Everyone has some kind of phobia, whether you choose to admit it or not. Some phobias like arachnophobia (fear of spiders) or the fear of flying are common and acceptable. But then there are those phobias that leave you asking, “Say what?” The fear of sitting down, the fear of knees or the fear of beards are downright peculiar – but they do exist.
Some phobias are just pop culture jokes like anatidaephobia (the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you) or arachibutyrophobia (the fear of peanut butter sticking to your palate – unless you’re a dog, no one suffers from this!)
I’ve rounded up a list of 10 strange phobias that make traveling a real pain. I’ve also included places to avoid or visit in South Africa and around the world if you’re brave enough to conquer your fears.
Hodophobia
Image by TheJudge310
What is it? The fear of (road) travel
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
The longest road in South Africa, measuring 1,929 kilometres is the N1. It goes all the way from Cape Town to Beitbridge on the border of Zimbabwe. Padkos is essential when conquering this fear.
Out there:
For a road trip on the world’s longest motorable road, the Pan American highway measuring 47,958 kilometres with a 159 kilometre rainforest break will definitely aid in overcoming your fear.
Ancraophobia
Image by Sibilus_Basilea
What is it? The fear of wind
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
Hold on to your toupee if you plan on visiting this one. According to the South African Weather Service, the windiest place in South Africa is Cape Point (Western Cape) which experiences calm conditions only 2% of the year. The annual average wind speed is 50.76 kilometres per hour and 42.1% of the wind speeds are greater than 28.8 kilometres per hour.
Conquer your fear of wind by booking accommodation at Cape Point.
Out there:
The Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica was listed in the Guineas Book of World Records as one of the windiest places on earth with winds often exceeding 240 kilometres per hour.
Agrizoophobia
Image by DClemm
What is it? The fear of wild animals
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
Leave your biltong at home when visiting South Africa’s largest and most iconic game reserve the Kruger National Park. The park has a large wildlife population and is home to the Big 5. The park covers an area of 19, 633 square kilometres.
Out there:
The Serengeti is where the largest animal migration on earth takes place starting in Tanzania’s southern Serengeti and ending in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. Over 1.3 million wildebeest, 300,000 zebra, and 500,000 gazelle and other herbivores make this journey every year in pursuit of grassy lower plains.
Not scared? Visit the migration in the Serengeti!
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Image by fishtarts
What is it? The fear of long words (which makes the name of the phobia itself quite a cruel joke!)
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
A farm 200 kilometers west of Pretoria is known as Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein. It is a name that made its way into South African folklore and is the title of a song by Anton Goosen. Luckily for all the hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobes, the farm is officially registered under the name Twee Buffels Geschiet.
Out there:
The longest name in the world with 163 characters was given to a town in Thailand called:
Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinma-hintarayutthayamahadilokphopnop- paratrajathaniburiromudomrajaniw-esmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathit- sakkattiyavisanukamprasit. Can anyone pronounce that?
Cryophobia
Image by Bailey_Wade
What is it? The fear of becoming cold
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
According to the South African Weather Service, the coldest place in SA is Buffelsfontein near Molteno (Eastern Cape) with a mean annual temperature of 11.3ºC and an average annual minimum temperature of 2.8ºC.
Not scared of extreme cold? Book accommodation in Molteno here.
Out there:
Bring out the thermal undies and beanies when visiting this one. The coldest place on earth is Vostok Station, one of Russia’s base stations. The lowest recorded temperature was registered at -89.2ºC.
Heliophobia
Image by rutpro
What is it? The fear of the sun
Place to visit or avoid in SA:
There’s a reason for the name “Sunshine Coast” in the Eastern Cape. With the warmest climate throughout the year and more sunshine hours than any other part of SA, it would be a heliophobe’s nightmare.
Read about Getaway’s adventures on the Sunshine Coast.
Out there:
Yuma in Arizona holds the world record for the most recorded annual average sunshine. It’s sunny in Yuma for 90% of the time from sunrise to sunset.
Haphephobia
Image by Hilaryament
What is it? The fear of being touched
Place to visit or avoid in SA:
For those who suffer from haphephobia, carrying a cattle prod would be frowned upon! According to Census 2011 from Statistics South Africa, the most populated provinces in SA are Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal which account for 42% of South Africa’s population. Beware these cities because the chances of being touched are high.
Out there:
According to Worldatlas.com Tokyo in Japan is the most populated city on earth with an estimated population of 37,126,000 in the metropolitan area.
Dendrophobia
Image by sophiedaguzan
What is it? The fear of trees
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
A surprising fact about Johannesburg is that it is one of the greenest cities in the world. According to the City of Johannesburg it is home to approximately 6 million trees. If all you dendrophobes are looking for a more daring challenge, visit the largest forests in SA, the Knysna and Tsitsikamma Forests of the Garden Route.
If you actually enjoy forests, check out our five favourite backpackers along the Garden Route.
Out there:
The Taiga is the world’s largest land biome and makes up 25% of the world’s trees. The largest forest is called the Boreal forest or Taiga Forest which runs through Russia, Canada, Scandinavia and parts of the extreme northern continental United States.
Cyberphobia
Image by Craig Smith
What is it? The fear of computers, technology.
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
With technology quickly taking over the world, individuals suffering from this phobia better get over it soon because there’s just no escaping technology. According to Tech Talk Africa, South Africa is the most technologically advanced country in Africa followed by Egypt and Nigeria.
Out there:
According to Lee and Dan.com Japan leads the way when it comes to consumer electronic technology. Japan currently has the most powerful supercomputer in the world followed by China with the U.S having the third fastest supercomputer.
Atephobia
Image by Giampaolo Macorig
What is it? The fear of ruins
Places to visit or avoid in SA:
Adam’s Calendar, a circular monolithic stone calendar in Mpumalanga, is claimed to be 75 000 years old – that’s a site that will probably freak any atephobe out!
Out there:
The Domus Aurea or Golden House in Rome was built in 64 A.D. Since its discovery, the ruins have been crumbling and collapsing causing safety concerns for visitors. Fearing that you might be killed by a falling rock, I suggest you stay clear of this one.
Main image by Columbusmmug.com
