The Samoa rugby team surprised South African rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen over the weekend with a rendition of a special Samoan hymn. The team, who will play the Springboks on Saturday 26 September in the Rugby World Cup, uploaded a video of the occasion to their facebook page on Saturday saying: “Totally humbling experience […]

Fifteen-year-old South African Leroy Mokgatle has triumphed at the esteemed Genee International Ballet Competition in London by winning the gold medal. He also won the Margo Fonteyn Audience Award. Watch the incredible Leroy dancing ‘Freedom’: https://youtu.be/GCBh8QJ6P0o The Royal Academy of Dance event was held at the famous Sadler Wells. Past Genee medallists have gone on to […]

Only days before Trevor Noah takes over the popular “Daily Show”, it won an Emmy award on Sunday night for Outstanding Variety Talk Series. In an interview before the awards, Noah gave his thoughts on actresses he loves, Donald Trump and how he felt about his upcoming job. The Emmys ceremony last night was bittersweet for Jon Stewart, who […]

A tweet from a foreign journalist commending South African fans for their awesome sportsmanship, after yesterday’s shock 32-34 loss against Japan at the Rugby World Cup in the UK, has gone viral. Olly Barratt, a TV and radio correspondent based in London, sent several tweets from the history-making match between South Africa and Japan yesterday. At the […]

Braaivleis, bokke fans, free toilets and thunderstorms. These are a few of the things that South Africans abroad miss most according to a fun new list on Matador Network. The list – 19 things South Africans miss most when they’re abroad – was compiled by South African blogger Caroline van Looy. Take a look and then let us know if […]

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, taking place this weekend, has become the first run in Africa, and the 22nd worldwide, to receive silver-label status from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The marathon, which happens on 20 September, has also been declared carbon neutral. To receive the silver status a race has to, among other things, have […]

As South Africans go “bok” today on the eve of the Rugby World Cup 2015, a fantastic hashtag is trending in the country on Twitter. It’s #BokMovies and some of the titles are so classic you’d want to watch the movies! The Incredible Schalk #BokMovies pic.twitter.com/0AxKex7yMm — WarrenK (@MrSmithMachine) September 18, 2015 Here are our Top […]

In his first 10 days after taking over one of the most popular late-night shows in the United States, comedian Stephen Colbert has had two South Africans as guests – billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and comedian Trevor Noah. Colbert, who left his own Colbert Report on Comedy Central to take over The Late Show from David Letterman, began […]

After the recent shout out to #ConstableMiracle in Cape Town, two policemen in Johannesburg have been praised on social media for their “great and speedy work” after a Bryanston football team had an altercation with armed men. Working together the Bryanston Warriors soccer team and police were able to track one of the stolen phones […]

It’s not hard for any Dutch person, such as myself, to adjust to Cape Town. It’s substantially warmer and richer in nature than our own country. We’ll cope with the occasional safety concerns and learn to be a bit more patient spending two years of our lives at Home Affairs. However, not being able to cycle […]

More than 24 hours after the open letter to President Jacob Zuma was published online by Yusuf Abramjee, head of Crime Line and co-founder of Lead SA, people continue to madly, desperately or just humourously tweet their responses. In his letter, Abramjee focused largely on crime in the country and the plight of the police. Among other things, he wrote, […]

It seems everyone’s chipped in with their two cents’ worth of advice for the Springboks… but this has to be the cutest compilation of tips we’ve seen. South African photographer Carla Shannon, who’ll be watching the Rugby World Cup (RWC) from her living room in Krugersdorp, teamed up with her 18-month-old nephew Jonah Turner for this pictorial tribute to […]

While it has elements of a Los Angeles architect’s dream, a sci-fi fable and a real-life mansion facing Sydney Opera House, a new family home getting a lot of media attention is actually on the slopes of a ridge in Johannesburg. Called Kloof Road House, the large four-bedroom black edifice, with its steel walls, huge windows and […]

The most experienced Springbok side ever are bracing themselves for a different kind of challenge when they face Japan in their Rugby World Cup opener in Brighton on Saturday. Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday named Jean de Villiers as captain of the national side for this very important match against a team South Africa […]

Inspiring South African businessman, former crime journalist, speaker, co-founder of Lead SA and recipient of the National Order (amongst many other accolades), Yusuf Abramjee has written a powerful letter to President Zuma, a man he has met many times, imploring him to listen to his people who are “terrorised and persecuted” and to truly tackle the country’s devastating […]

A social media post highlighting the kindness of a police constable in Cape Town has caught the attention of his bosses at headquarters (HQ) who congratulated him on Twitter yesterday evening. The unnamed constable’s photo and story has been shared on Facebook (FB) over 7,000 times and attracted over 26,000 likes since it was uploaded by […]

Several hundred South African wine farms have gathered in Cape Town this week to showcase their vintages and labels in one of the biggest wine shows the country has seen. Cape Wine 2015, which kicked off yesterday, is being held under the banner of Wines of South Africa (WOSA) through to Thursday this week. The […]

Several parts of the Cape Peninsula’s parks have reopened to visitors, six months after devastating fires tore across Table Mountain and vast stretches of Constantia and Silvermine, and engulfed the mountainside above Muizenberg and False Bay. All of the Cape Peninsula, including Silvermine (which reopened yesterday), Table Mountain and the beaches as well as Cape Point, fall […]

According to a list compiled by BuzzFeed, four of the world’s most secluded hotels are in Africa. The list was put together by the website’s Photo Essay Editor Gabriel H. Sanchez who describes the 22 locations as “perfect for people who hate people”. The list – which begins with “pretty much the most photogenic hotel in the world” Explora […]

Here’s a little bit of typical South African humour to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which began at sundown yesterday (Sunday 13 September 2015) and ends tomorrow evening (Tuesday)… Watch Video: South African moms do Rosh Hashana

Solar energy is in the air right now, and in more ways than one. South Africa’s biggest solar farm, one of the world’s largest, has been on line for almost a year. Google is eyeing out South Africa more and more for its new foray into solar energy. And a world-leading team from Stellenbosch will, […]

Most of South Africa’s national parks – including the world famous Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant Park, Kgalakgadi, the Richtersveld and Golden Gate – will be open for free to any South African citizen for the next five days from Monday 14 September. The annual SA National Parks (SANParks) programme is being funded this year by First National Bank and […]

Edvald Boasson Hagen, riding for South Africa’s Team MTN Qhubeka, has secured the overall victory at the Aviva Tour of Britain today to become the 2015 Champion! Team MTN Qhubeka announced the news on their Facebook page this evening saying “Woohoo” and “Eddy is the Boss!!! #BicyclesChangeLives.” The 28-year-old Norwegian, who joined the South African-based team this season, is […]

While there has been some criticism levelled against the Springboks for not greeting their fans at London Heathrow Airport yesterday (in an unfortunate situation which was beyond their control), there has been high praise from those fans who turned up for the #BokSendOff at Monte Casino in Johannesburg on Friday. The feel good spirit is probably […]

When we asked Filipa Fraga if we could share her dolphin photos, taken in Angola, she didn’t hesitate: “It would be a pleasure. Good moments of our nature should be shared.” And this is definitely a great moment for any surfer. Actually…for anyone! After capturing these photos, Filipa wrote “feeling blissful…for today is everything!” And […]