The news that Starbucks will open its first store in South Africa in 2016 has been met with mixed reactions. The well-known coffee shop chain is being brought to South Africa by Taste Holdings, which already has brands like Scooters Pizza and St Elmo’s, and recently introduced the American Dominos Pizza to South Africa, according […]

Watch the video above (or below) for a view into the spectacular and often unseen side of Cape Town. If anything is going to lure you into wanting to take on the 100 km Ultra-Trail Cape Town race – it’s this video which reveals the stunning landscape and seascape as runners take on the mountain […]

Back in 1994, when the New South Africa was but a pup, photographer Greg Marinovich and I popped in to the lunchtime strip sessions at The Summit – just for a bit of social research. It was seconds to showtime, and the place was heaving with yuppies, students, large fellows with ponytails and slinky topless waitresses […]

When South Africans get together it’s always a jol. And they always braai! Check out this fun-loving video, filmed recently at a bazaar in Seoul. “If there is one thing any true Saffa loves it’s Braai, and boy do we take it seriously!” says blogger and vlogger Heshina Pillay who uploaded the video to YouTube. […]

Social worker, writer and film-maker John Clarke has created a light-hearted video to send a serious message about saving the Pondoland Wild Coast of South Africa from Australian mining entrepreneur Mark Victor Caruso. The Australian executive chairman of MRC Ltd has been embroiled in the Xolobeni mining conflict on the Wild Coast, which is home to titanium […]

Yes, we have Table Mountain, the Big Five, pristine beaches, the alluring winelands and world-class airports…but South Africa also has food experiences as diverse as our Rainbow Nation. You can expect everything from fine dining to Cape Malay cuisine and that old South African favourite, the braai (barbecue). Here are some food experiences to try if you […]

I’ll be the first to admit I know nothing about standup comedy. I’ve probably seen a couple of comedians live, and several dozen on YouTube. I can’t figure out Sarah Silverman (but she seems nice enough) and I adore Amy Schumer (that face, that unexpected whammy in the stomach, that brilliant Roast of Charlie Sheen!). […]

Princess Charlene delivered her first public speech in French this weekend. It was short…but very sweet. In a tribute to her husband, Prince Albert II of Monaco, the former South African Olympic swimmer declared that: “[if] Albert I was the Prince Explorer, Rainier III the Prince Builder, Albert II is the Prince of Hearts…of my heart.” […]

Coca Cola’s new commercial for the Middle East region may as well have been made for the world. The message is universal, and the video is being shared around the globe, with almost 3.5-million views within a week. Coke’s Middle East branch uploaded the ad on 4 July with the following message: “It takes just seven […]

Rob Tarr is a Cape Town resident living in the southern peninsula area of Glencairn. A marine biologist with a passion for photography, his favourite photographic subjects are, understandably, marine based – whether they be seabirds, shorelines, fishermen or waves. So, when weather forecasters predicted huge swells for 3 June this year, Rob made sure to […]

It’s official! Fridays in South Africa are now green and gold. Yesterday Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalulato, called on Corporate South Africa to support their workforce in wearing Springbok jerseys on the 11 Fridays until the big World Cup kickoff. Starting today. BUT not all South African fans are happy to comply… “It’s that time of year again where we […]

A Cape Town-based multi-national company has created the largest picture of Cape Town ever taken. It’s 200,000 pixels wide! Yesterday FanCam uploaded a link to the 360º photo with the words “a picture of our home town…Sorry, a BIG picture of our STUNNING home town.” The gigapixel image of the City Centre was captured from the top of […]

Almost eight months after suffering a devastating knee injury Jean de Villiers is set to make his comeback this weekend – from the bench – when the Springboks take on the World XV at Newlands in Cape Town. De Villiers, who plays centre, suffered a dislocated knee and ligament damage during the final match of 2014 against […]

It appears that the one thing an elephant definitely never forgets…is its good manners! When Adrian Fowler, a South African session drummer from Cape Town, was on an elephant-back safari in Victoria Falls last year, the thoughtful elephant he was sitting on picked up his gear for him and handed it (well, ‘trunked’ it) back to […]

Facebook Africa was officially launched last night at the World Trade Centre in Johannesburg, with former Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) South African chairman, Nunu Ntshingila, appointed as the social networking company’s new Head of Africa. Nunu spent over 15 years with the advertising agency as Managing Director, CEO and Chairman, overseeing award-winning campaigns for companies like Coca-Cola. During […]

Congratulations to Levy Sekgapane, a young tenor from South Africa, who has scooped first place in the Belvedere Opera Competition, the most prestigious and largest singing competition for young opera singers in the world! The finals of the 34th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Opera contest were held on Saturday night, 4 July 2015, at Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam. […]

It was the day that South African KA nearly KO’d the world’s number one tennis player…but sadly it was not to be. The Serbian tennis champ managed to dodge a bullet and win the final set against Kevin Anderson in a match that was played out over two days. After starting off brilliantly with two sets […]

South African tennis player Kevin Anderson was up two sets to love at the start of his match against World Number 1 Novak Djokovic on Monday 6 July 2015, and that much closer to realising his Wimbledon dream. The South African, ranked 14 (from 17) after his brilliant performance at Queens last week when he made […]

It was confirmed today that legendary singer and songwriter Rodriguez will be returning to South Africa early next year. This time he will be performing in Johannesburg and Cape Town again, as well as in Durban and Port Elizabeth. His last tour to the country was sold out within minutes of bookings being opened…so if you’re keen for […]

South Africans know how to grow old fabulously! In March a local great-grandmother made world headlines when she celebrated her 100th birthday by skydiving near Cape Town. And now a 90-year-old Capetonian has successfully ridden his Harley Davidson motorbike from Cape Town to Knysna, a distance of over 480 km. “Hey all, meet Henry Friebus – 90-years-old […]

Back in the day when I lived a relatively normal life, I ended up sat in one of those stiff, four-walled office interviews where the interviewer asked me — quite originally — where I saw myself in five years’ time. Bored by the question, I sat there rather straight-faced, stared out of the window and […]

It was May, 1976…and as a lowly young reporter for the Pretoria News, I discovered that Siberia comes in many forms. Because I had disgraced myself and gotten a TV review horribly wrong, I was assigned a new position in life: Magistrates Court reporter. The position was seen as the grubby, greasy little bottom rung in the […]

Sometimes things come about because you’re tired of the fast pace of life, the continual “mission mission mission, get there quickly,” rush around…and then you come back from a holiday feeling like you need one. And dragging two fractious Pixies around while you do it is no fun. The Pixies are my daughters. Twins. So […]

Power King has been officially declared the winner of the Durban July 2015, South Africa’s – and possibly Africa’s – greatest premier horse racing events. Although Power King was the first horse to cross the line, there was a review from Punta Arenas. Minutes ago Power King’s win was confirmed. Punta Arenas came second, and […]

For all those thinking of moving back to South Africa, a local estate agency has compiled three stunning videos to take some of the hard slog out of it for you. The videos of Durban Central, Cape Town Southern Suburbs and Sandton (in Gauteng) showcase the areas, the lifestyle, the schools, the community, and the […]