So
me say you never really know a person until you travel with them! Finding someone who fits your travel habits isn’t always easy. Gemma Walsh, a 33 year-old clerical officer from Sligo, Ireland has thankfully found her travel soulmate in her colleague and friend Lorraine Spears, a 34-year-old assistant staff officer from Leitrim, Ireland. While Gemma and Lorraine love to travel and experience new and exciting places, they aren’t always able to travel as much as they’d like to due to their busy work schedules. However, they try to go on one big adventure trip a year to discover new countries, cultures and foods. This year, they visited sunny South Africa!
Gemma and Lorraine’s first Expat Explore trip was the Eastern Highlights tour in October 2017. This was actually their first holiday together. Lorraine was planning the trip for her 30th birthday, Gemma invited herself along (according to Lorraine) and the rest is travel buddy history! Since then, they have been on many adventures. Recently, they joined Expat Explore on our first South African Escape tour since 2020! This exciting journey began on 21 May 2022 and took Gemma, Lorraine and their fellow explorers on a two week adventure around South Africa.
We caught up with Gemma and Lorraine to find out exactly what it’s like to travel with a close friend and to hear more about their South African adventure!
Why did you choose to travel with a friend?
Gemma: I have very few friends I am able to travel with (without us wanting to kill each other) Luckily, I have found my travel buddy. There is just no drama with us. We call each other out if we’re being difficult and just have a laugh. Sometimes mistaken as sisters, other times confused as a couple – we finish each other’s sentences and are practically the same person but at the same time are completely different and I think that’s why it works. We have never gone away and become sick of each other’s company.
Lorraine: It is not always easy to travel with friends – you have to find the right travel buddy. However, I got lucky with Gemma.
Why do you believe people should choose to travel and see more of the world?
Gemma: Everyone needs to broaden their horizons, you need to see and taste how the other half live. I think it’s a waste to go back to the same city again and again, same resort, same people, same food. You need to get out and see the world – all of the world! Make your bucket list and then start ticking things off it NOW. Life is for living.
Lorraine: Travel helps ground you and give you a better perspective on life. I would rather be rich in experiences than possessions.
What destinations would you like to see next and why?
Gemma: I want to see more of the African continent, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, maybe Mauritius. Seeing South Africa just makes me want to see more! Would also love to go on an adventure in Asia – Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and obviously the Maldives. I just think the food and culture would be amazing. The photos you see on social media are so beautiful it just makes me want to see the places for myself.
Lorraine: There are over 190 countries in the world and I’ve only been to around 20 so there’s plenty I would like to see! South Africa felt like a good introduction to Africa. I want to see more of the African continent, Namibia, Zambia, Egypt and Kenya. Take in all the sights, from the deserts to wildlife, pyramids and scenery. New Zealand is high on the list; I want to drive to the islands listening to the audio books of Lord of the Rings. Other destinations include The Banff region of Canada, South America, Scandinavia, the Balkans, Malaysia and Japan.
Why did you choose to visit South Africa?
Gemma: One of the Expat owners made a guest appearance on our Europe tour and he mentioned they were starting a South African tour, as the owner was from South Africa we assumed they would do an amazing tour to highlight the beauty of their homeland! We assumed correctly! It was an AMAZING tour.
Lorraine: I like to go on one big adventure trip a year. South Africa ticked every box from scenery to wildlife. There was so much included on the itinerary for a very reasonable price with so many amazing optional extras that it was a very easy decision to make.
Did you know? Our co-founder Jakes joined Gemma and Lorraine on the first half of their South Africa Escape tour! Read about his experience of getting back on the road here.
What made you decide to choose Expat Explore as your South Africa tour operator?
Gemma: Having previously travelled with Expat, we loved how the tour was run and that we got our own free time and optional excursions. The tour guides are excellent and we felt extremely safe on both our tours. It’s also lovely to have a social aspect to travelling. That you meet up with a group of people every day and get to know them and have the craic.
Lorraine: As the owners of Expat Explore are from South Africa, I wanted to support a local company. I knew that as locals they would want to highlight the best of what their country had to offer and that the money spent on the trip would go to the local economy.
Do you think it would have been different travelling in South Africa on your own?
Gemma: Most definitely, I am not a great organiser so I know I wouldn’t have seen as much or done as much if I tried to organise a tour myself. There would have been less of a social aspect if I organised a tour myself and would have been more expensive.
Lorraine: I know for certain if I attempted to travel South Africa on my own I would not have seen half of what we managed to cover on the trip. The itinerary was jam packed for the two weeks but there is so much to do and see in South Africa that it would be overwhelming trying to navigate it all on your own. It is just nice to remove the stress of planning, instead you can just sit back and enjoy the tour and everything that is organised for you.
What were your favourite destinations on the South Africa Escape tour and why?
Gemma: I absolutely loved Boulders Beach and the Jackass penguins – it was amazing to see them up close. Table Mountain was definitely one of my favourite excursions in Cape Town (we did this ourselves on a free day and it was so worth it). The Cango Caves were just spectacular, canoeing with Untouched Adventures was so much fun. Birds of Eden was unreal! Zip lining in Tsitsikamma was hilarious. Kruger National Park and the game drives were just an unforgettable experience. I loved every minute of this trip and the highlights were literally every part of it – I should just write up the itinerary!
Lorraine: It is so hard to choose. Cape Town is an amazing, beautiful city with so much history and breathtaking scenery from Signal Hill to Table Mountain. The Garden Route and Tsitsikamma – the vineyards, hotels, food, zip lining in the forest and kayaking in Storms River. Of course, Kruger National Park was the ultimate wildlife experience. Driving through the park on the game drives was definitely a bucket-list experience and it surpassed my expectations.
Related: Discover the best things to do in Cape Town!
Did you have any preconceived ideas about South Africa that were challenged by the trip?
Gemma: I had no preconceptions but whenever I mentioned my trip, people warned me South Africa was dangerous. In my experience, it is no more dangerous than any other country I have visited. Everywhere you go there are always certain places and people to avoid. It was no different in South Africa. Like every new place visited, you just need to have your wits about you.
Lorraine: Yes, there was the usual fear mongering around travel in South Africa. However, within days of being in South Africa any safety concerns I had subsided, it is a beautiful country with very welcoming hospitable locals.
What are your favourite memories together from the trip?
Gemma: To be perfectly honest, there are just too many to pick from. We were very lucky to have been on such a small tour of 10 or so people, it was such a fun group we shared so many laughs! The tour is so busy all my memories are merging, I do clearly remember having an absolute blast in Timbavati Safari Lodge, I think we drank there every night, we were besties with the barman – and not having to pay a penny for any of the drink that touched our lips until the last day was dangerous.
Lorraine: The whole trip in general, we had so much fun, lots of laughs, adventures and good food.
Any funny stories from the tour that you’d like to share?
Gemma: There are just so many, but even re-telling stories to family and friends you really had to be there to get it. No one else laughs except Lorraine and me. Our group varied in age from 27-66, but get a few drinks into us and we were all like giddy children – Acting the Maggot.
Lorraine: Funniest story was from our night star gazing at De Zeekoe Guest Farm, Rhaza’s quick wit provided plenty of laughs for us in the dark that night. The trip would not have been the same without the magnificent addition of Anthony’s knowledge, he provided many laughs including keeping Jakes in check.
Did you enjoy meeting the other travellers on this tour? Do you have any tips for making friends while on a group tour?
Gemma: We would talk to the wall, we have made friends on both trips. On our last trip in Europe we made friends with a South African couple and made sure to visit them while on the South African Tour. It was lovely to catch up with them in person. My only tip would be to be yourself – the people you are meant to be friends with will naturally gravitate towards you.
Lorraine: I always enjoy meeting new people and that is the great thing about these tours; you meet like minded travellers who also love to see the world. It is lovely to see familiar faces every day and enjoy good company and stories over breakfast and dinner. The best tip I can give is to relax, be yourself and don’t be afraid to say hello! You never know, by the end of the trip you might have a new travel buddy.
Related: For more tips on making friends on tour, read our blog on travel friendships!
Want to take your bestie on an unforgettable adventure? Just have a look at our upcoming tours or follow in Gemma and Lorraine’s footsteps and embark on a South Africa Escape. Travelling solo? With Expat Explore, you’ll find a travel buddy (or multiple) in no time!