How it all started & who we are

Welcome to our creative space! We are a small family business dotted around South Africa working together to get these maps on your walls to bring a piece of South Africa into your space. Whether you decide to display these on your walls at home or inside your camper van, caravan or camping trailer we are sure this will spark roadtrip ideas and start conversations. Heres some insight to who we are and how we came about the idea of creating these maps.

Michael and Acacia - the humans behind Wanderers and Whiskers

In 2021 we decided to change up our lifestyle. We had saved enough money to puchase a completely empty panel van which we dedicated 2 months to self convert into a cosy tiny home on wheels to travel our home country full time. Over the last 3 years we have found ourselves in an endless array of breathtaking scenery from the lush forests to white sandy beaches, towering mountains and green rolling hills. We've had no plan for our route but always made sure to stop at National Parks if we had the chance which is where the idea for the Bucket List Maps started. We have searched for maps of South Africa to document our travels and have not found anything like this! We wanted to create a tangible piece that could be on displayed with a purpose to inspire you to slowly tick off the National Parks as you visit them all - we feel as though having this will inspire new roadtrip ideas and destinations to visit that you might not have considered.

Of course we couldn't make the maps come to life from the confined space of our van so we reached out to Michaels dad Wayne and fiancé Catherine from Sun Bird Creative.

Sun Bird Creative is based back in our home town East London which is where the production process of these maps happen. Catherine sources the materials - each map is made using oak veneer with location pindrops that get 3D printed using 100% infill of PLA. The location pindrops have 4 different colour options and you will recive white pindrops incase you want to display the map full showcasing the places you still have to visit alongside the colours showcasing the places you have ticked off. These location pindrops take 1 and a half hours to print. While the pindrops are printing Catherine starts prepping the veneer to be cut and engraved using a CNC machine to ultimately create the wooden Bucket List Map. Before entering the machine application tape is added onto the veneer to prevent smudging and burn marks during engraving (this is basically a large piece of masking tape). The laser then takes 9 minutes to engrave the destination and provincial names as well as border lines before cutting out the South African shape which takes 3 minutes per map. The laser cutter is extremely accurate and precise making each map identical. A small wall hook is added to the back of each map or secure it forever using double sided tape. This is where Catherine hands your map to Wayne who is in charge of packaging and shipping. Each map is carefully packed into a pizza box and dropped off with the Courier Guy who will deliver your map to your nearest PUDO locker or to your door!

Since we are a small business and this is one of many jobs we appreciate your patience and support! Get one of these maps for yourself or a friend of family member. We know these will make great gifts for your adventurous, outdoorsy friends and is sure to be a conversation starter. We belive South Africa has so much to offer in terms of wild life, food, cultural experiences, beautiful scenery and diverse human beings - this map is sure to inspire new road trip ideas to get out there and see what this country is all about!