The iconic, mysterious and magical African baobab, probably the most identifiable and prehistoric-looking tree on earth, suddenly seems to be coming into its own in the 21st Century. Several companies are getting the name of the tree out there – literally – selling products that take advantage of its health and medicinal properties. One company even promotes the […]

The new immigration regulations concerning travelling with children in and out of South Africa, implemented on 1 June 2015, have caused some confusion and a flood of questions. Here’s a guide that should make it simple and hassle-free so that you can focus on having a holiday while the SA government can focus on ensuring […]

So now we have established that most of us expats are not hell bent on taking the country to the dogs, let’s talk about why we upped sticks and left. I come from a family of expats. Mum is English, Dad from South Africa but raised in Kenya and Zambia, grandparents from SA and the UK. […]

Messages of love and support have poured in for the family and friends of 20-year-old Jenna Lowe, the #GetMeTo21 organ transplant campaigner who tragically passed away on Monday. Here is one that says it all…and more. Penned by Vanessa Raphaely for her brave and beautiful friend, Gabi Lowe – mother of Jenna and Kristi, we […]

In little reported news last week, Mauritius became the second country in Africa to get a woman leader…not a politician but a world-renowned biologist who has addressed the esteemed TED series of lectures. Ammenah Gurib-Fakim was inaugurated without contention on Friday, after being appointed by the Mauritian parliament. She becomes the sixth president of the […]

The results of the South African Stigma Survey are set to be revealed at the 7th SA AIDS Conference which kicks off today in Durban. The Stigma survey, the largest in the world, was conducted amongst 10,700 HIV-positive people who are older than 15 in 18 districts across South Africa. The Survey was launched with the […]

There is a name on the American website GhostTowns.com that looks very familiar: Randsburg, California. Not far away is – you guessed it – Johannesburg! There’s also CapeTown…and over the Atlantic, in France, is a town called Durban. Randsburg, California The small town of Randsburg is nearly a ghost town today (although one reference puts the population at […]

A couple of days ago billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson tweeted that after going through airport security he thanked a security worker who turned to him with a look of shock and said: “That’s the first time in three years that anybody has bothered to say thank you.” It sounded crazy, but South African facebook user Charne […]

On the 26 of September 2015 South Africa’s comedic firebrand, the progeny of a South African mother and a ‘chocolate loving’ Swiss father, Trevor Noah will replace John Stewart as the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. In doing so the ‘day-walker’ has become the talk from Tinsel Town to Tulbagh. But few outside of South […]

After a few years of `drought’ the sardines have returned to the South Coast in all their glory. The KwaZulu-Natal coastline in South Africa has always been home to one of the world’s greatest natural marine phenomena – the Sardine Run – which is also referred to as the Greatest Shoal on Earth. Every winter, between the […]

It’s a kind of crazy question…with a kind of brilliant answer. How to help solve a trio of problems – child road deaths, fatal fire accidents at home and pollution – in one simple step? The answer: a school bag made out of recycled plastic that has a solar light on it.  As Rethaka – the […]

I didn’t want to write this blog. Because it seems like whenever South Africans get into the discussion of whether to stay or whether to go it only creates armies on two sides. The “leavers” and the “stayers” – both defensive, both trying to justify their case. And that is not my intention at all. There […]

The photographic exhibit ‘On the Frontline’ couldn’t be more timely. With the xenophobic attacks on nationals from other African countries barely off the front pages of the news, the show focuses on the role numerous countries – what were called the Frontline States at the time – played in the battle against apartheid. Speaking at the […]

A time-lapse video about a Great Dane, uploaded by South African director Dave Meinert, is fast approaching 1-million views on YouTube. Meinert, who is based in Cape Town, uploaded the video about his Great Dane Pegasus just eight days ago.  Dave, who is one of the few movie makers who actually enjoys working with animals, rescued […]

When I first started telling folks I was heading to Johannesburg, you would have thought I said I was headed to war. “Girl, be careful out there!” “I hear it’s dangerous. Don’t go out at night!” “It’s sorta hood. Kinda like Brooklyn.” What? Have you been to Brooklyn lately? I mean sure, if you wander […]

South African artists present a unique South African identity to the world, and the high prices many local artists fetch internationally are testament to the growing interest in the calibre of local artists – as well as in that identity. South African art is finding its place in the global art market, and several of […]

South Africa has a strong connection to the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron. A fight between The Hulk and Iron Man takes place in Joburg, which features a few times in the movie, and Cape Town visual effects studio BlackGinger had a hand in the film’s visual effects. Johannesburg’s city centre takes on […]

So ja, you know you’re South African when… You respond to almost everything with “ya, no” (“ja, nee”)…or “yebo” You put the word “hey” or “man” at the end of most sentences. The sight of Christmas beetles means that summer has officially arrived. There is nothing better than a Wimpy breakfast and a Cream Soda […]

When Donald Trump picked on South Africa earlier this week – saying it was a mess – he unleashed a storm of vitriol from South Africans around the world. Many of them said the true mess was his signature combover hairstyle, while others said he should butt out of South Africa’s affairs. It wasn’t the first […]

A poem by Faieza Mx, now living in Queensland, Australia… I want to wake up to the Majestic Table Mountain Always standing, Always there, Never failing Its beauty astounding As it watches over Cape Town The ocean so blue… Camps Bay, Strand, Boulders Sea Point I want to go home to gaardtjies shouting ‘hullo, hullo, […]

The South African husband of an Australian mom who received a ‘poison pen’ letter about photos she posted to Facebook has spoken out against his wife’s so-called friends. The letter is receiving worldwide attention as it grapples with a topic familiar to so many social media users.  How many baby photos is enough? Should we really post photos of […]

South Africans woke up this morning to an announcement from Eskom, posted just after 5 am saying “Eskom regrets to announce that Stage 1 #load_shedding will resume from 06:00 to 22:00 today.” But an hour ago it just got worse. Eskom announced “#PowerAlert” revealing it will move “from stage 1 to stage 2 load shedding […]

There have been uplifting, joyous scenes at the Peace March this morning in Durban as South Africans unite to let the perpetrators of attacks on foreign nationals – as well as the African continent and the world – know that South Africans say #NoToXenophobia. Durban photographer Graham Carruthers has captured the photos on this page of the […]

The first year students at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University have spread a little Ubuntu with a 2-minute video project compiled for their Computing Sciences class. “The aim of our project is to do a community service as part of a team work exercise in our programming module, to teach us some soft skills,” Head of Department […]

It has been a sad day for South Africa as over 2,000 people brought Durban’s CBD to a standstill following days of xenophobic attacks in the KwaZulu Natal province. The recent flare up of attacks against foreign nationals has been blamed by some on a recent comment made by King Goodwill Zwelithini, King of the Zulus, saying “foreigners must go”. He […]