Tayla Blaire

I wrote the itinerary copy for this tour by Distant Journeys.

I wrote brochure copy for multiple itineraries for Distant Journeys.

Bridesmaids are spending hundreds of pounds to accompany their nearest and dearests on their big day
It’s an incredible honour to be asked to be a bridesmaid. Standing beside your loved-one on such a special day is the stuff memories are made of. Unfortunately, it can also be the stuff that debt is made of.
Let’s examine the average wedding. The bridesmaid dress, hair styling, make-up, manicures, pedicures, shoes, jewellery – and those are just for the wedding itself. Sometimes brides step in...

In October 2019, my husband and I booked a weekend getaway in the Pilanesberg, a Big Five game reserve in South Africa. Work had been really stressful, so we figured a trip to a nearby reserve for a few game drives (or safaris, as they’re commonly known) would be just what we needed.
While there are numerous luxury hotels surrounding the national park, we stayed at one of the more discount options to save a few extra dollars. The desire to save some money was also why we opted to do a self-dr...

Johannesburg’s dining scene will make you extend your stopover.
The power went out at Yeoville Dinner Club, but it didn’t stop us from feasting. By candlelight, we passed around bowls and platters that chef Sanza Sandile had laid out on the long, wooden communal dining table – Nigeria’s nutty, pumpkin-y egusi soup, and matapa, a traditional cassava leaf stew from Mozambique. They were delicious, complemented by the spicy tang of home-brewed ginger beer. Then all at once, we were illuminated. We raised our glasses and cheered to the lights coming back on.

The urge to apologize can be hard to resist. Of course, we all make mistakes and need a mea culpa moment sometimes — but that makes up a tiny percentage of all the times most of us apologize. It’s especially true for women: Society has conditioned us to apologize for doing anything that challenges traditional gender roles, from enjoying an active sex life to deciding not to become a mother.
So what happens when women change the narrative and “un-apologize” for defying societal expectations? O...

Latifah AlEssa saw a need for better mental health support across the Arabic-speaking world, designing a service that makes it easier to access quality help.
Born in Kuwait, Latifah AlEssa never imagined that her life would look the way that it does now. She expected to follow the more traditional path expected of women from her family: by 30, she would be married with children and unlikely to be working.
Instead, after training as a psychologist, Latifah founded Ayadi, an online therapy plat...

If an employer offered unlimited paid time off, most people would likely jump at the chance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, private industry American workers (making up just shy of 85% of all workers in the U.S.) are given an average of 10 paid vacation days after a year of service and 20 days after 20 years. When that’s the standard, is it any wonder that employers can tempt potential employees with limitless holiday time?
However, it appears that organizations with unlimited p...

These 13 tips will ensure you stay safe and comfortable while getting the most out of your safari trip of a lifetime.
So you’re heading to Africa, having booked your safari trip of a lifetime, and you are excited to see all the animals that have been scattered across your Instagram and Pinterest feed for ages! You’re ready to be driven across the rolling plains, snapping pictures of the Big Five, the Ugly Five, and more—but do you actually know what you should avoid doing while on safari?
We ...

Visiting Tanzania is truly the trip of a lifetime, and we know that our guests approach us in the hopes of making their travel dreams a reality. We have spent over 35 years travelling Tanzania, gathering a team of the best guides, cooks, mechanics, climbers, and craftspeople, and conducting thousands of trips, so it’s safe to say that we are experts in our country. We love what we do, and that passion is proven in the awards for travel excellence that we have received, thanks to the kind (and...

The wilderness of Tanzania has called to you and you are ready to answer! But when is the best time to visit Tanzania for safari, especially when there are so many options? Select a month and discover the adventures that await you country-wide during the month that suits you best.
Travellers to Tanzania always wish to arrive in the ‘right’ month, but in a country as vast and rich as ours, every month has a gift to give! Below, we detail the temperatures you can expect, what you can see during...

Long-distance relationships aren’t easy —but the added weight of other people’s judgment certainly makes it a whole lot harder than it needs to be. I met my husband when he lived in Canada, and I lived in South Africa. We dated for 2.5 years across continents, seeing each other every six months. A long-distance relationship is never something one enters without thinking it through carefully. It is a deliberate and informed decision made by the people involved. The list below is constructed fr...

‘Side hustle’ has become a ubiquitous term—almost 50% of millennials have one. There is boundless information dedicated towards what side hustle you could start, how to balance your day job with it and how to grow your fledgling business. But what happens when your side hustle is so successful that it’s encroaching on your day job?
Organizational effectiveness consultant Penny Castle has some insight for those whose side hustles are becoming unmanageable.
“Firstly, consider whether your curre...