We could not disagree more with Conde Naste Traveler’s latest list of the Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities in the world! They have placed Johannesburg at the TOP of the Unfriendliest list! But if you read the blurb on why they chose Johannesburg, sadly it shows that it’s the crime that placed it at the top […]

As investors pour into Africa, chasing returns from resources, agriculture and the goods and services demanded by its growing and increasingly wealthy population, the need for good quality information is growing too. However, countries and companies remain opaque and this makes it very difficult for investors to decide where to put their money. That is […]

By Chris Marais & Julienne du Toit  In the big desert spaces of the world, an overland driver often encounters interesting objects along the road. Sometimes it’s a novelty object, a ‘world’s largest’ something or other. Other times, it’s a road sign full of bullet hotels. And you park next to it and wonder: what […]

A fusion of African and European cuisine will be a feast for the eye and a temptation for the taste bud at the inaugural Mzansi International Culinary Festival, taking place from 7 to 10 August. It has been planned to celebrate the culinary expertise of female chefs from across the globe – Europe, the Americas, […]

A South African expat in the United Kingdom has started a wonderful initiative to allow South Africans abroad to donate second-hand clothes to help those in need back home. And right now she’s looking for ‘carry on buddies’ to carry some of the clothes back to South Africa. “I started Carry On 4 Babies a year […]

Durban’s beachfront has always been a haven for fun in the sun and a place for all Durbanites to enjoy the City’s idyllic weather and beachside activities. And if you have happened to walk along our Golden Mile, you would have seen some amazing sand sculptures. Silhouettes depicting iconic city landscapes such as Moses Mabhida stadium, […]

Inspirational South African author, ocean advocate and pioneer swimmer Lewis Pugh is about to embark on a major swimming expedition…but we don’t know where! We do know it’s not Iceland, Switzerland, Italy, France, Indonesia, the Caribbean, or the Faroe Islands thanks to a post where he let people guess based on some half-finished flags of […]

We receive a lot of immigration and visa queries at SAPeople, many of which are able to be answered by (very helpful) fellow South African members…but there are some questions that just require that extra professional input. Just to be 100% sure! So we turned to Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants (BIC), who specialise in the field of UK […]

Chad le Clos returned to South Africa this morning an even bigger hero than when he left…having now made South African history by finishing the Commonwealth Games with seven medals! The 22-year-old sportsman was met at OR Tambo International Airport this morning by a throng of fans who were delighted when he posed with them for […]

Pretoria mom Drika Venter has sent a special message of thanks to all those thousands of locals and expats on SAPeople who helped share her son’s photo around the world. And she’s addressed those who were concerned that by sharing his photo and name globally – for a school project on social media – she […]

Today, 31 July 2014, we thank and celebrate all the Rangers around the world (oh and especially in South Africa!) for all the brave work they do…and we commemorate those rangers who have been tragically killed or injured in the line of duty, protecting our planet’s precious wildlife. According to a video uploaded for World Ranger […]

Standing 1.93 metres tall, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a giant of a man whose remarkable life has been chronicled in a number of films, from his childhood to his political awakening, his activism against apartheid and subsequent imprisonment, through to his role as unifier, peacemaker and first democratically elected president of South Africa. The statesman, […]

As you stroll past Frans Boekkooi’s studio in the Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda, you will see the likeness of playwright Athol Fugard looking down from the doorway. Apart from the amazing image of Athol – creative patron of Nieu Bethesda – the next work of art to catch your eye inside will be Visman Steier […]

After a day in which members of the public were upset that the police didn’t do enough to prevent a student protest in Johannesburg from turning into a looting fiasco, a different story has come out of Cape Town, reminding us of the good work that so many police officers in South Africa are doing. One of the […]

People have an amazing ability to adapt to their circumstances. The mind buries trauma till it seems like a dream, and the more traumatic the event, the quicker the mind tries to forget and heal. Yet in the spiritual geography of some Cape Town families, a finger of land still looms large in their identity. […]

Here it is – the official trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road – starring South Africa’s Charlize Theron and filmed in Namibia. We all saw the photos of Charlize during the filming of the movie, hanging out in Camps Bay on her off-days, with her hair shaven off. Now we can see the results that […]

For those who haven’t had a chance to visit the new Mandela Statue at the Union Buildings, check out this awesome time lapse sequence which conveys just how large this 9-metre high bronze sculpture is as it towers over the crowds below. (Scroll down for video.) The 2 minute 55 second video was compiled by Rushdi Nackerdien […]

Johnny Clegg need look no further in his search “for the spirit of the great heart under African skies” – check out this little rhino in the video below. With the soundtrack of South African singer songwriter Clegg’s ‘Great Heart’ playing in the background, Wendy Howard has captured – on film – a brave moment in […]

On Thursday I witnessed three kite-surfers risk their lives to save a dog that was caught by the waves and no longer able to paddle back to the shore in Big Bay, South Africa… This beautiful Border Collie had swum out, realised he couldn’t get back to shore, and then managed – after a long struggle in these […]

Whether you live in South Africa’s most dynamic metropolis, or you’re just passing through, here – with kind permission – is renowned South African writer Gus Silber’s take on how you can make the most of it… Learn to appreciate the dawn chorus of the hadedah, for the touch of the bushveld it brings to […]

South African opera singer Pumeza Matshikiza stunned the audience at the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow this week with her rendition of “Freedom Come All Ye” (watch video below). Pumeza’s performance of the 1960’s Scottish protest song was significant to the people of Glasgow, who have a strong connection with South Africa. Glasgow gave Mandela […]

Here’s another one of those emails – with a compilation of old and new photos from Africa – doing the rounds at the moment…showing that Plato was right when he said necessity is the mother of innovation.

Penny Heyns did not know she had just made history. Standing on the podium at the Atlanta Olympic Games with the gold medal around her neck she was oblivious to the fact that she had won South Africa’s first Olympic gold medal in 44 years. It was 23 July 1996; Heyns had already broken the […]

Wow – he did it! South African salvage master Nick Sloane – with the help of an international expert team – has successfully raised the Costa Concordia in the Mediterranean. The 52-year-old, who was born in Zambia, said this was his most challenging task to date – and he knows challenging! Sloane has previously rescued an […]

For many decades, the little village of Nieu-Bethesda in the Sneeuberg Mountains of the Eastern Cape Karoo was a dead-quiet place where very little happened. The spring-fed water furrows (leiwater) gurgled through Nieu-Bethesda, there were lots of donkey carts and survival was hard for most of the villagers. Then playwright Athol Fugard wrote The Road […]