Six South African travel content creators recently embarked on a six-part format competing to uncover South Africa’s untouched luxury escapes as part of BBC Lifestyle’s Brand-new Travel Series, “Hidden Gems South Africa”.
Rhett and Claire are a Johannesburg duo who left their nine to five jobs to travel the world fulltime, creating cinematic YouTube guides that help viewers plan unforgettable trips. Their content breaks down everything from costs to must-see attractions across both local and international destinations.
The duo shared with us about their hidden gems. Check out what they had to say below.
1. Your hidden gem introduces viewers to a unique side of South Africa, what made your destinations stand out to you personally, and how does it reflect your approach to travel storytelling as a creator?
What made our hidden gems stand out is that they showed two completely different sides of South Africa, but both had that same feeling of, “How is this right here at home?”
At Rusenhof in Oudtshoorn, the meerkat sunrise experience was honestly one of those simple travel moments that stays with you. And one you feel like you could keep coming back to. You wake up before sunrise, head out into the quiet Karoo, sit patiently in the cold morning air, and then these little meerkats start popping their heads out as the sun comes up. It’s not a loud or over-the-top experience. It’s slow, natural, and completely magical.
Then Kraalbaai Houseboats was the total opposite in terms of landscape, but gave us that same feeling of surprise. You’re floating on this calm, turquoise lagoon in the West Coast National Park, and it almost feels like you’ve travelled to somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, but you’re still in South Africa. It’s quiet, peaceful, and one of those places that forces you to slow down.
That’s really what we love about travel storytelling. We’re not just trying to show the obvious places or the big bucket-list landmarks. We love finding experiences that make people see a destination differently. The kind of places that are beautiful, but also make you feel something. For us, a true hidden gem isn’t just somewhere that looks good on camera, it’s somewhere that changes the way you see and feel about a country you thought you already knew.
2. How did being part of Hidden Gems South Africa challenge or inspire you creatively, both in how you experienced the destination and how you shared it with your audience?
Being part of Hidden Gems really did challenge us creatively.
As YouTubers, we’re so used to talking directly to the camera and speaking to our audience in a very natural, honest way. We’re normally documenting our travels as they happen — sharing what surprised us, what we loved, what we didn’t expect, and how a place actually made us feel.
But being part of a show like this required a completely different approach. Instead of speaking directly to the viewer, we had to communicate that same feeling through our conversations with each other and through the experience itself. At times, that pushed us outside of our comfort zone, and honestly, it was a lot harder than we expected. We had to find a new way to still feel like ourselves while working within a completely different format.
It also made us realise that with a show like this, there’s a bigger responsibility. You’re not just showing that a place is beautiful; you’re trying to communicate why it matters, what makes it special, and why people should care about it.
Creatively, we’ve always loved paying attention to the smaller moments when we travel. The silence before the meerkats came out. The early morning light over the Karoo. The feeling of waking up on the water at Kraalbaai. The colour of the lagoon. The stillness of the West Coast. We really hope that came across in the show too.
We think travel content doesn’t always need to be fast-paced or packed with big activities to be powerful. Sometimes, the most memorable experiences are the quiet ones. And as creators, that’s what we really love capturing — those honest, atmospheric moments that make people think, “I want to feel what that felt like,” and hopefully inspire them to get out and experience it for themselves.
3. Travel creators are increasingly influencing where and how people travel. In your opinion, how have content creators changed the tourism industry in South Africa, especially when it comes to spotlighting lesser-known destinations and communities?
Content creators have changed tourism in a big way because they’ve made travel feel more personal, more visual, and more accessible to everyone.
Before, a lot of travellers would plan their South Africa trips around the same famous places — Cape Town, Kruger, the Garden Route, the obvious highlights. And those places are incredible for a reason. But creators have helped show that South Africa is so much bigger than the places people already know.
A small guesthouse, a local guide, a family-run experience, or a quiet stretch of coastline can now reach people through a phone screen in a way that feels really real. Viewers don’t just see a brochure version of the destination; they see what it actually feels like to go there, what the experience is like, who they might meet, how it fits into a trip, and whether it’s worth adding to their itinerary.
That can be incredibly powerful for lesser-known destinations and communities, especially in South Africa where there is so much diversity beyond the typical tourist route.
But we also think creators have a responsibility. It’s not just about making somewhere look beautiful or creating hype. It’s about being honest, giving context, encouraging people to travel respectfully, and helping tourism spread in a way that actually benefits local people and local businesses. This is hugely important.
And that’s also a huge focus of our own YouTube channel. We don’t just want people to see what a place looks like; we want them to feel the atmosphere, the emotions, the people, and the little details that make it special. We want viewers to connect with a destination and understand why it might be worth experiencing for themselves.
A lot of people find travel overwhelming, especially when it’s somewhere they haven’t been before or somewhere that feels out of reach. So we really try to make travel feel more accessible. We want someone watching at home to think, “Hey, I could do that. I could afford that. I could actually make that happen.”
When done well, content creation can help travellers move beyond the obvious places and discover a more layered, more meaningful version of South Africa.
4. As a duo whose platform is built around discovering and documenting experiences, what does being part of a show like Hidden Gems South Africa mean for you personally and professionally as a travel creator?
Personally, it’s really special because South Africa is home. We’ve travelled to some incredible places around the world, but there’s something different about being able to showcase the beauty and diversity of our own country. Especially the places that people might not immediately think of when they picture a South African holiday.
Professionally, it feels like a real milestone. Our platform has always been built around discovering places, documenting honest experiences, and hopefully helping people travel better. So to be part of a show that celebrates hidden gems, local travel, and the unexpected magic of South Africa feels very aligned with what we do.
It also gave us the chance to tell South African travel stories on a bigger platform, which is something we’re really proud of. For us, it’s not just about being on a TV show. It’s about being part of something that encourages people to look closer at their own country and realise that some of the most bucket-list-worthy experiences aren’t always on the other side of the world. Sometimes they’re just a road trip away.
5. Why should audiences vote for your destination, and what makes it a must-visit bucket-list experience for South Africans and travellers alike?
Audiences should vote for our hidden gems because we believe the best travel experiences aren’t always the biggest or most famous, sometimes they’re the quiet ones that completely surprise you.
The meerkat sunrise experience at Rusenhof in Oudtshoorn is such a special wildlife encounter, it’s quiet, intimate, and completely natural. You’re sitting in the Karoo as the sun rises, watching these tiny animals start their day, and it reminds you that wildlife experiences don’t always have to be big to be unforgettable.
And then Kraalbaai Houseboats is one of the most unique stays we’ve experienced in South Africa. Waking up on a houseboat in the middle of a calm blue lagoon, surrounded by the West Coast National Park, feels like something you’d expect to find overseas, but it’s right here at home.
For us, travel has never just been about seeing a beautiful place. Food is a massive part of how we experience a destination, and so are the people you meet along the way. It’s the local flavours, the conversations, the hosts, the guides, and the small human moments that often stay with you just as much as the landscapes do.
And that’s what we loved about these gems. They weren’t just beautiful on camera, they gave us a feeling. The quiet magic of the Karoo, the warmth of the people behind the experiences, the slower pace of the West Coast, and those simple moments where you sit back and realise how much South Africa has to offer.
Together, these experiences show two completely different sides of the country, they’re not just places to visit; they’re places to feel. For us, that’s what makes them bucket-list experiences. They’re not the obvious choices, and that’s exactly why they deserve the spotlight. They show people that South Africa is still full of surprises, even for South Africans.
