{"id":130,"date":"2014-06-19T11:12:59","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T15:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/?p=130"},"modified":"2024-02-22T11:10:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:10:18","slug":"a-local-perspective-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/a-local-perspective-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"A Local Perspective in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nina Dietzel,\u00a0AFAR Ambassador<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

To me, South Africa is one of the most fascinating countries to visit. It is furiously multi-cultural; a young democracy struggling to grow up fast to meet the country\u2019s many challenges.<\/p>\n

When I was invited to join Collette\u2019s tour<\/span><\/a> back in April, I was overjoyed, and at the same time I was a little hesitant to accept my assignment. The charge was to \u2018travel like a local\u2019 and I wasn\u2019t quite sure how to accomplish that in a group, dashing from highlight to highlight<\/span><\/a> across South Africa.<\/p>\n

\"Tesse
Tesse Easingwood on top of Table Mountain, Cape Town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The minute we met our South African ground connection and guide Tesse Easingwood\u2013 it was clear, we\u2019d experience our travel through a local\u2019s perspective. Tesse has boundless energy, compassion, knowledge, and humor. With her in charge we had no choice, but to see the real South Africa\u2013the good, and sometimes also the difficult.<\/p>\n

To start, Tesse was refreshingly upfront about her background: \u201cBefore you ask, of course I grew up during Apartheid. My entire family, including me, were pro apartheid.\u201d Her family, like many others, left as soon as Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994. Tesse wasn\u2019t prepared at all to follow in the footsteps of her family. Determined to share the new, emerging country with travelers, she stayed: \u201cHow could I not? I love South Africa!\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Township
Township school visit, Knysna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around the mid point of our journey, we arrived in Knysna, a small, picturesque town in the Western Cape Province, part of South Africa\u2019s Garden Route. By then, we must have taken in more than a thousand facts about South Africa. I wasn\u2019t quite sure I had the capacity to retain a single piece of additional information without my brain exploding.<\/p>\n

A great storyteller, Tesse swiftly brought us back to pay attention: beautiful Knysna had been founded by no-other than her great great grandfather! Seriously? All of a sudden, we were captured again; history was no longer presented in the abstract, it had been brought back to life right here through the sparkling South African in our midst. Many other magical moments happened daily along the way, far too many to mention here. Our South African \u2018guide turned friend for life\u2019 was the secret weapon made this journey simply unforgettable.<\/p>\n

\"Knysna
Knysna Estuary boat ride to Featherbed Reserve, land once owned by Tesse\u2019s family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tesse made good on the promise the first day we met: \u201cI\u2019ll give you my heart & soul on this trip and will try to answer all of your questions, no matter how difficult they may be.\u201d Her honest, open and above all loving approach to life and sharing experiences made for a journey that will stay with us forever\u2013the ultimate gift. Thank you Tesse Easingwood, with all our hearts.<\/p>\n

Nina Dietzel<\/em> is a photographer<\/a> and AFAR Ambassador<\/a> based in San Francisco. Between travel and photography assignments, she continues to consult on select projects for destinations, hospitality, cultural organizations and non-for-profits in need\u2013tapping into her vast experience as brand strategist with 300FeetOut<\/a>, an award winning creative agency she launched and lead for over 15 years. Read more about her work here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nina Dietzel,\u00a0AFAR Ambassador To me, South Africa is one of the most fascinating countries to visit. It is furiously multi-cultural; a young democracy struggling to grow up fast to meet the country\u2019s many challenges. When I was invited to join Collette\u2019s tour back in April, I was overjoyed, and at the same time I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-south-africa","tag-live-like-a-local"],"yoast_head":"\nA Local Perspective in South Africa - USTOA Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AFAR Ambassador and professional photographer Nina Dietzel shares her experiences touring South Africa like a local with Collette.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ustoa.com\/blog\/a-local-perspective-in-south-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Local Perspective in South Africa - 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