CURRENT MISSION

To meet people from around the world, learn a bit about their culture, and share travel experiences. From August 2017 my then girlfriend Akhona (now my wife) and I began a great life adventure - we sold our businesses and our main house and bought my family home from my 90yr old parents. We then spent 2 yrs traveling to 17 countries, doing some volunteering in Cambodia, Thailand abd Argentina and bartering with resorts in Thailand, Vanuatu and Fiji by trading our expertise in photography and video production for accommodation and food. Follow our journey on www.travellernomads.com.

When Covid hit we returned to Cape Town and started Soup for Seniors, a charity which feeds 20 seniors every week. We also launched Nomads Campers,
and hire out cool camper vans to travellers at www.nomadscampers.co.za.

In May 2025 we moved to the village of Napier, 170km from Cape Town, where we bought an amazing property and developed it into Casa Serra, which provides accommodation and offers artist and writers retreats. Nomads Campers is also now located in Napier. We also sell our delicious Italian and Mediterranean food at the local Napier Village Market on Saturdays 😁

ABOUT ME

My Italian heritage has blessed me with a passionate, lively nature - nothing I do is done half-heartedly. I am renouned for my cooking skills, and regularly have groups of friends over for large plates of tasty food from all corners of the world. I have in the past produced and directed 10 documentary films - titles include LOVE FOOLS?, CULTURECLASH, CAPE OF RAPE, WHITE WORKING CLASS and "nudecapetown". I was known as a controversial filmmaker on the cutting edge of social documentary production.

Now I am focussed on my other passion - photography. Check out www.derekantonioserra.com to see my work.

I also owned Central Castings, the oldest casting agency in South Africa, so life used to get pretty hectic on productions during summer. I have now given the business to my manager of 22 years..

PHILOSOPHY

Life is an adventure to be lived from day to day. I enjoy meeting people from diverse cultures and gaining an insight into their daily lives and philosophies.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We hosted surfers quite frequently in past years, and really enjoy listening to traveller's tales - being a storyteller of note myself :) We have also surfed when travelling in Mauritius, Reunion, Indonesia, Argentina and Philippines...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Having hosted over 80 couchsurfers in Cape Town, and having surfed myself in four countries, I can honestly say that I have experienced a positive outcome around 95% of the time. I've learned a lot from listening to the experiences of fellow travellers, and I've tried to share my experience of travelling with others as well. It's been great!

Interests

Photography, filmmaking, art, music, travel.
Check out my websites:

www.travellernomads.com
www.derekantonioserra.com
Youtube: Travellernomads

• cats
• dogs
• arts
• culture
• fashion
• photography
• documentaries
• film making
• dining
• cooking
• nightlife
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam with 30 giant manta rays in Maldives

What I Can Share with Hosts

Lots of travel stories, insight into South African culture and politics, a good meal :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Réunion, Singapore, South Korea, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa

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