Iga Motylska

If you'd like to read more about the work that I do and about my clients, or commission me for a project, please click on this tab or email me on: igamotylska[at]gmail.com

I am a senior, SEO-savvy journalist and an award-winning conceptual copywriter with a Master's in Journalism, a Certificate in Advanced Sub-editing, and over 13 years of media, public relations and agency experience, across a number of industries.

Eager Journeys is a travel and photography blog by freelance journalist and photographer Iga Motylska, who lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on travel to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, across Africa and the world, as well as authentic cultural experiences.

I was the Namibian expert who wrote the Namibia section of the Fodor's 'The Complete Guide to African Safaris' which was published in March 2023 -- and was last updated in 2017. The 100+ pages of content resulted from 12 weeks of research and writing, four weeks on the road, 7 000+ kilometres by road, four flights, and the kind help of countless locals in the travel and tourism space who shared their time, expertise and passion for Namibia as our guides to this spectacular destination.

I wrote about Johannesburg and Gauteng province (plus a number of day trips around the province) for the Fodor's 'Essential South Africa' Travel Guide which was published in mid 2022, and was last published in 2017/8. I tried to dismantle stereotypes (for travellers and myself) to show just how versatile a city it really is, while still being realistic and allowing them to feel safe in the company of our local guides and travel trade. I wanted to showcase all the fantastic new things happening in the city with the golden smile, as it experiences its second gold rush.

I wrote the chapter about Kenyan entrepreneur Navalayo Osembo, founder of Enda Athletic running shoes, for the How We Made It In Africa book. The paperback documents the entrepreneurial journeys of 25 business people across the continent.

I feel honoured that my research and writing on entrepreneurship and business across Africa has been quoted in the 'Entrepreneurship in Africa Context and Perspectives' paperback.

I was the sole copywriter and copy editor on Premier Africa's 2020 Journeys brochure which showcases this luxurious travel company's global travel products and experiences, alongside their team.

Namibia is characterised by its vast desert of rusty-red dunes (said to be the oldest in the
world) and dramatic coastline of shipwrecks along the Skeleton Coast. This enigmatic destination simultaneously offers an abundance of animals and one of the continent’s greatest wildlife parks – that’s Namibia for you. Iga Motylska reminisces about some of her highlights after a five-week, 7 000 km road trip.

Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve enchants visitors with the chance to reconnect with nature in an environmentally sustainable way through geological and rock art walks, sundowner game drives, eco quad biking excursions and star-gazing tours, as Iga Motylska discovers in the Western Cape’s Cederberg.

Those who want to get their hands dirty or actively contribute to various conservation

activities while they travel, can do just that thanks to the rise in popularity of ecotourism

and voluntourism holidays.

Scaling mountains by ropes, canoeing down rivers, exploring the crevices of gorges, camping in caves, and boating along the length of dams is all in a day’s work for a Master Botanist like Ernst van Jaarsveld, along with tending to his massive collection of succulents at Babylonstoren as their Head Horticulturalist and responding to letters as Beeld’s resident garden columnist, as Iga Motylska learned. (Kindly translated from English to Afrikaans by my commissioning editor.)

As the Cape Colony’s first governor, Simon van der Stel planted twelve thousand European oaks when he founded Stellenbosch in 1687, and so the moniker ‘city of oaks’ took root. The historic town centre, where the first streets were laid – Victoria, Ryneveld, Crozier, Van Riebeeck and Murray – creates a canopy corridor with some third-generation trees, like the Ryneveld Oak, planted in 1812 on the street by the same name, which is a Champion Tree protected by the National Forests Act of 1998. (Kindly translated from English to Afrikaans by my commissioning editor.)

France’s oldest city – dating back some 2 600 years – is not only infused with Provençal culture and maritime heritage, but this sun-kissed stretch of southern France also shows off with 300 days of sunshine, 57kms of coastline and Europe’s first peri-urban nature park, as Iga Motylska discovered on her first trip to Marseille ahead of the Rugby World Cup. (Kindly translated from English to Afrikaans by my commissioning editor.)

Iga Motylska heads to Thailand’s luscious highlands for hiking, spelunking, splashing
in hot water springs and a homestay to experience true Thai hospitality. (Kindly translated from English to Afrikaans by my commissioning editor.)