The Traveller Gets Gifted

We’ll be honest, we don’t know your family or your friends, but we do know gifting, and so in the spirit of the season we’ve put the people you’ll be buying for into neat little boxes so that you can figure out more easily what you should buy for them. Meet Savannah...

Savannah’s seriously looking forward to an end-of year holiday spent in Zanzibar (at the family beach house, of course). In between beach yoga, reading Shantaram and knocking back coconuts, she hopes to gain clarity on her life’s direction, while unwrapping a present or two. Shoes, candles, dresses, jewellery, sunglasses, sneakers and a moonbag are all on the list – she is an only child, after all.

But before she can even think about that, she’s got festival season to deal with, and is currently acquiring herself a summer wardrobe to go along with it. Her apartment has become a flurry of floral dresses, embroidered denim, ruffled off-the-shoulder tops, linen shirts and– basically, she’s got a bit of a shopping problem, so she’s taken up a waitressing job at a nearby restaurant to supplement her dwindling varsity allowance, and quiet her parents’ complaints.

After months of saving, she decided to buy herself a longboard, and her cool factor is now on the up and up – she just wishes her friends didn’t love The Village Idiot so much – but luckily, she’s got her work crew. Incidentally, they all love to skate and hang out at Kloof Street’s favourite rooftop bar.

She tries to skate wherever she can, and no, she doesn’t own her Mini anymore. It was a bit  too “Southern Suburbs”, so she traded it in for a secondhand Suzuki 4x4 – it suits her new look, plus it’ll be ideal for impromptu road trips. That is, if she decides to stick around.

Until recently, she thought that life was leading her to a job at a big name advertising agency (unfortunately Deloitte’s wasn’t an option – a private school education doesn't necessarily equal great accounting skills), but after drifting from her high school friends, she gave up on that dream to pursue a gap year. Her mother, Sharon, worries about her going travelling. This statement tends to bring on some stern words from Savannah about codependency, followed by a plea for a little extra holiday money (and a new bikini, if possible).

Who knows where she might end up next year – she was considering the yachts, but the idea of cleaning a post-orgy shower fills her with dread. Whether it’s the slopes of Aspen or the shores of Bali, she’s determined to do it without her parents’ help. And at least she’ll have her best friend, Megan, by her side.