Everyone calls me Thobi (pronounced tow. bee)! I’m a Zulu South African who left my job as a content producer in 2019 to take on the world of travel and creating my content on my terms. I have focused my love for travel and lifestyle to showcase the beauty and gems of South Africa and the beautiful African continent. My appreciation for travel started at a very young age, with one of my earliest memories being on a family trip to the Kruger National Park, waking up for game drives at 5 am and being excited to look out for the big 5 (if you aren’t familiar with what this is, it’s the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot being the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo).
After a morning drive, I vaguely remember my uncle carrying his video camera around, asking the kids what we saw. I was excited when he came to me and asked, “Thobeka, what did you see?” and I answered him telling him how I saw the giraffe, an elephant and more. Little Thobi was bright-eyed and beaming, and so my love for travel, the camera and sharing began.
I’m sure you’re wondering why the name Thobi Rose? In 2011, I started studying at the University Of Johannesburg, and on a casual day, I woke up and decided to go and cut my hair, the BIG “life-changing” chop. After I shaved it ALL off, the barber looked at me and smiled, saying, “ah, you look like a rose..” and so I took the rose and decided I look like a Rose Bud. I started a blog at University called Rose Bud, and as the years went on, the bud fell off but rose stayed and here I am today, Thobi Rose. I am still blooming and growing, and I hope that this journey becomes one where I can inspire, educate and see many more African travellers at heart bloom and explore this magnificent continent.
Travel for me has always been about the stories we create, the stories we tell, the people we meet and the memories engraved in our hearts forever. I hope to share this love for all these things with you and to include all the things we need when we travel, from tips to planning your next trip, packing hacks, finding the best places to eat, reviews, the perfect sunscreen, outfits and more which is where the lifestyle element will live. My main goals are to change the face of travel by showcasing gems, focusing on unearthing the true gems that lie in our continent, and changing how travel is perceived to look like for Africans in Africa.
