A couple of months ago I announced my plan to visit 10 small South African towns in 2020, in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of my blog. I will blog about my visits to the 10 South African towns throughout the year (along with my usual Joburg-centric content), and I also plan to publish a #10SouthAfricanTowns book in early 2021.

I received about 75 different town suggestions, and after much consideration I’ve whittled the list down to ten.

This map is subject to change. (In fact, I’ve changed two of the towns since this post was initially published on 6 December.) But for now, here are the ten towns I’ve chosen:

In case you don’t feel like clicking on the map, here’s the list in no particular order:

• Bathurst, Eastern Cape
• Prince Albert, Western Cape
• Philippolis, Free State
• Kaapschehoop, Mpumalanga
• Kameel, North West
• Kakamas, Northern Cape
• Bredasdorp, Western Cape
• Val, Mpumalanga
• Mtunzini, KwaZulu-Natal
• Giyani, Limpopo

I chose the ten towns based on a few factors: 1) Each town was suggested by one of you, my wonderful readers; 2) I hadn’t visited any of these towns before; and 3) The towns cover all nine of South Africa’s provinces, except for Gauteng since I’ve covered that province extensively already.

This project is a gamble for me. Some of the towns are sure-fire attractions — towns that have been on my to-do list for years and where I know I’ll find great stories. Others are virtually unknown. In North West and Limpopo, for example, I struggled to find promising towns that I haven’t visited before. The towns I’ve chosen for those two provinces, Vaalwater and Kroondal, are shots in the dark. (If anyone reading this comes from Vaalwater or Kroondal, please give me a shout.)

Also, I need to figure out a way to fund this thing. While I hope to bring on some travel partners and sponsors (more on that below), visiting 10 towns flung all over South Africa is going to be time-consuming and expensive. To complete this project I’m going to have to pay for petrol, food, lodging, tours, photography equipment, hard drives, printing, and a million other things. Also…bills.

This brings me to the main topic of this post: I need your help.

Support 2Summers and #10SouthAfricanTowns

Guys, as a so-called professional blogger I am ashamed to confess this. But I’m ridiculously bad at making money from this blog. Actually I’m ridiculously bad at making money, period. Like so, so bad. Not good at all.

I’m a great blogger but a horrible money-maker. And my lack of money-making has become a major obstacle in my life. Like I’m trying to sound funny but in all seriousness, I need to start earning more cash.

When I first announced the #10SouthAfricanTowns campaign I didn’t really think about how I would fund it. But I’m planning to visit my first town in January, which is right around the corner, and it’s time for me to figure something out. So I’ve set up a page on a fundraising site called Patreon, and I’m asking you, my wonderful readers, to support me.

Find my fundraising page here: www.patreon.com/2Summers.

Patreon is a site for “creators” like me, who make great content but aren’t great at earning a living from it. I have set up a nifty Patreon page for myself, with information about my work and various membership “tiers”. The lowest tier requires a contribution of $3 (about R44) per month. (You can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I’m hoping lots of you will become 2Summers “patrons”. And if you do, you’ll receive a lot more than just my gratitude. I’ll be creating a whole array of special content — newsletters, private blog posts, behind-the-scenes photos and video clips, etc. — which will only be available to my patrons. (My normal free content will also continue as usual.) Learn more on my Patreon page.

I’ve already posted a patron-only photo gallery on my Patreon page — featuring fun pictures of a brief scouting mission I recently took to one of the #10SouthAfricanTowns. Sign up as a patron to see this special post.

I know that a regular monthly contribution, no matter how small, is a lot to ask. Times are tough here in South Africa, and in many other parts of the world. But please know these contributions will help me to create better, more informative, more meaningful content on my blog — both for the #10SouthAfricanTowns campaign and all the other posts I publish. I’ll be eternally grateful for your help and I won’t let you down.

Other Ways to Support #10SouthAfricanTowns

If a monetary contribution isn’t in the cards for you right now, there are other ways you can support 2Summers. First and foremost, keep reading and sharing my posts. Subscribe to my blog using the email field on the right side of this page. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Second, I am actively seeking sponsors for the #10SouthAfricanTowns campaign — hotels/guesthouses, travel companies, guides, tourism boards, and especially car companies (I REALLY need a decent car for all these crazy road trips) — so if you have any leads, please hook me up. I’m also looking for introductions to interesting people/places in the ten South African towns. Bring on the ideas.

Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance. My patron-only 2Summers newsletter will commence in early January. I’m so excited.

Learn more on my Support 2Summers page.