Ballito’s travelling blogger

She goes where the wind blows her, thirsting for knowledge and new experiences to soak up, enriching her soul and sharing her stories and tips as she goes along.

“I arrive at a new place and the fruit tree is full of delicious fruit. I eat it all up until there is nothing left and then move on,” said local travel blogger Tamryn Lambson of the Travel with Lamb blog.

She started her blog as a requirement for her online journalism course for the South African Writers’ College. Students had to start a blog and maintain it for a period of three months with at least two posts every week.

“My tutor really loved the blog, saying it was epic and I should continue with it. It was a lot of trial and error, learning what works well and what readers would like to see.”

She was motivated to create and maintain her blog by the many questions she received from friends and family asking for travel advice and tips, from where they should go, what they should do in certain places to how they should explore – and more.

Lambson also gives guidance to people dreaming of living and working overseas, but who are scared and unsure of how to go about it.

She will have lived in five different countries by the age of 25, Mauritius being her next great adventure in six weeks time.

“I discovered writing when I was living in Thailand last year. You can not help but feel creative in an environment like that. I started drawing, and writing came hand-in-hand.”

Everything she writes on her blog comes out of her own experiences. “This is an honest expression of travel experiences on an interactive platform with the aim of inspiring others. I do not claim that my way is the only way but I share my stories.”

So many people see travel and working overseas as something scary and unattainable but this blog points you in the right direction.

After a year of studying law, Lambson decided it was not for her and went to work in the UK for two years. When her visa expired she had no choice but to come back to Ballito – only to be head hunted to work in Dubai.

“I arrived in England at the age of 19 with no job, skills, qualifications, experience or money.”

After eight months she wanted more nature and hopped over to Thailand to teach English for six months.

“I am learning who I am as I go along. I am shaping myself. My interests drive my education. It would be a waste of time if I was not passionate about it.”

Lambson believes in ‘roughing’ it when you travel, adapting to the country, its people and way of life, connecting with the true and honest country, making your experiences as real as possible.

“I once paid R50 for just a mattress with no sheet, duvet, pillow, nothing. Where the shower was a hose over a wall and the toilet a hole in the floor.”

She insists that travellers must enrich their adventures by putting in the effort to read up on the country. “Learn about what you actually see in front of you and go where you love.”

Her favourite country she has visited so far is Cambodia. “There is absolutely no hate and only a sense of love. Even after huge devastation there is still harmony and people deeply care about each other and the world.”

Some advice from Lambson for future travellers and job seekers: be open minded, hard working, thick skinned, mature, humble and welcoming.

Follow her blog here and follow her on Twitter, @TravelWithLamb.