Right before summer ended (I live in the Southern Hemisphere, guys!) we took a little weekend break so we could experience sleeping in a recycledcontainer.
Copia Eco Cabins lies next to Bot Rivier, in the Western Cape of South Africa. There are now three recycled containers turned into cabins in the property which is a working farm.
Quick facts:
Good for: families, couples, friends
Starting from: 1650 ZAR per night (89,5€)
Location: Western Cape, South Africa
Checking-in in Copia Eco Cabins: Lone Tree Cabin
We stayed at the ‘Lone Tree Cabin’ in Copia Eco Cabins. The only big difference between the two cabins is that Lone tree has a bath as well as a shower.
The cabin is a big open space with three open plan sections. The entrance has the lounge, kitchen and dining table, as well as the door to the deck.
The second space has the double bed and bedside tables and the last one has the bathroom. On the deck one can find a donkey jacuzzi (works with wood) and a braai area.
The recycled container has windows that overlook the valley in front. There was natural light coming in at all times.
Waking up with the first light of day from a warm bed is always a great experience.
You can proceed directly to your cabin on arrival, the key will be inside. The check in experience was painless. There was a welcome letter with instructions, printed nicely, and some cookies – it gave the whole trip a feeling of belonging there.
The decoration inside is very simple and yet sophisticated, it’s the way I want to decorate my house when I’m a home owner, ha!
What’s to love
I felt in love with the minimalist decoration from my first look at their website, and when I arrived I couldn’t agree more with my first impressions online. It is so elegant and makes you feel like you’re home away from home.
I loved the welcome letter and the farm eggs in a jar – again a sucker for all those home-y vibes when I’m not home!
Enjoying sunset from a very warm Jacuzzi with a glass of wine in my hand and no worries in the world I have to say, it’s hard to beat.
Copia is completely off the grid and runs using solar energy. There were solar lamps for us to use and all the appliances work. They don’t have a microwave or let you plug in a hair dryer.
Going to more eco friendly, sustainable and conscious accommodations is very important to me, so they checked all the boxes.
What could be improved
It is not something to be improved really, because it’s weather dependent.
It was very windy when we stayed there and at different points of the night it felt like someone was sneaking around the cabin – but fortunately it was just the strong wind. Worth keeping in mind for easily woken up sleepers.
The experience of sleeping in a recycled container at Copia Eco Cabins was very pleasant and I would certainly like to go back one day! I love the idea of using a recycled container to build a cabin for guests.
Have you ever slept in a recycled container? Let me know how the experience was in the comments!
Easy and detailed steps make the planning process easier. I’ve been travelling as long as I can remember and I’ve spent a fair few hours planning. I even do it professionally now – so I consider myself an expert when it comes to travel planning. I learnt from the best and continue to grow each time I plan a trip for myself or my clients. So I’ve compiled a “How to plan any trip” list for you.
How to plan any trip in 11 easy steps
1. Decide where are you going
This is the most obvious first step, Duh, Anna. But without it you won’t be going anywhere, so take some time to decide where you want to go most. I find inspiration on Travel blogs, Instagram and Pinterest. Most of my trips are a combination of the following reasons combined to make them happen:
Budget: I always budget my travels. I am an obsessive travel planner, so budgeting, making checklists and making sure I do my research way in advance of my travels si very important to me. I like to know what the daily budget for a place will be. In some places with 30-40USD per day you have more than enough and others need some more money. Different times of year in different destinations will also have higher or lower prices. This factor is important.
Season of the year: there are two main seasonal factors for me. The easy one is picking the season depending on what to do (e.g. good weather for a beach destination and very cold for a winter ski trip). Then the rainy season is the second factor I like to check. With the high season and low season + the rainy season I can make out what the shoulder season will be. Shoulder season are the months in between high season and low season. Travelling in shoulder season if your dates are flexible is my favourite thing because you get lower prices, less crowds and the weather is still/already nice.
How much time do I need/have: I wouldn’t travel to a destination where you need at least 7-10 days if I only had 3.
2. Check if you need a visa and what the health requirements are
Some nationalities like EU citizens or Canadians for example have an easy access to a higher number of countries. The first stop is always passport index. The website is very easy to check and has categories for visa free, entry visa or visa needed. With a clear colour palette the first check is done. After checking that, head to the countries’ embassies’ website to double-check the listing on passport index is up to date. The next necessary step is to check if vaccinations or preventive medicine are needed. For example, in a lot of African countries the Yellow Fever vaccination is required and malaria preventive pills have to be taken.
3. Pick out your dates and research flights
If you have the opportunity to be flexible with dates. 2 or 3 days can make a huge difference to your final price.
The golden rule: Always check your flights using the incognito option on your browser. By doing that they do not keep cookies from your searches and won’t make them more expensive the next time you visit for the same dates and destination.
My recommendation is to check different apps. For the first app use hopper on your phone. Then check Skyscanner with at least 5 tabs to manually check dates (I find this to be the more reliable option, rather than checking for the cheapest month option – a personal OCD). The next step is to check the same airports and different dates and afterwards multi-airports (if the trip can be organised that way). It is always better to check one way for both legs of the journey and return – sometimes there are good deals to be found.
Silver rule: Subscribe to the newsletters of major airlines. You can score some nice prices if you are subscribed. I have a rule on my email that makes me not see the emails in my inbox if they come from let’s say Emirates. Then they are all in the folder “Airlines” – and I only check that when I’m looking for flights!
Subscribe to travel deal alerts in your country of residence. While in Europe I was checking el Viajero Fisgón and Scott’s cheap flights all the time. Now that I’m in Africa I check Travelstart and Cheap flights. They have amazing sales and specials – if any dates work for you – those are the good ones!
No one is exactly sure what the best tricks for scoring cheap flights are. For me, once I’ve decided on my dates I also check google flights matrix (still on incognito). I try to do international flights between 3 and 6 months in advance and domestic flights between 1 and 2 months in advance. Because I’m an obsessive planner I planned my whole year’s trips at the beginning, and although the dates were flexible and have been getting clearer over the months I knew roughly which destinations and which times of year I wanted to go. Tuesday afternoon is a well-known day to get good flights. At the end of the day trying to find flights in uncomfortable hours usually makes the for the better deal in my experience.
4. Check the route order & your way of transportation
After many hours of research using travel blogs and Instagram I have a vague idea of every place I want to visit (usually more than 50). Seeing as though I am not a full time traveller I have to try and fit in as many activities and sights as possible without overloading the planning.
This requires cutting the massive list down into only the most practical sights on the route I want to take, not more than 2-4 activities per day (depending on the activity, of course). Once I have organised the route and things to do I head to my amazing spreadsheet and update the details.
I include in this step deciding how to get around. In major cities or capitals I usually take taxis from and to the airport and use my legs or public transport to move around. In Slovenia I rented a car for a 7 day roadtrip and for Croatia I used buses. It really depends on my route and how easy and stress free public transport is.
Extra tip: I like to check step 3 and 4 of how to plan any trip together. The answer is simple: if I make the route starting at the final destination and that makes more sense flight and transportation wise I usually swap the order.
5. Booking the accommodation
I rarely leave things for last minute. This is because I have become hooked on sleeping in unique accommodation or unusual places. I have a list per country with amazing hotels, lodges, resorts or Airbnbs where I want to sleep. So my next move is to check my list and see if there’s anything for that country/area. For Uganda and Rwanda I didn’t have anything on my list but the places we choose ended up making the cut for my “Sweet Dreams” section – instead in Slovenia I planned the route based on availability for Garden Village as I knew I was going to be sleeping there.
When I don’t have a “must sleep” on my list I check the cheapest available accommodation. I like hostels for the vibe and location, Airbnb if I don’t want to be social (Grab your 39€ disccount if it’s the first time you are using the website!) and hotels (I use booking.com) when I need a late check-in or some other option that I can filter on the website.
Having Sweet Dreams in a tree house!
6. Booking the main activities
Now that we have the dates and are sure on the flights, what is it that you you want to do while you’re there? Some destinations require a lot of planning in advance and some are better for just winging it. For example in June this year when I went Gorilla Tracking in Uganda I booked my permits 6 months in advance, because they do sell out quite fast.
Locate your main objective for the trip (some trips might not have a main one): going on a 2 day hike, checking a major city landmark, sightseeing a capital in three days or road tripping. Some of the stops along the way might need you to book in advance for an activity or concert etc.
7. Download a conversion app
It is key to always know the exchange rate. My favourite app for this is called converter [LINK]. It works both online and offline which makes it very versatile. It’s always better to know how much money I should be getting when exchanging one’s currency.
8. Have offline maps
Download maps.me for offline maps. I also use Waze when I have data.
9. Pack your bag
Decide which items you are going to take as well as which bag or suitcase. I have been travelling carry-on only for over a year and couldn’t be happier with the decision. Check my summer packing list here.
10. Get insurance
The less sexy part about planning and yet one of the most important ones. Make sure your insurance covers repatriation and some medical problems as well as minor theft. I have used AXA, Winthertur and World Nomads. I like them all. World Nomads is the online interface I like to use the most: easy and clear on inclusions.
11. Have copies of your documents online
Things happen. So have copies of passport, drivers license, id’s, vaccination and others on the cloud or in your email, just in case!
With this easy guide on how to plan any trip you will be able to get hands on quickly and make sure you’ve checked all the necessary information. Now you only need to start planning your own trip!
On my recent visit to the kingdom of Swaziland/eSwatini we had the opportunity to explore the landlocked country for 3 full days. We mostly stayed in the north of the country.
It was hard to plan the itinerary as there wasn’t much information for independent travellers. We decided to stay 2 nights in the Ezulwini Valley area and 1 night in the Maguga Dam area. Let’s dive into the itinerary.
Trip map courtesy of Wanderlog, the best trip planner app
Itinerary breakdown for a 3 day itinerary in Swaziland/Eswatini
Day 1 – Mlilwane wildlife sancuary
This sanctuary is less than an hour away from the Oshoek border (from South Africa). On arrival check in at your accommodation and explore the reserve by car or on foot.
I recommend that you drive around and when you find animals you can get out and walk a bit to get closer to them. This reserve does not have any predators, so it’s safe to walk. The only areas where you have to be careful is around the water, as there are crocodiles and hippos. It is well signed.
Be aware that this sanctuary is not your typical safari experience, but I would recommend it for both kids and adults, just keep in mind that you won’t see the big 5. The roads in the reserve can be driven with a normal city car with a little bit of clearance, we had mostly rainy days and still had no problem driving around.
There are a few different accommodations inside the sanctuary. We had a problem at our pre-booked accommodation and had to last minute find accommodation due to a mistake from the backpackers.
Do not stay at Sondzela Backpackers, but do check out Reilly’s Rock or the Rest Camp for accommodation. We only received good service from them.
For accommodation, you can either stay at the reserve or exit and check in at your Ezulwini Valley hotel. If you feel like gambling you can find entertainment in the Valley Casino.
There are different attractions that can be checked around the area. The one I liked the most was the visit to the Mantenga cultural village and its waterfall.
I am usually sceptical about visiting tribes to learn how they live, but I really wanted to see the waterfall and we found ourselves going there at the time of the show, so we stayed for the dancing show and the visit to the village (that was built for tourists, no one has lived there in the past 40 years).
The waterfall is accessible by car and is not more than 600m away from the village, so you could also walk.
There are marked viewpoints to see the waterfall from below and there is one viewpoint that requires a little bit of a walk (around 10 minutes) to arrive to a sort of vertical viewpoint right across from the waterfall.
I got to eat a cake and blow out some candles for my birthday there, and it was pretty special to have those views during the experience.
There are hot springs advertised in the valley, that we wanted to check out. After entering we realised it was just a warm and overcrowded public pool so we got a refund and left. Be aware of that when you see the “Hot puddle” hot springs advertised.
Afterwards drive through Mbabane. We didn’t see any appeal in visiting the town, so we only drove through to arrive at Sibebe Rock, the largest exposed granite pluton in the world.
They are different in some aspects, but Sibebe is the second rock after Uluru (Australia) with similar characteristics.Enjoy sunset from the Maguga Dam, the most impressive human made dam I’ve ever seen. Not because the engineering was anything out of this world, but because it looks like a natural and beautiful lake.
Day 3 – Maguga Dam
Enjoy a drive around the dam or part of it, the views are worth it. Drive to Malalotja Nature reserve, where you can also find small game and a canopy tour. We recommend at least 3 hours. Drive back to the border and get ready to exit.
Have you ever been to Eswatini (Swaziland)? Let me know in the comments if you would’ve added something to the 3 day itinerary in Swaziland!
From the moment I learned that gorillas could be visited in the wild by going on a trekking experience, I’ve wanted to do it. When I finally made the move to Cape Town I knew that my first big trip on the African continent would be to go and visit these magnificent apes. And although I’m still processing the whole experience, gorilla tracking in Uganda was the single most incredible experience of my life.
There is no other wildlife encounter that could even come close to that.
I did the trek in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest, one of only two areas left that host these critically endangered mountain gorillas. Gorillas can only be found in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Uganda and Rwanda. Approximately 700 are recorded and known. Of those, approximately half live in the Bwindi forest and the other half in the Virunga volcanoes area which includes a section in Rwanda and one in the DRC. The area is joined by the Mgahinga Gorilla National park which is in Uganda. That total area is known as the Volcanoes area.
I knew that the day would completely blow me away but it even so it managed to far exceed my expectations!
Things no one ever tells you about gorilla tracking in Uganda
1. Pick the destination, not the gorillas.
Gorillas can be seen in two main areas so pick the destination that you are more excited for rather than the gorillas. There are of course two major factors I would keep in mind when choosing which country to go to. The first and most obvious one is price. In 2018 Ugandan permits cost 600 usd per person while in Rwanda prices escalate to 1500 usd per person. In the DRC the permit costs only 400 usd but the country’s safety record is very poor currently so I wouldn’t even consider it an option for the time being. All permits will allow you 1h with the gorillas, after you have trekked to get to where they are which can take anywhere from 10mins to 4 hours to do.
The second factor is your level of fitness, the Bwindi forest starts at 1600m above sea level reaches 2600m at the top. You never know where the gorillas will be so be aware that you can easily be out of breath at higher altitudes, even though the hike itself is relatively easy. Bwindi also happens to be a very dense and thick forest (hence the name “impenetrable”), which can make it even more challenging.
Volcanoes area apparently requires slightly less in the way of fitness but can be muddier. That said, all of our trackers were doing the hike in rain boots – as a point of comparison.
2. Gorillas are wild animals
You don’t know what to expect. Pay close attention to your guides and rangers, they are professionals and know more about the gorillas than you will ever know. That idyllic image of a group of 7-10 gorillas all in one place in an opening in the forest that lets you enjoy them for 1h straight is more than just unlikely.
They move separately, individually or in little groups inside their family group. You might be lucky enough to see 2 or 3 at a time only and usually you will be trekking and following them as they are not sitting still in one place for very long.
3. Permits have to be picked up in Kampala
If you are organising the trip by yourself like we did, you won’t be organising your gorilla tracking permits through an agency but instead directly with the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. The process is very easy and largely stress free. Request a variety of potential dates for availability, pick the date and section that works best for you and pay the invoice.
We were told the permits had to be picked up from the main office in Kampala, however, we were flying into Kigali for our two-week itinerary in Uganda and Rwanda so Kampala was very far away. Luckily the lodge where we were staying had no problem organising the pickup for us, and the permits were at the National Park when we arrived. Make sure you send follow up emails to make sure this is done for you! We had to check in repeatedly.
4. Leave your camera rolling at all times
Make sure that you have enough batteries and memory cards to leave your camera working fulltime for an hour or more. It is handy if there are two of you, so that one of you can record videos and other can take pictures. Although I was in charge of photography for the day, my telephoto Lens (link hereee) could zoom in way closer and with better image quality than the iPhone 7, so I only recorded a few of short videos and focused on photos, I lost many precious seconds switching from one mode to the other.
You will miss shrieking and other incredible moments like when the silverback males as well as little baby gorillas beat their chests to assert dominance. If you can have a Go pro on your head that would be an amazing add on.
Try hard to stay in front of the group of humans as you trek, that way you will be in a better position to see the gorillas. If the gorillas happen to be in an opening in the forest stay at the edges of the human semicircle to get the best angles.
5. Consider booking twice
I know it’s pricy. Believe me, I only did it once because well… I couldn’t afford two permits. But if you can postpone your trip a couple months and save enough money to be able to do it, postpone it. I enjoyed the experience but I was also taking pictures, trekking in the jungle and trying to take it all in. It is way too exciting to be calm during, and have all your senses connected for the whole day, it is exhausting. After one night sleep we, and everyone else we met in every lodge we visited, thought the same: if we could afford it again we would have done it twice. Even though permits sell out months in advance. Let us dream!
6. Know the difference between habituation and tracking
There are two different ways you can witness gorillas in the wild. The most common and well known is the gorilla tracking, which we did, but there is also gorilla habituation. There are different groups or families of gorillas in the forests (both in Bwindi and Volcanoes area) and not all of these families are habituated to humans. They do this in case there is a disease carried by humans which spreads to the gorillas. Leaving some families unhabituated prevents all of these animals from dying in one go. The process of gorilla habituation to human presence takes place over 4 years until such time that the family is tracked daily. The habituation experience has a 4h duration.
After our trek the guide asked our group if, after having done it, we would have done this 1 hour experience or the 4 hour habituation instead (for 2018 price is 1000 USD per person). Naively, we all said the habituation but because those gorillas are not yet fully habituated to humans, they are more skittish and it is not as easy to follow them or to get half as close as we got. It is an important point to consider as we truly got incredibly close to them and they did not even flinch in our presence.
7. There is simply no other wildlife experience like this one
Finally and most importantly: there is no other wildlife experience that can compare to gorilla tracking in Uganda. Hiking through the jungle and being so close to the gorillas, moving through the forest vines to follow them as they eat, play and fight. You truly come close to them. The whole tracking group were in awe observing their movements.
It has been two weeks or so since I did the gorilla tracking and I still cannot believe it. It was an amazing experience for which I need new vocabulary. It was humbling. Life changing. And opened my eyes to yet another beautiful creature that we share the Earth with.
Have you ever visited the Cederberg Wilderness Area in the Western Cape, South Africa? These mountains are packed full of different activities that you should totally check out. The Cederberg is a vast area of rugged and undulating mountains that occupies a large part of the Western Cape. You can access the mountains from a number of different towns but it takes more or less 2h30min from Cape Town. Knowing what to do or which are the activities that are a must see in the Cederberg area is hard to discover, that’s why I came up with this list of things to do in the Cederberg, in the Clanwilliam area.
6 Things to do in the Cederberg
1. Algeria waterfall
Only about an hour long hike will take you to this beautiful waterfall. The path is bendy and you do require a beginner to medium fitness level for it. Not only is the actual Algeria waterfall very nice and tranquil but the valley views you can see from the top are breath-taking. I sat on the edge and enjoyed the views for a very long time
The drive from Algeria Campsite reception to Stadstaal cave & Rock Art will take you up the mountains for views like these.
Then the road will start going down into the valley and will showcase these amazing and colourful fields. Some big rocks have rolled off the mountain seem to be placed in their location on purpose. Perhaps this was a playground for giants?
For any Game of Thrones fan, I thought it looked quite similar the Great Grass Sea of the Dothraki! Further on your drive you will go past Driehoek and many different smaller farms. The scenery is very pretty. The price to get in to Stadstaal is R30 per adult. The place looks like a futuristic movie has to be filmed there: the rock formations have strange shapes and even caves!
3. Craft beer and cheese platter stop at Nieuw Brew
On your way back to Algeria you will drive past a sign you might have ignored on your way to the caves but you shouldn’t: Kromrivier. This short detour from the main road will take you to Krom rivier. It is not the typical thing to do in the Cederberg. You will see the green valley as you descend from the mountain on a windy road. It has a campsite, restaurant and craft beer. It was the first brewery in the Cederberg. The oondkoek (type of bread) recently baked with the cold beer make for the best stop.
4. Enjoy the dramatic views of Pakhuispas
If you drive on the R364 from Clanwilliam to Calvinia you will find a lookout space for the cars to park next to the road. When you get out of the car you feel like you stepped a foot in the lookout of a sacred land. The little valley views are spectacular, filled with different shapes and rocks.
5. Discover quality Bushman paintings at Seville rock art trail
Driving on the R364 you will find a sign on your right called Travellers Rest where the trail starts. The Seville trail has 9 different sites with bushman paintings who lived there for thousands of years. At arrival you must pay the permit R40 and then you are given a leaflet with information on each side. The trail is 5 km long and you can walk it yourself unguided just by following the footprints painted on the rocks for walkers.
What I loved most about the trail were clearly the paintings. I am generally sceptic about finding rock art as most times people speculate on possible meanings and I don’t like that. Instead, in the Seville rock art trail you are given information on what the painting is, and not what it means or is supposed to have meant.
The nine sites are truly incredible and the walk is relatively flat. I would totally recommend the Seville rock art trail as a thing not to miss in the Cederberg area.
6. Ride a horse
Dreamt of walking along private citrus fields on top of a horse? At Citrus Creek ‘Appel’ will let you enjoy the scenery while walking on top of the majestic horses. Get in the water with your horse (no swimming needed – you can stay atop) and enjoy a beautiful morning.
The Cederberg mountains are so pretty that any activity you can do will make them show off. Don’t hesitate and book a weekend away already!
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