South Africa is Seriously Underrated

Monica Flitcraft
Oct 17, 2024
4 min read

I am obsessed with South Africa. They have it all... beautiful beaches, mountains, safaris, hiking, the best steak, the best wine, the best seafood, the best flowers, the best EVERYTHING. It really is such an underrated gem! Fun fact: I lived with two South Africans for a bit when I was in Dubai! Nights at home consisted of a lot of braiis (South African barbecues - more on that shortly), rooibos tea, and a huge wine collection.

I don't know where to start, but I love food so perhaps I'll start there. Being a vegetarian in South Africa might be difficult (not impossible as I met a few vegans from there!) but the meat in this country is UNREAL. They love their venison and seafood and you'll see it on almost every menu around the country.

It was in Capetown where I tried ostrich steak for the first time at Kloof Street House. It was the best thing I ever had and to this day my favorite game meat. The place is super trendy so if you are ever in Capetown, definitely make a reservation for this place!

I mentioned brais earlier. Brai is what South Africans call their BBQ. They REALLY know how to cook meat. And they cook it well. Living with two South Africans had some of the best perks, like always coming home from my trips to some good meats and wine ready for me!

Check out the wine rack. The collection was strictly for South African reds and my goodness were they all so good.

BTW, this is the night that my friend Asher from New Zealand (they refer to themselves as Kiwis) and I went to the Dubai Opera! Hence the dress ups.

Okay let's stop with the food and wine. Lets see what beauty lies around South Africa.

Capetown

One of the capitals of South Africa (fun fact: South Africa has 3 capitals!) Non-negotiable to visit here as I believe it's one of the best cities in the world.

This is V&A waterfront. A picteresque waterfront with Table Mountain in the backdrop (more on that shortly). Great place to shop, grab food and drinks, and walk around. It is considered the oldest working harbour in the Southern hemisphere!

You'll get views of Table Mountain throughout. I love Camps Bay beach area - the houses are BEAUTIFUL, the beach is so nice, and the little restaurants and shops lined up around the beach are perfect.

If you enjoy hiking, you have to hike the infamous Table Mountain. No words needed.

Durban

Durban is a beautiful port city on the east of South Africa and is also known as little India, due to its large population of Indians. You can see the Indian culture primarily in Durban cuisine! There are tons of Indian restaurants, food stalls, and spice shops all throughout this port city. They are famous for their Durban curry! Fair warning, it's SPICY.

In Durban is where I also checked off a bucket list item of mine, which was to swim in open water with sharks.

This day in particular was stormy, which didn't help our boat ride. Everyone in our party except for 2 people got sick, including me. Luckily once they picked the spot and the sharks started circling our boat, the nerves overtook the seasickness and I was able to manage to suit up and not be sick in the water!

Only 3 of us (the instructor is in the middle with his legs down) decided to go in free-style. The others chose to go down in a cage.

I'm on the far right. I thought it would be nerve-wrecking but they were actually pretty funny! A few of them swam right up to me and bumped into me, as if they didn't see me or just wanted to play. Our guide told us they would do that as they are curious and playful.

Here's a picture of our group! I love that the girls were the ones who weren't afraid of being in open water :D. This is a core memory of mine that I'll always remember!

Johannesburg

This is a large city where I mostly did my shopping when I visited here for work. I LOVE their grocery store Woolworths, probably my favorite in the world. They had everything from food, clothes, appliances, furniture, and more! I loved how fresh everything was and well priced too. If there's anything I wish I could bring to the US, its Woolies (slang for Woolworths) :).

Joburg is also the place where I got to pet a lion at the Lion and Safari Park. Although I got to experience an authentic safari in the Serengeti (best experience ever, highly recommend), this was a great day trip to take your family to!

I can't get over how cute their little paws are!

Well, that's my blog on South Africa! In a nutshell, South Africa has amazing food, beautiful nature, the best wine, and the best catch is that it's all well priced. A beautiful country and a must-visit! Take my word for it. Although our Rooibos candle is delayed for launch, check out our upcoming red bush tea inspired candle that pays tribute to South Africa! The green color on the label is from their flag!