Get creative
Organize your art supplies and get painting! Pick a particular location you’ll visit on your trip, and compare your artwork to photos of the location when you return. Consider painting Table Mountain, the animals of Kruger National Park, Robben Island, or beautiful Boulders Beach.
Not a painter? Check out these 360 views of famous South African sites and monuments.
Pick a film
Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for South Africa include:
- Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
- Invictus (2009)
- Tsotsi (2005)
Study some history
Dive deep into the history of specific sites you’ll visit on tour. Study the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the rise of Nelson Mandela, or the historic World Cup games held in Cape Town.
Choose a book
Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:
- Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- Selected Stories by Nadine Gordimer
- Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
- Coconut by Kopano Matlwa
Fill up your plate
Arrange a potluck and encourage your friends to bring a traditional dish from your destination. Know a chef? Hold a cooking class with your travel group, or consider a group outing to a restaurant that offers your destination’s cuisine. Try biltong, malva pudding, Cape Malay curry, bobotie, or boerewors.
Learn the language
Call up a friend and practice your language skills. It helps to make flashcards with common sayings to use on the phone or throughout your travels (think about ordering at restaurants, buying souvenirs, and chatting with locals).
Did you know?
South Africa has eleven official languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda and isiNdebele!
Meet Your Partner in Travel
With so many places left on her bucket list, Kelli usually doesn’t like to visit the same place twice. South Africa has always been the exception to that rule. After first visiting during a study abroad program called Semester at Sea in 2014, she fell in love with the country and all it had to offer. When her younger sister decided to study abroad there in 2016, she jumped at the chance to go and visit. Highlights from South Africa include kayaking with dolphins in Cape Town, exploring the beauty of Stellenbosh, and seeing incredible wildlife on safari on the Eastern Cape.