Who is Mzansi Girl?

Meruschka Govender is the writer of the beloved blog, Mzansi Girl.

The travel blogger, who was born in Durban, did not start off as a successful travelogue writer but rather pursued a degree in finance and economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

After attaining her degree she lived in a number of places around the country and had been traveling and figured that she wanted to share her travel experiences with everyone else.

Sharing her travel experiences on Twitter at first, the blogger built up a great following on the social media platform and later explored the blogging avenue by reading other blogs.

It was just three-and-a-half years ago that she decided to document her travels on a blog after she met with the online editor of Getaway magazine who approached her to write a blog for the popular travel magazine.

It began as a passion for exploring South Africa and was not intended to become as a big a hit as it has in the short number of years that it’s been around.

“It’s meant to inspire locals to explore their own city and travel locally. It’s mostly about travel, but it’s also about music, food and art,” she said.

Asked whether people can make a career of blogging, she explained that it is possible, but she is not strictly a blogger and fills her time with a number of jobs that she’s passionate about.

“I think it’s something that you can do as a full-time job, but it’s not easy. There’s a lot of competition out there, especially internationally, so you have to find a way to be different.”

It was not a short or easy road, however, and she only accomplished her successful blog after six years of working in a similar industry and making contacts to make her blog a hit.

Mzansi Girl captures the heart of South Africa in her blog and she explains that it’s not impossible for you to do, with hard work and dedication.

Details: www.mzansigirl.com; @MzansiGirl