Here’s the lowdown on what the 28 squad members have done since winning the World Cup 25 years ago. This article was first republished five years ago (for the 20th anniversary) with kind permission from SA Rugby magazine. As Breyton Paulse tweeted this morning: “Exactly 25 years ago today, what a moment, what a team, […]

The photos of an unfortunate African Rock Python, and its equally unfortunate meal – a porcupine – are making news around the world with headings like ‘Python comes to prickly end’ and ‘Snake bites off more than he can chew’.  The story of the python and the porcupine began on Sunday 14 June 2015 when one […]

It’s been four months since young filmmaker Howard Fyvie traded in his rental home in Woodstock for a bunk bed in DuNoon, a township on the fringes of Milnerton. And now that the “Honeymoon period has officially worn off”, he has some insider tips on how to navigate a township… The 27-year-old says: “I’ve started to see […]

Dear Friend, It has been an eerie thing for me these past few years: sort of a déjà vu experience to watch the news and read about Ferguson, Eric Garner, Baltimore riots, McKinney and, most recently, the horrific shooting in Charleston. I’ve been watching #blacklivesmatter trend on Twitter: grief and outrage and opinions from every corner. […]

A well-deserved congratulations to Cape Town photographer Eric Nathan whose shot of the Mother City at night has earned him the top prize at the International Earth & Sky Photo Contest. But, as exquisite as his photo is, it also highlights the effect light pollution has on our skies and the need to reclaim and reconnect […]

Here’s a shout out from Carina McAlpine for her neighbour who bravely risked his life to rescue her during an assault…even though at that stage they were just polite neighbours who barely knew each other. Carina posted the following message to Facebook with the photo above: “Ladies and gentlemen…please salute my neighbour, Joseph Hlengane Hlongwane, who […]

An artisanal beer-making tsunami has hit South Africa in the last few years and resulted in 135 craft breweries that have popped up throughout the country (see infographic below). The below quote is the top definition of what constitutes a craft beer in the tongue-in-cheek Urban Dictionary. [quote_center]CRAFT BEER – “An explosion of art and science coming together to build […]

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 […]