast.

The staff assured us that the food was halaal since almost all the staff were Muslim as well. In fact, everyday during breakfast, they would open up all the dishes except for the bacon and they would warn us to stay away from it.

Also, they do not include alcohol in their dishes. On one afternoon, they had a coffee fizz drink and when my husband went to see what it was, the staff immediately stopped him because there was alcohol in it. We were assured by the chefs that there is no contamination with the pork dishes as pork is cooked separately.

The food on the island was simply delicious! It was hands down, the best food I’ve ever had on a holiday. And some of their desserts were the most amazing desserts I’ve ever tasted. The chocolate mousse was pure perfection and the panacotta was the smoothest dish I’ve ever tried.

My favourite meal though, was the fish that my husband had caught and the chefs had prepared. We went night fishing (fishing just before sunset for about an hour - we ended up praying the prayer after sunset on the roof of the boat. It was hard to balance but pretty cool.)

Anyway, the husband caught a red snapper and I didn’t catch anything. Nonetheless, the chefs prepared the fish for us and I can confidently say that I have never tasted such delicious fish in my entire life.

Dinner on the beach

The husband and I decided to have a romantic dinner on the beach as it is a fun tradition that we began two years ago. However, it was pretty expensive and probably not completely worth it. We chose the seafood platter and it was quite nice. Most of the courses had raw fish (to be eaten like sushi). Normally, I would never eat something that’s completely raw (unless it’s sushi and it doesn’t look too raw) but this was actually quite interesting on the palate and somewhat enjoyable.

The set up of the dinner was absolutely stunning! Unfortunately, it was one of the nights it started to drizzle so we ended up having to run for cover.


Sunrise and sunset

Staying on such a small island truly has its advantages! On one side of the island we could watch the sun rise and on the other side of the island we could watch the sun set. Since we were always too tired to watch the sunrises (although we did catch one), we opted to watch almost all the sunsets. The sunset could be viewed from ‘Sunset Beach’ - a dedicated area dressed for catching sunsets.


Activities

There weren’t many things to do on the island so if you’re looking for something that’s action packed, this is not for you. But if you’re looking for something relaxing, this is the perfect destination.

We went snorkeling, night fishing (as mentioned), canoeing and we did a main island tour.

We saw some of the most beautiful sea creatures ever when we went snorkeling.

From bright, multicoloured fish, to thousands of silver fish. On one occasion, my husband saw a large shark whizz past him whilst we were snorkeling.

We saw sharks often. However, these are the type of sharks that only eat fish. During the nights, we would see hundreds of sharks close to the shore. The sharks were about 2 to 3 meters long and there were plenty of baby sharks.

There were countless other sea creatures as well. From stingrays to Dory’s (royal blue tangs) to turtles. The best way to view these fish is to go snorkeling. Once in a while we would see them close to the shore.

On other parts of the island, we could comfortably swim (or try to - if you’re not a great swimmer like me).

The water was warm, warmer than any of the other island waters I’ve been in. Since it was so incredibly hot, we were almost always trying to walk in the water or be in the water.

Tour

We were quite disappointed with the main island tour. Our tour guide was not all that great and he barely gave us any information. To get to the main island, we had to take a speedboat back to the airport, hop onto a boat taxi and make our way to the city.

There is a rich Islamic history in the Maldives. There was a mosque (masjid) that was built about 300 years ago. All the engraving was in wood and it was beautiful. There was also a very large Islamic center which housed a huge mosque (masjid).



We then went to the local fish market. I couldn’t wait to get out of there because the smell was driving me crazy. I had to stop myself from gagging.

The tour guide seemed to not know where to take us next so he took us to his home island - Hulumale. It’s a quiet, pretty island but there’s not much to do there except relax or walk around and enjoy the scenery.


What was meant to be an informative tour ended up being a less than ideal tour with lots of walking. Nonetheless, we enjoyed touring the main island even though we weren’t provided with the greatest amount of information or historical facts.

Miscellaneous notes

It should be noted that there are plenty of lizards and chameleons on the island we stayed on. A lot of them are quite big. Also, you will see countless little shells on the island - most of which move. These stunning shells have been inhabited by crabs. The moment they hear you close by, they retreat into their shells and stay still. I don’t know how many times I picked up a stunning shell, only to find a crab in there.

The lizards and the crabs didn’t bother me, so that was a plus.

There were no cats or dogs on the island, but there were seagulls and a grey heron or two. The grey herons often joined us for breakfast by standing right next to us. I also did not see any land animals on the main island apart from birds and I saw one cat in Hulumale.

If you don’t like birds, this will definitely be a problem for you but since they didn’t bother me, I had a great time.




All in all this was the most amazing trip I have ever experienced. I would go here over and over again. In fact, I’d love to stay on an island as beautiful as the islands in the Maldives. There are more than 1000 islands of which 200 are inhabited by the local Maldivians and about a 100 of them are resorts so you have a large selection to choose from!

This was truly one of the best holidays I have ever been on! It was absolutely indescribable but hopefully, this post can give you a vague idea about it.
Beach, Holiday, Island,
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Zanzibar


Zen Zanzibar
Hakuna Matata


“Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!”

Growing up, I never really thought much about Zanzibar. It had never been on my bucket list; mostly because I didn’t know much about it.

And yet, I found myself exiting the aircraft and making my way onto a land I would have never thought I’d visit.

Shortly after landing, we expected to see a large, fancy airport. On the contrary, the airport was the size of a large room (I’m not even kidding!). There was no turn-style mechanism for our suitcases, no fancy exchange rate counters, no fancy passport control counters.

Our suitcases were packed to one side and the counters were small. It was quite surprising, considering the fact that we had been expecting more.

Nonetheless, we were greeted by smiling people who offered us cold water the moment we stepped outside before we were lead to our shuttle.

Although the airport looked like it was ready to collapse and there wasn’t a single large building in sight, our mood hadn’t dampened. There was something about the place that had me intrigued (and this is coming from someone who is rather fussy).

Island


 We drove through the island and I noticed that there were barely any traffic lights and the island was very simple. There were no large skyscrapers, no fancy houses and no luxurious cars. The deeper we got into the city, the more the realisation dawned on me; this was a poor island filled with a beauty I have never seen before. After all, the beauty was not only in the lush lands, but also hidden within the smiles on the faces of locals.

We continued maneuvering through the island and suddenly, we were met with hundreds of little girls and boys, all clad in the Islamic dress code. The little girls had long blue dresses and cute, yellow hijabs. It was such an amazing and cute sight! They decorated the streets, laughing and playing in unison, oblivious to any worries.

During our ride to our hotel, our tour guide gave us some background about the island. We learned that about 90% of the population on the island is Muslim. There were a lot of simple schools and even simpler mosques that we saw along the way.

Another couple that was traveling with us asked if the entire island looked this way (bear in mind that we hadn’t seen a single sight that we would’ve seen in a first world country). Turns out that the whole island is filled with lush vegetation, basic houses (sometimes mud houses with no windows or doors) and a lot of happy people.

When my eyes finally landed on the ocean and my feet sunk into the sand, I fell in love! The island is stunning. The sands are velvety soft and the ocean is a clear blue. It honestly is a paradise island. If you want to relax and get away from everything, this is the island for you!


We stayed in Nungwi, the Northern part of the island. Before we reached our hotel, which was the last stop, we stopped at numerous other hotels. All the hotels in Nungwi were situated within villages. The plush hotels were in contrast to the modest surroundings.

Hotel: MyBlue
Hotel rating: 3.5
Island rating: 4.1

Room


We were upgraded to a villa (probably because they thought we were on honeymoon after we handed them a copy of our marriage certificate as per the travel agents suggestion).

Our villa consisted of a lounge area that had a couch, tv and a few cupboards, and an ensuite. The room was simple and scarcely decorated. There was a tv in the room as well (but the clarity was terrible so it was pretty pointless). The bed had a mosquito net over it (which was important because we also had to take malaria tablets) and the bathroom was large and spacious.

Beach


The beach left me absolutely breathless! I have never felt such soft sands in my life. It literally felt as if I was walking on expensive, plush velvet.

The waves were gentle and the weather was wonderful. It honestly looked picture perfect. As we took a walk along the beach, we were approached by locals who wanted to sell us tours (they were much cheaper than the hotel), small souvenirs, coconuts, and sometimes weed (no kidding!)



Food


The food at the hotel was good. It wasn’t exquisite, but it wasn’t terrible either. They served alcohol at the hotel (although the bar was separate) and they also served pork. This was quite disappointing for us because we hadn’t expected it. However, we were assured that all the food (except the pork, obviously) was halaal as most of the staff and the chefs were Muslim and none of the food had cross contamination with the pork. In fact, every day a staff member would give us the menu and tell us what was halaal and what wasn’t.

One day, the manager had noticed that we were only eating seafood so he came up to us to tell us that all the meat, other than the pork, was halaal because they slaughter it the halaal way. Nonetheless, when I stay on islands, I prefer eating seafood.

Every night, they would grill the fish they caught that day. This is great if you’re a seafood lover and you enjoy fresh fish. Most of the time, they’d just grill the fish and we’d have to spice it up with the variety of spices we were presented with.

Tours


One should note that apart from the tours, there’s not much to do on the island. You won’t see restaurants or takeaways so you have to eat at the hotel.

We ended up going with the locals for the tours. We had to pay deposits before we went and at first, we were a bit skeptical that they would just take our money but the locals were honest.

We chose to do the spice tour, stone town tour and the Prison Island tour as one tour package and the Safari Blue tour as another package.

The spice tour was actually a lot of fun. I hadn’t thought that I would enjoy it but I loved it! They took us through dense gardens (which gave off wonderful scents) and explained where certain flavours and spices came from. They also gave us the raw material to smell and feel as we explored the wonderful forest of spice. It was informative and relaxing. There’s just something about breathing in the fresh air of a lush garden.

The stone town tour was so heartbreaking. (If you’re sensitive to horror stories relating to slavery, don’t read this part.)

We went through the lives of the slaves and left us emotional and somewhat disturbed. It’s always disgusting to realise that humans can be the worst of creation at times. We learned that the slaves used to be tied to trees and they would be beaten until they were left screaming in agony. Those that didn’t scream or barely screamed were auctioned for higher prices as they were seen as stronger slaves. The slaves were chained to each other and dumped into the tiniest underground storage room you can imagine. There were about six of us in that tiny room and it felt stuffy (there were two tiny slits instead of windows). Turns out that they would dump 50 to 70 people in those rooms! I cannot even imagine their heart wrenching lives... The ruthless stories of their masters left us completely perturbed.

If you get a chance, try to read up on slavery in Zanzibar. It’s a fascinating, yet heartbreaking story.

After the darkness of the slavery history, we went through the stone town. It was pretty interesting to view the intricate architecture and to learn the history behind it.

We were then taken to Prison Island with a wooden boat (almost all the boats on the island are rickety, old wooden boats). As the name suggests, Prison Island used to be an island for prisoners. However, now it is absolutely stunning! There are massive turtles there - the oldest turtle being over 110 years old!

Here, we bought a plain pizza because we were starving after such a long day.


The day ended in exhaustion since we had been left reeling from the slave tour experience.

The next day we spent relaxing, before the Safari Blue tour. Simply explained, Safari Blue is an island hopping tour. We went to a few little islands and a really pretty sand bank.




When we arrived at one of the islands, the tide was really low but when we left that island, the tide was high. It looked totally different from the island that we had arrived at. The huge rocks that had been dry as we came in were halfway submerged in water. It was so amazing!




We prayed all of our prayers on the islands and we had packed a bag for the day containing our phones, prayer mats, snacks, water and hygiene wipes. And I was very thankful for packing those hygiene wipes because it should be noted that bathrooms on the islands were a bit scarce. The one island only had one bathroom that was not clean and another island didn’t even have a bathroom.

We were also given lunch on the islands. The lunch consisted of plain white rice and seafood seasoned with salt and pepper. Honestly, I was not a fan of the menu so I munched on the junk food we had taken with us.

When we moved from one island to the next, we got to snorkel and it was wonderful. The water was so clear that we could see the fish from the boat! We saw a few dolphins as well but as you know, dolphins are speedsters.


Dinner on the beach


Our package included a romantic dinner in the beach. The dinner was a three course, seafood meal and it was phenomenal! I have never tasted a lemon butter sauce like that in my entire life! The food was heavenly and so delicious!


During another night, the hotel held another dinner on the beach for all the guests. After dinner, there was some traditional entertainment and a snake show. The entertainment began with the famous ‘Jumbo’ song that we had heard being chanted by the locals of the island on any given day. It’s a song in Swahili and the language is so sweet and catchy that it’s easy to pick up on a few of the words.



We were also always told ‘hakuna matata’ (which means no worries) by the wonderful locals.

Sunsets


We got to view impeccable sunsets every day from our location. Sunrises were on the other side of the island so we didn’t quite catch them. The sunsets were so stunning that we didn’t feel as if we missed out on the sunrises (and besides we were pretty lazy for super early morning walks).

Miscellaneous notes


For Friday prayers, I prayed in the room and my husband made friends with the staff who took him to a mosque (masjid) in the village.

Unfortunately for me, there were many cats in Zanzibar so I had to be on high alert in order to avoid an allergic reaction.

Medication is not easy to get hold of on the island so if you’re planning on going to Zanzibar, make sure to take all your medication with (even headache tablets).

One of the most beautiful things that you will pick up from the island is that although a lot of the people are poor, they are so content! You will always see them smiling and happy. They truly are the ‘hakuna matata’ nation! They seem to have no worries!

Zanzibar is a beautiful island that is so easy to fall in love with! You may arrive there with uncertainty speckling your thoughts but you will leave with drunken delight!
Beach, Hakuna Matata, Holiday,
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