Congratulations to Cape Town’s The Test Kitchen which is the only restaurant in South Africa to be included in the World’s Top 50 Restaurants list, announced yesterday in London. The South African restaurant was also named the Best Restaurant in Africa. In fact it is the only restaurant on the continent to make it into the Top 50. […]

Well over 300 years ago, a slave ship on its way from Mozambique to Brazil crashed on to reefs in stormy seas off of Cape Town. Half of the 400 or more slaves were lost. The ship was the Sao José Paquete Africa. In Cape Town tomorrow (Tuesday 2 June 2015), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of […]

If South African President Jacob Zuma thought that the Police Minister’s Report last week would put an end to demands for him to ‘Pay Back the Money’, he couldn’t have been more mistaken. An avalanche of jokes have hit the print and social media; the Democratic Alliance has vowed to pursue the issue, the Public Protector […]

It’s official. The rest of the world has finally woken up to what Durbanites knew all along – Durban is cool. Earlier this year the New York Times featured Durban as 7th on its 52 places to go in 2015 list. A little bit Rio, a little bit Miami, eThekwini in South Africa is in a class of […]

With misspelt signs like “smak yor lips on our tchips”and “soek nee mier, kry jou vetkook heer”, you know you’re in South Africa! And who else would use the term “Use your loaf…get your bread here”? The spelling may be wrong, but the messages are clear! The signs were captured by photographer Anton Kieck in his home […]

It has been reported in South Africa today that Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has apparently resigned from the Club. Neither Baxter nor Kaizer Chiefs (KC) have confirmed the reports as yet. Official confirmation is expected at a press conference on Tuesday 2 June 2015. Twitter is abuzz with the rumours, with Baxter’s name trending in […]

South Africans are celebrating today as both the male and female winners of the legendary Comrades Marathon are South African. This is the first time since 1992! Gift Kelehe, younger brother of previous winner Andrew Kelehe (who won in 2001), and Caroline Wostman – who won the Two Oceans earlier this year – brought it home for […]

It’s South Africa where humour is how we cope with stressful or frustrating situations, so of course the jokes have been flooding in since it was announced yesterday by the Police Minister that South African President Jacob Zuma will not need to pay back the money for the Nkandla upgrades. Some Jokes being shared about the […]

If you’re from the Western Cape and have never ventured to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), this video may change your mind. And if you’re from the KZN North Coast and now live inland or overseas…this footage – including the old Salties rock pool, cycling through sugarcane fields and running with a dog along the beach – will draw you home…at least in your […]

Local Fish Hoek photographer Robyn Gwilt spotted more than just her new favourite whale yesterday evening when she popped down to the beach to photograph it. She also noticed two men hanging on to an overturned Hobie Cat way out at sea. She immediately tweeted NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute), and then left them to perform their […]

Comedy Central has announced the debut date for South African comedian Trevor Noah to take over The Daily Show in the USA. The 31-year-old will debut as host of the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning show on 28 September. Its current popular host, Jon Stewart, will have his final broadcast on 6 August. The two men collaborated on a brilliant, and short, […]

Cape Town was treated to an awesome sky of clouds yesterday, as seen here from Milnerton in the Western Cape, South Africa. “Clouds wherever you looked yesterday afternoon in Cape Town,” said Helena Sousa, who took the photos on this page. “What a cloud extravaganza it was!” View more of Helena’s photos on Facebook.

German racing driver Nico Rosberg may have been the surprise winner in today’s Monaco Grand Prix, but all eyes were also on the Principality’s Princess Charlene who looked racy, fabulous and totally stylish throughout the weekend’s events. Rosberg’s Mercedes team-mate, British racer Lewis Hamilton, was devastated when a decision (which he has confirmed both he and Mercedes made) […]

A pilot in South Africa managed to execute a textbook emergency landing on Thursday at Lanseria International Airport. And it was all caught on film by aviation photographer Adrian Munro. When the nose wheel of the Partenavia AP68TP ZS-OYN failed to release, the pilot performed a near-perfect landing, balancing the plane on only two wheels for a short […]

‘Joburg Expat’ Eva Melusine Thieme, author of this article, grew up in Germany and has lived in Singapore, the United States and Africa. Four continents and counting. As frustrating as it can be to move households across continents or to navigate the incomprehensible currents of the Department of Home Affairs to obtain your visa, or to find […]

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 […]

So there are LOTS of wonderful South Africans who do some pretty awesome things, many of which go unnoticed or which we have no time to thank the person for at the time. Like when a Gauteng doctor takes the time to explain  – with a rare and kind compassion – that your husband may never wake […]

South African expat, Major General Bernadus Groenewald, is making headlines in Fiji, Australia and New Zealand with his bravery. Groenewald, who happens to be the Commissioner of Police in Fiji, confronted five thugs at a Suva restaurant, armed only with a chair! In a story headlined “Heroes of the Night”, the Fiji Times said the […]

The Springboks have officially launched their Rugby World Cup Campaign with a launch video and a new website. The message for the campaign is clear: Give the Springboks #HomeGroundAdvantage …anywhere in the world. The video includes some classic lines that are sure to give fans goosebumps. Sentences like “2015 is our year. We are the ones we’ve […]

Latest South African comedy ‘Stone Cold Jane Austen’, which opens in SA movie theaters tomorrow, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France this week. It’s a brilliant mockumentary about an English rock band from South Africa trying to break into the increasing profitable Afrikaans music market…without being able to speak the […]

A former Amanzimtoti resident has had her greatest dream come true, thanks to the guys at East Coast Radio (ECR) and Netcare 911. Eighty-five year old Martie van Staden’s dream was simple – to spend a few minutes watching the waves and smelling the fresh breeze of the ocean. But it was not so simple to execute. Martie […]

It must be said: I’ve been blessed. For a blonde whose claim to fame used to be jumping out of helicopters (for a TV show called Treasure Hunt) I got to meet and appreciate so many great men and women in this well-talented country of ours. Yes, the opportunity to hunt down treasures of the […]

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 […]

Against all odds, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI-Kirstenbosch) was yesterday awarded a Silver Gilt at the Chelsea Flower Show for what is its 40th exhibit at the famous Royal Horticultural Society show!  Congratulations to designers David Davidson and Ray Hudson and the team of SANBI staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to achieve […]

There is hope for the rhino. South Africa’s youth are making their voices heard, and in the latest #RhinoShoutOutChallenge two fierce school rivals have come together to shout out in one voice: Save Our Rhino. Hopefully other schools will follow the example set by Kearsney College and Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal. The boys came together […]