I’m like a little girl with a new toy. And that toy is Pinterest. Even though I’ve had it in my possession for a while, I just can’t get enough of this online pinboard and sharing site.
From an Africa travel lover’s perspective, it’s set me, and those like me, on a trail of inspiration. And I don’t even have to get up from behind my laptop. With countless travel-focussed pinboards and pinners dedicated to the art of exploring the continent, it’s hard not to be distracted from your day job by the call of Pinterest and the wild and wonderful destinations it flaunts. It’s brought my travel daydreaming obsession to a whole new level.
Every type of happy traveller can pin inspiration onto their boards and you and I can follow the ones we relate best to. If you’re enthused by what you see, you can repin that image onto your own boards and save it there. It’s a free daydream man! You can go wherever you like. Pinterest can act as a virtual visual trip planner as you can group images according to any category of your choice. My personal travel board is called “Wish you were here” and is a collection of images that got me fantasizing about being somewhere magical. You and I could take it a step further and plan specific trips via boards such as one for ”Easter Holiday Travel Options”, “Camping in Kruger” and “Botswana Trip Wish List” to name a few that I’d create. The possibilities are bottomless. Pinterest is basically a means to find travel inspiration which is visually focussed and gets those feet itching to hit the road on an adventure
Blueglass.com described the simple reasons why people are so Pinterest obsessed: “Pinterest combines two of the most compelling elements of social media: visual content and sharing who you are. Oh, and everything looks really pretty… ” Whether you’re the ultimate arm chair traveller looking for temporary escapism or you’re the over eager getaway guywho fills every weekend with a road-trip, Pinterest takes travel imagination to a visual level and makes us all dream of drifting for the sheer love of it.
Here are 10 awesome African-travel inspired pinners to follow:
1. Safarious on Pinterest
Safarious is an interactive community that uses web-based tools to unite serious wilderness professionals with curious adventurers. You can just imagine the untamed and beautiful images they pin from real and lived adventures gone by.
2. Krugerpark.com on Pinterest
The Pinterest profile of Krugerpark.com shows off self-catering accommodation, tours and luxury lodges all over South Africa, but focuses on the Kruger National Park especially.
3. Classic Safari Camps of Africa on Pinterest
Classic Safari Camps of Africa is an association of independent, privately owned camps and lodges in some of the most striking wildlife areas in Eastern and Southern Africa. It’s pins show why so many travellers dream of coming to Africa.
4. Go2Africa on Pinterest
Go2Africa is an independent, privately owned African Travel Company. Authentically African travel experiences are showcased in their pins. Go find your passport, quick.
5. Getaway Magazine on Pinterest
As expected, Getaway magazine gets Pinterest right. The images shared are undiluted journey temptation in every travel category.
6. Tongabezi Lodge on Pinterest
Pins from a unique, luxury safari lodge on the banks of the Zambezi River, just upstream of the Victoria Falls, Zambia. The tree house accommodation is inspiration in itself.
7. Africa Geographic on Pinterest
Africa Geographic is besotted with the continent’s wildlife, nature, conservation, people, travel possibilities, environment and more. The pictures tell Africa’s tales.
8. Wildlife Act on Pinterest
Wildlife Act‘s Pinterest boards celebrate Africa’s endangered wildlife which they aim to conserve through monitoring and volunteer programs.
9. SA Venues on Pinterest
SA-Venues.com is an online South African travel guide stacked with comprehensive directories of accommodation and tours. Now their pins inspire African travel that they can help arrange too.
10.WildJunket on Pinterest
Wild Junket is an international adventure travel website and digital magazine with a focus on offbeat destinations and the outdoors. And Africa is one of their favourites so it’s beautifully depicted in their pins
If you haven’t joined Pinterest yet, do it for inspiration’s sake. Find out more about Pinterest basics and how to make it even easier to pin here.
And follow me, Kelly Kidson on Pinterest too.
Main image: Pure reflection by Philip Hattingh on Getaway Gallery