Being a digital nomad in South Africa has a unique set of challenges that puts all other digital nomad challenges to shame.
The roads are abstractly patterned with potholes, patchy Wi-Fi, and patchy cell phone service, and let’s not take a dark dive into the struggle loadshedding presents.
These five items should definitely make it onto your packing list if you ever decide to pack up your life and hit the roads of South Africa.
Picture: Unsplash
1. UPS
A magical little box that connects to the WiFi router and the power supply, and keeps your WiFi going through the lengthy two (or four) hours of loadshedding, or those fun days when power cuts and it’s not scheduled on the Eskom app.
When working while travelling, it’s important to ensure you have a stable WiFi network that doesn’t stop when the power does. Purchasing and travelling with a reliable UPS is probably the most important thing on a digital nomad’s packing list.
2. Portable router/ SIM card dongle
Picture: Alamy
The second most important packing item is having a SIM card dongle (or portable router – everyone has a different name for it) up your sleeve when the Wi-Fi won’t play fair. From personal experience, the Vodacom service seems to be the most reliable country-wide, but having two SIM cards from two different network services is the safest idea.
3. Multiplug
A multiplug is a super handy piece of equipment to have. You might arrive at your Airbnb/ hostel/ accommodation and find that there aren’t enough plugs or adapters to charge everything that needs charging.
4. Transparent containers
It is not so much an item to pack as it is an item to help you pack, but big transparent containers are incredibly helpful to have. You might have seasonal things, like winter clothes, that you might not need in a certain location or time of the year. You can see what’s inside the container without unpacking it to find out.
5. Frying pan
This one always gets a funny reaction from listeners.
It sometimes happens that the accommodation you stay at has old cooking equipment, and your scrambled eggs end up glued to the bottom of the frying pan. To make life a little easier and convenient, pack a good frying pan, where you know your eggs will make it onto your breakfast plate.
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