Experts regularly warn of the impending doom that South Africa’s own brain drain will bring to the country’s economy in the near future, and with over 300 qualified engineers leaving South Africa every year (according to Fin24 stats a few years ago), it seems that the pool of competent engineers, critical to the development of any country, […]

Two members of the all-female rhino-saving brigade from South Africa the Black Mambas, who have been publicised around the world, have arrived in England to raise awareness and funds for their campaign. Siphiwe and Felicia are making the first visit to the United Kingdom on behalf of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit. They will be […]

Check out this performance by former South African expat Gavin Edwards that everyone’s talking about tonight. His rendition of ‘Say Something’ on TV singing contest The Voice South Africa had judges fighting over him and set social media on fire. In fact, there was even a little #ProteaFire involved when AB de Villiers tweeted his […]

With all the Grammy 2016 talk being focussed on the microphone that fell on a piano during Adele’s performance, and Taylor Swift becoming the first woman to win a Grammy of the Year award twice (as main credited artist)… you may have missed this magical moment from Benin musician Angelique Kidjo as she accepted the Grammy […]

The luxury South African train company Rovos Rail – which has long been running neck and neck with the Blue Train in pampered rail travel – has bought the “three star” Shongololo Express, a 19-coach train that has been running a select number of two-week tours across the country. For a fraction of the cost of […]

News of Tesla Motors’ entry to South Africa is coming out in dribs and drabs. This week it was announced that the company owned by South African-born billionaire Elon Musk would open its first office in Africa in Cape Town, while five new jobs were  posted on the company’s website. The entry of Tesla to South Africa was […]

Transport yourself to Hout Bay for a day with this spectacular video – majestic mountains, picturesque harbour, beautiful vineyards, enticing markets, water that sparkles and people who shine… https://vimeo.com/155955362 *** If you’re looking out of a grey London window right now, why not bring some sunshine into your life with the Homecoming event on 4 and […]

It’s Monday 16 February, 2016. Dianne and I have just spent an idyllic 3 weeks in Hermanus in South Africa with our family that gathered from Australia, England, the USA and various parts of South Africa to spend time with 86-year old family matriarch Jennifer Stewart. With our US Dollars, we and the Brits are […]

The rescue of the cutest baby elephant by two brothers in Phalaborwa, South Africa, has been caught on film. The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) uploaded the video saying: “Bela, originally thought to be a female, has been renamed Amanzi, which means water in Zulu. When you watch this clip, it will make sense why…” According to […]

Rugby World Cup (RWC) has joined fans around the world in wishing Joost van der Westhuizen a happy birthday today. Joost, who has inspired South Africa and the world with his battles both on and off the rugby field, turns 45 today. Joost was diagnosed with destructive degenerative disease Motor Neuron Disease (MND) in 2010, […]

Last year LLOYD KOPPEL was invited along for both the local and international #meetsouthafrica bloggers’ road trips… to film and capture their experience on video. “What a privilege to travel around South Africa with some of the best travel bloggers and travel writers in the country. Amazing people! Amazing road trip!” says Lloyd of the first video. […]

From secret beaches to speakeasies to best views of the sunset to a party where you showcase your favourite artist, Catherine Franklin uncovers some of Cape Town’s little secrets. Whether it’s Fish Hoek, the city centre or the Northern Suburbs, they all have some great gems. Now – as they say – it’s time to get out! 1. […]

The murder of a British pilot, Roger Gower, shot down by elephant poachers near the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania on January 28, highlighted the scale of the threat posed by armed crews of poachers. Tanzania’s elephant population has crashed from 109,000 to 40,000 in the past seven years. The threat to the African rhinoceros […]

The SONA2016 debate might be over, and while there were some pretty low points, there were also some highs worth remembering. One of them was the speech of the Democratic Alliance’s Zakhele Mbhele. Only 31 years old, and the shadow minister of police, he talks the talk a lot better than parliamentarians twice his age. And […]

South Africa’s sole Winter Youth Olympics entrant, Elizabeth Olivier, wrapped up her Olympic campaign in Lillehammer, Norway today, Thursday. After ending 36th in the giant slalom on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape teenager competed in the women’s slalom this morning, and was due to do her second and final run this afternoon. We don’t yet have the results but we […]

Get lost in nature… Go hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains… 2. Or cool off on the river banks… 3. Relax in a tree-hide… 4. Visit our beautiful gardens – like Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens… 5. Or take a road-trip – be prepared for views like this… 6. Then there’s Table Mountain – one of the world’s Seven […]

For anyone who loves animated movies like “Finding Nemo” or “Wallace and Gromit”, Cape Town is the place to be for the next four days as the Cape Town International Animation Festival offers a glut of movies and talks and workshops from around the world. Included in the features available will be the highly praised […]

There’s a new restaurant in town (Cape Town that is) that’s causing quite a buzz in South Africa. Brownies & Downies. As its name suggests – the restaurant, which was first created in the Netherlands in 2010 – sells brownies. And its patrons are served by a wonderfully friendly team of children with special needs from […]

In this elegy to Johannesburg’s magnificent ridges, Kathy Munro of the Heritage Portal says this striking geographic feature of the city for some reason often gets overlooked, as do the three gorgeous roads that run up their sides – Sylvia Pass, Munro Drive and Stewart Drive. She reflects on the history and the lore, and how the ridges were tackled […]

Here’s the remaining 21 of 42 interesting tidbits about South Africa to enrich your understanding and save you several lifetimes trying to truly experience all SA has to offer. With a buffet of landscapes from mountain ranges to sprawling savannahs, forests to white sandy beaches – it’s a feast for the hungry tourist (and yes, I am biased)… […]

CAPE TOWN – The son of Eskom CEO Brian Molefe is one of eight people, six of them students, arrested for overnight violence at the University of Cape Town that left three vehicles firebombed, including a UCT bus, as well as paintings and photographs from residences burned. Molefe, who was appointed as permanent CEO of the […]

I captured this portrait a few days ago in Imizamo Yethu (Our Efforts) Settlement in Hout Bay, South Africa. I came across some children playing in between the informal houses. I knelt down to greet them and ask their elders for permission to take a photo. They continued to play and couldn’t be bothered by […]

Democratic Alliance premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille is a well-known and pithy Tweeter, and her recent response in her Inside Government newsletter to SONA2016 is no exception. Zille said she hadn’t been more optimistic in years, and South Africa had made 300 years of progress in just a week. The extract was part of a speech she […]

South Africa is a country of extreme contrasts. It’s home to some of the oldest known human fossils and the world’s youngest language (ja, nee…Afrikaans). The land itself—though mired by its history of battles over ownership—is one of resplendent beauty. Speaking as a local, you may accuse me of bias. But I assure you that […]

A video of a South African Police Service (SAPS) unit hard at work has emerged, showing that it’s not all skop, skiet en donner in the SA cop force! Although it is movie scene fast car (well, motorbike) chases… The video was uploaded by CICA (Crime Intelligence & Community Awareness) on Valentine’s Day, reporting that the […]