Anesu Mbizvo and Fez Mkhize, intrepid hosts of Top Travel, are uncovering a world of wonder.
You’re travelling between Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The road is, shall we say, challenging, and at times it feels as if there are more potholes than actual tar. The car has already broken down more than once and, with the sun setting, you can’t wait to settle in at your next destination. Then it happens. The car breaks down once more, and this time it’s going to need a pair of expert hands to fix it.
What do you do? If you’re Anesu Mbizvo, co-presenter of S3’s Top Travel, you wait until your sound engineer has rigged up his speaker, blare some hip hop and start dancing – oh, and you capture a few behind-the-scenes shots while you’re at it. “When you travel, you have to be open to new experiences – often, they’re opportunities to learn,” she says sunnily, adding that since the Top Travel team is just that – a tightly knit team – every misadventure is a chance to grow together.
Fez Mkhize, her partner on the show -and in life – has an even more sanguine attitude. “I grew up as the child of a single mother in Port Shepstone. My dad passed away when I was very young, so I had anxiety around life shifting. I thought that getting on an aeroplane would be the biggest milestone in the world. My biggest dream was to visit Durban, so I think it’s crazy that I get to see what I’m seeing now. If a car breaks down, I think that’s a small price to pay for what we get to experience. You have to take the good with the bad, otherwise you don’t deserve the good.”
If Fez came to travel incidentally, through his work as a television presenter, Anesu has been something of a nomad since childhood. Born to a Zimbabwean father and South African mother who loved exploring, she moved between countries while still very young. “That planted a seed,” she says. “It sparked my interest in seeing how other people lived and took away the fear of the new that can be inhibiting.”
The love affair continued long after Anesu completed her medical studies at the University of Cape Town, where she met Fez – their mutual interest in healing a forerunner to their shared love of exploring. Travel is a great refresher, she explains. It keeps you curious and excited.
This is the first time she has travelled with Fez, she continues – and it’s every bit as much fun as the couple expected. “If ever there was a person who deserved adventure, it’s Anesu. I love being able to do this with her,” Fez says. Not that Anesu welcomes every single adventure: She admits that while Fez likes to get his pulse racing, she’s happy to visit an unspoiled vista and soak up the magic in peace. “That said, there’s no denying that it can be thrilling when your adrenalin starts pumping. One of my favourite moments when shooting this series was cliff jumping off the Big Swing at Graskop Gorge in Mpumalanga. I was completely freaking out, and of course I had to talk through my fear so that I could bring viewers on the journey with me, which made it that much more scary. But afterwards, when you get to see that panoramic Mpumalanga view and you are completely at peace after the adrenalin has been coursing through your body, you feel really at peace. It’s as if you’ve gone through the range of human emotions and you can finally be still.”
One of Fez’s most magical moments while shooting was spending time with the Maasai warriors in Kenya. “This is a culture that holds on to the traditions that have been in place for centuries – and I love that. There’s a beauty to the fact that the pragmatic elements of this culture are still being passed down at a time when expediency is everything. What I find even more amazing is the fact that this knowledge is shared by an elder whose job is to reveal everything he has learned throughout his life.”
Visiting his hometown was another highlight for Fez – but it’s the Drakensberg amphitheatre that has his heart. “On the day we filmed there, I woke up to a landscape that was nothing but clouds. You could imagine pearly gates … it was enough to make me want to write up my list of good deeds! But as the sun came up, the clouds slowly disappeared.”
And Anesu’s favorite spot? “People always ask that – but I don’t think there can ever be a single answer to that question. It’s all about how you approach your travels. If you’re curious enough, every place has magical spots. It’s just about setting an intention to learn.”
So, what’s next on the itinerary for these two intrepid explorers? Anesu and Fez are both very excited for the upcoming episodes of the series. “We’ve been privileged to highlight everything that’s special about southern Africa, in Namibia, Botswana and of course South Africa, but I’m especially pleased to be shedding a spotlight in East Africa, with its unique Arab influence making for amazing food and architecture,” Anesu says. Fez, meanwhile, says that while it’s likely their schedules may keep them apart for some of the year, they’re not about to turn their backs on something that brings them joy. Time to get packing for some road trips!
Details: Top Travel flights on S3 every Saturday at 8.30pm. Follow @toptraveltv on Instagram.
Anesu and Fez’s tips for surviving misadventures
- Prepare yourself for the unexpected. Before travelling we like to take some time to set expectations for our trip. This often looks like running through the itinerary and checking the weather forecast, but we also like to prepare for the unexpected so we’re not taken off guard when it happens. Visualising how you’ll react to a surprise is a great way to prepare yourself for it.
- Have an attitude of gratitude. When something unexpected happens, we generally allow ourselves to feel the emotions of it and then, after a few deep breaths, we think of three things in that very moment that we are grateful for. Taking some time to reframe your perspective brings you back into a positive state of mind so you can reset and refocus!
