South African comedian and TV presenter Trevor Noah shared a fantastic video late Thursday of an American grandmother, Estelle, who is clearly one of his biggest fans. She says she watches him every night and that he’s just as good as his Daily Show predecessor, Jon Stewart. But it’s her message to Trevor at the […]

After suffering from severe drought conditions, things are looking rosier – or rather greener – in the Kruger National Park, with a few rainfalls since November… although the region needs ongoing good rains before the drought could be officially declared over. SA Weather Service issued a watch for heavy rains today and tonight over Mpumalanga, […]

People who live in the desert love rain. They love it in ways city people don’t understand. In the Karoo and the Kalahari, the horizons are so wide you can see the weather coming while it is still hours away. You can see clouds coalesce and darken over the mountains, then advance, walking on legs […]

Here’s a unique take on the year 2016 from a young South African – LEGH WILKINSON – hoping to encourage others to make a difference… To warn you, this is a long post but one I felt is worthwhile sharing. Essentially, it summarises a few of the life lessons I’ve learned and the personal transformation […]

A doctor at a hospital in Johannesburg had an awakening on Christmas Day that’s worth sharing with everyone… The young male doctor, originally from the Western Cape, wrote: “I was on call this Xmas. I don’t celebrate this holiday but this turned out to be an extremely meaningful time for me. “I was called to […]

If you’re contemplating 2017 and feeling depressed that the planet has never been in a worse condition… this good news should bring back your smile. Our World in Data (OWID) – an online publication that presents the empirical evidence on the development of human living conditions – has published charts (see below) showing just how much […]

For those South Africans living abroad, especially if you’re shivering in the cold in the Northern Hemisphere… this is what you missed in SA on Christmas Day. Pull up a towel and enjoy, if only vicariously! The stunning video footage, taken in the Western Cape on 25 December 2016, was uploaded by ‘Cape Town Guy’. […]

South African expat and YouTube sensation Caspar Lee is used to hanging out with international superstars like Justin Timberlake, but nobody has blown him away more than a young guy – living with HIV – in a township in the Western Cape. Caspar, who is based in London, was recently invited back home to meet […]

On a rainy Friday when GroundUp visited 14-year-old Palesa Kwayiba in her mother’s leaking shack, she was all smiles. She had finally received a new wheelchair. GroundUp told her story in October under the heading ‘Paralysed teenager bitten by rats while sleeping‘: Palesa was born able-bodied but fell ill at three-weeks-old and was diagnosed with a […]

LIMPOPO – According to the South African Police Services (SAPS) facebook page, SAPS thwarted the theft of a bakkie on Friday, which was being smuggled across the Limpopo River. SAPS said the Provincial Commissioner spotted the vehicle being smuggled across the river between South Africa and Zimbabwe while he was in the police helicopter overhead. “The […]

Queen Elizabeth focused on what she called the value of doing small things with great love in her annual Christmas message on Sunday, reflecting on inspirational examples of “ordinary people doing extraordinary things”. (Watch below.) Queen Elizabeth, 90, missed a traditional Christmas church service on Sunday for the first time in decades due to a […]

A South African game ranger has caught a rare rhino mating scene on film… that came to an unexpected end! Showing size does count, a bull with a bigger horn uses more than just a pick-up line to win the female rhino from her current lover… Wildlife photographer and field guide Matt Yardley – who has seen a […]

Here’s a behind the scenes peek at what went on in the Palace to capture the adorable Monaco royal family Christmas card. Watch South Africa’s favourite princess and former SA Olympic swimmer, Charlene, her husband Prince Albert II, and their cute two-year-old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella play and pose together earlier this month for […]

Senior citizens in the Western Cape have been surprised and delighted to discover Santa Claus HAS come to visit them this year… thanks to an amazing initiative – the Senior Santa Shoebox Project. The ‘angel’ behind the project is local photographer (and regular SAPeople contributor) Angela Gorman. “It has been such a heartwarming project, and […]

Touched by seeing children going to bed hungry and the people around her lacking sources of good nutrition, Marian Dube started growing and selling vegetables from her backyard. The 42-year-old widow and mother of three, who grew up in a family of subsistence farmers in Mberengwa, south east of Zimbabwe, says, “I came to South […]

South Africa is experiencing an explosion in the sales of craft gins… made exclusively from fynbos, the plant which is unique to the Western Cape. According to a BBC Africa report, sales have increased sharply in recent years as distilleries race to capture South Africa’s burgeoning middle class. Fynbos is one of the key ingredients […]

Check out this elephant in South Africa’s Kruger National Park doing what appears to be a version of ‘elephant yoga’. It’s a little inspirational! Or perhaps it was an elephant dance – ballet or the famous hokey pokey (“you put your right foot in. You take your right foot out. You put your right foot in. And you […]

As the first refugees arrive from Aleppo, a South African non-governmental organisation – Gift of the Givers – has been helping set up refugee camps and distribute blankets, mattresses, food, milk powder and diapers in the Idlib region in the north west of Syria. The tragedy in Eastern Aleppo has meant an increased need for […]

South Africa’s Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has been named as the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, and Marais Erasmus was awarded the David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year. De Kock is the second South African player after AB de Villiers (2010, 2014 and 2015) and ninth overall to clinch this award. In the voting […]

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco are sending out a glamorous and beautiful family photo for their annual Christmas Card, featuring their children Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella (and a painting of the late Princess Grace). The card says simply: “May the joy and peace of the holiday season be with you in this New Year 2017.” […]

South Africa has welcomed the festive season with shimmering and glittering Christmas decorations and the beautiful sounds of Christmas carols. Here are some of the best pics from around the country… Christmas in KwaZulu-Natal Andrea Sander: “Christmas carols at Inchanga, KZN, with the magnificent steam locomotive Wesley. Thanks to Pierre Retief for the wonderful display.” […]

Julius Malema is clearly enjoying a good holiday after a long year of politics. Usually he prefers to keep his private life private, but today he shared photos – and perhaps the secret to his happy marriage – on Twitter. He and his long-time girlfriend Mantwa Matlala married two years ago in Polokwane in December […]

GAUTENG – #Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime, SAPS, Department of Home Affairs, Customs, and SARS brought the Johannesburg CBD to a standstill on Tuesday morning when they confiscated about R60 million worth of protected brands on counterfeit goods. The authorities searched 120 shops at Quebec Building in town where they confiscated clothes, bags, cosmetics, accessories, and jewellery […]

South African musician and film score composer Trevor Rabin (62) is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with fellow members of British super group ‘Yes’. The SA expat proudly told Rolling Stone magazine that “you’d probably know better than I, but I think I’m the first South African!” On Facebook, Trevor wrote: […]

Prince Harry opened up about grieving and carrying on his mother Princess Diana’s legacy in a documentary – ‘Prince Harry in Africa’ – aired on ITV in the UK on Monday night.  Speaking about his mom’s death 19 years ago, the prince said: “For a huge part of my life I didn’t really want to think […]