There comes a point in life when clarity doesn’t arrive as a lightning bolt — but as a quiet realisation that the answers have been walking alongside you all along.
In the first two chapters of Escapes with TKay, I wrote about pausing, misalignment, and the tension many of us carry between responsibility and desire. This chapter feels different. Not because everything is suddenly figured out — but because I’m beginning to see the pattern.
Passion leaves clues.
You Should Become a Travel Journalist
In 2010, during my third year at the University of Pretoria, we were given a tourism management assignment:
Choose an iconic building on campus and present it as a tour guide would.
I chose the Aula.
I don’t remember every slide or fact from that presentation — but I remember how I felt delivering it.
Alive. Energised. Grounded in my voice.
After class, my lecturer paused and said something that would sit quietly with me for fifteen years:
“You would make a brilliant travel journalist.”
At the time, I smiled… and then returned to life as usual.
I didn’t even fully understand what a travel journalist was — so I Googled it.
A travel journalist writes, photographs, documents, and interprets places and experiences — offering context, perspective, and honest insight that helps others see the world more clearly.
Reading that definition now feels less like discovery — and more like recognition.
Realising I’ve Been Doing the Work All Along
Through Escapes with TKay, I’ve been:
- documenting journeys across Lesotho, Africa, and beyond
- sharing practical travel tips and cost breakdowns
- highlighting overlooked destinations
- reflecting honestly on burnout, trade-offs, and responsibility
- showing what travel looks like when you’re not detached from real life
Not as a luxury traveller — but as a financial wellness coach navigating budgets, commitments, and conscious choices.
Without formally naming it, I’ve been living the calling my lecturer saw before I did.
So yes — perhaps I am a travel journalist after all.
Just one rooted in finance, intention, and lived experience.
Watch: Escapes with TKay Vlogs https://www.youtube.com/@tkay_nthebe
Listen: Escapes with TKay Podcast
Where Finance Meets the Journey
What makes this platform different is simple:
travel has never existed separately from money.
As a financial wellness coach, I understand the quiet questions people carry:
- How do I afford this?
- Is this responsible?
- What happens if it doesn’t work?
Those questions matter.
That’s why Escapes with TKay lives at the intersection of:
- Finance — planning, sustainability, and financial confidence
- Travel — meaningful exploration rooted in culture and context
- Becoming — the evolution that happens when you allow yourself to move
This is not about abandoning responsibility.
It’s about designing a life where responsibility and meaning coexist.
I’m not lost.
I’m transitioning.
If You’re Standing at a Crossroads Too
If you’re navigating a career shift…
A creative calling that won’t let go…
A dream that keeps resurfacing at inconvenient moments…
Pay attention.
Purpose doesn’t always arrive loudly.
Sometimes it leaves breadcrumbs over decades.
What I’m Building Next
As I lean fully into this journey, I’m intentionally exploring:
- Travel & lifestyle brand collaborations
- Content creation and destination storytelling partnerships
- Digital products to sustainably fund travel
- Speaking engagements on money, movement, and life transitions
- Deeper financial coaching work for individuals navigating change
Escapes with TKay is evolving into a trusted finance-led travel platform for a global audience that wants to:
- and explore meaningfully
- live intentionally
- plan wisely
Let’s Connect
If you’d like to collaborate, partner, or support this journey:
📩 tokiso@tkaynthebe.com
🌍 www.tkaynthebe.com
Thank you for walking this journey with me — and for allowing me to make sense of it out loud.
— Tokiso “TKay” Nthebe
About Escapes with TKay
Escapes with TKay explores the intersection of finance, travel, and becoming — offering practical money insights, honest travel storytelling, and reflections on designing a life of intention, freedom, and sustainability.
