Ten countries, four months, one brave and eager woman…that is the story of 28-year-old Popi Sibiya who has explored parts of Africa while travelling to Ghana by road.
Prior to her current road trip, Sibiya had been to various countries. It was more than three years ago when the travel bug first bit her. She wasted no time and made the brave decision to quit her job, pack her bags and seek out new experiences.
‘I was actually inspired by Afrobeats – the Nigerian music genre. It is such amazing music and I told myself I’d love to see the country from which it was birthed.
How are the vibes in Nigeria? How are Nigerian people? I just thought Nigeria must be this lovely place because the music that comes from there is beautiful,’ she shared.
Her longing to see Nigeria has since translated into the exploration of several countries on the continent.
Also a digital creator and vlogger, Sibiya has thoroughly documented her journey which has garnered the interest of many aspiring travellers.
Her most recent road trip began on the 11th of June. She has had the opportunity to see different countries en-route to her destination where she arrived on the 10th of October.
‘On this particular trip to Ghana from South Africa, the countries I visited include Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin and Togo’.
From being hosted in the homes of kind strangers to being stuck in Gabon during a Coup, Sibiya has indeed been exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly of the African continent.
Each experience has contributed to her personal growth and helped expand her outlook on life. Here are just three lessons she has learnt from exploring Africa.
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Sharing is indeed caring
Community is effortlessly at the core of Africa. All over the continent, kindness and sharing have been adopted as a way of life. Sibiya has experienced this firsthand from people who have lovingly opened their homes for her.
‘The people share everything they have, and the homes with the least were the most welcoming,’ said Sibiya.
Same but different – all things are one
While Africa can be viewed as a mosaic of different cultures, a lot of similarities exist within the diversity. According to Sibiya, she never really saw anything brand new in Africa as she could relate many aspects of her trip to her life back in South Africa.
‘The landscape is the same. The animals are the same, the same villages, the same culture more or less.’
Help is at hand
Travelling through Africa using public transport, Sibiya quickly learned to be comfortable with uncertainty. She let go of overthinking and wanting things to be 100% perfectly organised as that is not always possible. Instead, she learned to rely on help from kind strangers.
‘Sometimes you don’t know where you’re going or there isn’t information upfront. You can’t Google it. You just know that you’re going to get to the bus station tomorrow and there will definitely be people who know where you’re going and who are also going there,’ she added.
Although she has reached the final stages of her current road trip after four months, Sibiya looks forward to more travelling and exploration. She intends to visit another continent early next year and will be sharing her journey.
