When I was 16, I was invited to go on a people-to-people international study abroad trip. My mother told me that I could either go on the trip, or I could get a car. I chose to travel, and I haven’t stopped since.
Traveling to South Africa and experiencing the diverse array of cultures and the varied landscapes meant that I couldn’t go just once. Pristine coastline and crystal seas filled with sea life, rock art paintings from the earliest humans that have survived thousands of years, and vast savannahs roamed by herds of majestic elephants, just to name a little of what South Africa offers.
I’m able to live out my love of history and curiosity of other cultures in this amazing role as a South African specialist, and I can’t wait to share my passion for travel with you.
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Q&A with Michaella
What’s Your Most Vivid Travel Moment?
When I was on safari, we were in an area where the rhinos had to have 24-hour armed guards because of poachers. We’d been traveling for about 30 minutes and hadn’t seen either the guards or the rhinos yet, when we came around a bend to a small valley and saw a guard sitting near the road. Our guide urged us to get out of the car and follow them, but to turn off the locator on our phones first. Less than 30 m (100 ft) away were two rhinos, laying down next to each other. To be able to get out of our safari vehicle and stand within 9 m (30 ft) of these amazing creatures was a surreal experience. Meeting their gaze and wondering what they’ve experienced, to have to be safeguarded for their whole lives to prevent their extinction, what must that be like for them?
Where would you love to travel next?
I want to walk where the pharaohs walked and marvel at the ancient wonders of Egypt. To look at the face of Queen Nefertari on the walls of her tomb and to see the blue ceiling of Dendera, wondering if our night skies looked different thousands of years ago.
Which book, film, or artwork captures South Africa the most?
When you visit Bushman’s Kloof, your guide will take you to some of the oldest and well-preserved rock art paintings created by the native Koi-San people — some of the earliest modern humans. To see the rock art, face to face, just a foot or even inches away from you, is to encounter the origins of humanity. Painting has always been a form of expression, even for our ancestors thousands of years ago. The red of their paint has held on to the rocks, letting us know that they were here and that they endured.