Justin Hawthorne travels whenever possible and documents his trips through social media platforms, blogging & formal presentations.

His travels have taken him to the United States of America & Canada for 3 months back in 2007, before travelling to Thailand. Big cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco & Toronto were explored along with the far off country towns like West Bend, Iowa. National Park visits were top of the agenda in south western USA: Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Death Valley & Yosemite radiated natural beauty. The trip also covered breathtaking drives along Route 66, Big Sur (Pacific Highway) & Grand Staircase Escalante to name a few. The sunset at Monument Valley stands out as one of the most amazing scenes to date.

Experiencing the thunderous Niagara Falls, cycling through Ottawa & standing atop the then tallest structure in the world (CN Tower) were among the highlights in Canada.

A visit to Scotland saw Justin travel between Edinburgh, Glasgow & the Isle of Skye in the spring.

The coastal areas of Thailand was on the map in 2009 where adventures around Krabi, Phi Phi & Phuket included hiking, snorkeling & many hours down at the beach. A full day snorkeling tour had us under the water until after dark – experiencing a night snorkel. A further two visits to Thailand, both of around 10 days to Bangkok where for as an assistant on working trip.

Namibia has been visited twice, on both occasions the focus was to hike the Fish River Canyon – a 5 or 6 day, 85 km long trek through the worlds second largest canyon. An incredible experience!

A long haul Emirates flight on a new Airbus A380 in 2011 had Justin travelling to the North Island of New Zealand to watch the semi finals of the Rugby World Cup. He took the opportunity to explore few walks in Wellington, Rotorua as well as in Auckland where he did a section of the Te Araroa (New Zealand’s Trail) – a 16 km city route named the Coast to Coast walk.

A work trip to Dubai saw Justin wandering the streets of the city over 3 weeks, where he visited the Burj Khalifa, went Dune Bashing & experienced the souks & museums near the Creek in Old Dubai. An invite by a good mate had Justin watching the Formula One in Abu Dhabi, where he walked around the Yas Marina circuit with earplugs enjoying the unique experience in the United Arab Emirates.

A spring time visit to Madrid, Segovia and the region of Andalusia over the Easter (Semana Santa) festivities in 2014 was the first long visit to Europe. Getting to understand this region of Spain, during an important cultural period was educational to say the least. Visiting friends in Estepona, experiencing the silent procession in Ronda, bullfighting in Seville, countless cups of cafe con leche and of course a day at the Alhambra are just a few of the memories.

Two 3 week visits to the incredible islands of the Philippines – the home country of my partner, Katherine. These trips rank as top of the travel experiences list for Justin. The adventures took us to climb Mt Kanla-on, an active volcano on Negros Island, swimming at Boracay, city explorations in Cebu and an epic 7-day visit to the quiet island of Camiguin! The follow up took them to hike Mt Pulag in wild conditions, trek to Batad and swim at the foot of Tappiya Falls, explore the unique elements of Sagada, all the while sipping on the coffee from the mountain province.

A stopover in Singapore saw Justin take a spin in the Singapore Flyer – getting a fantastic aerial perspective of the city. A short bus trip to the Singapore Botanic Garden, along with the National Orchid Garden took up the bulk of his time where the beauty on display was breathtaking.

In 2017 he was sent to Utrecht in the Netherlands for promoting Table Mountain Treks and Tours, under the banner of South Africa Tourism. He spent 9 days there, each morning and evening he walked different streets to experience as much of this pretty city as possible. Prior to getting to Utrecht he explored the canals of Amsterdam with brother Greg – experiencing a city snowfall for the first time.

Added to these are numerous travels in his home country of South Africa: a country with vast natural wilderness – endless explorations await!