For all the runners who trained for so many months for this special day, it may be over…but the feeling of accomplishment and pride in taking part in one of South Africa’s oldest and most legendary races will stay forever. To all those who participated in the 90 km Comrades Marathon 2014 – CONGRATULATIONS, you […]

The top three positions in the Comrades Marathon 2014 down-run, which kicked off successfully at 5.30 am this morning from Pietermaritzburg, have been won by South Africans! Bongmusa Mthembu came first in 5:28, followed by Ludwick Mamabolo (5:33) and Gift Kelehe (5:34). Zimbabwean Stephen Muzhingi came in fourth position. South African Gert Thys, who was […]

The war on rhino poaching in South Africa, particularly in the Kruger National Park, scored several successes in the last fortnight, culminating with the arrests this week of a former South African National Parks (SANParks) field Sergeant and two police constables. Hopefully these arrests will go some way towards curbing the escalating poaching figures – currently standing […]

Princess Charlene and Prince Albert are expecting their first child. The Monaco royal couple made the following short announcement on Friday 30 May: “T.S.H. the Prince and the Princess of Monaco are delighted to announce the pregnancy of H.S.H. Princess Charlène. The birth is expected at the end of the year.” This will be Princess […]

Many of us get exhausted just watching the legendary 90-km Comrades Marathon on TV…but three incredible athletes set out to run the distance of TEN Comrades Marathons in 10 consecutive days. Heartbreakingly two have had to pull out…but wow, we applaud them for their selflessness and bravery in pushing their physical boundaries to the limits to raise money […]

Last year Comrades Marathon champion Claude Moshiywa was the first South African to win an up-run in 21 years. It’s a feat which took him major dedication, perseverance and vision. Recognising the parallels between Claude’s journey and that of South Africa, Nation Builder created this inspiring video with Claude’s message to everyone. Right now it […]

South African professional surfer Jordy Smith pays it forward in this video ‘Today is Perfect’ proving he’s a champion in and out of the waves. The short online film explores the tough circumstances for many underprivileged kids in Durban and how surfing can change their lives. (Scroll down for video.) Jordy,  who’s currently ranked tenth in the 2014 […]

An urgent petition to halt mining plans that could threaten the rhinos in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi park has been set up on Avaaz, the online global campaigning community…and they need your signature. According to the petition, plans are underway to build an open-cast coal mine only 40 metres away from the game park. Conservationists, scientists and […]

Maya Angelou – poet, author, activist, playwright, historian, director, producer and actor (the list is endless) – sadly passed away this morning at the age of 86. Apart from her mountain of accolades and achievements, Maya also enjoyed a passion for dancing throughout her life, was mentor and friend to American talk show host Oprah […]

Community spirit in Ballito  is high, with a thriving online community on Facebook…and a new video celebrating just how happy they are. The beachside town on Kwa-Zulu Natal’s North Coast recently created their own version of Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy” (watch below). The video features the best of Ballito including many members of the community who […]

South Africans around the world are grabbing for the tissues to get them through a breathtaking new video that showcases South African scenes and scenery at its best. The new SA Tourism brand video is aimed at tourists, telling them that “when you #MeetSouthAfrica you’ll reconsider what you think you know”…but it’s many of South […]

South African cabinet ministers named yesterday by President Jacob Zuma were, in the main, not chosen because of their technical knowledge, skill or sector experience. Rather, Sunday’s promotions, demotions and new appointments reflect the need to reward the loyal, appease some opponents and punish others, and perhaps most importantly, reflect the myriad ethnic and class […]

It’s been a year to the day since South African expat Gela-Marie Williams won the Finch Memoir Prize in her new homeland Australia for her inspiring and heartbreaking ‘Green Vanilla Tea’. At that moment she was at a crossroads in her life and career, a self-described “woman in the process of reinvention”. Twelve months later and […]

Congratulations to Mayenzeke Shweni and Zweiliwile Hans from South Africa for coming first and second in the Individual Finals of the Blade Shearing category at the World Sheep Shearing Championships this weekend in Ireland! Together Shweni and Hans also scored a first for South Africa in the Teams Final for the same category. Jim Cully, […]

SA Tourism has launched a new video ad campaign which showcases South Africa with breathtaking cinematography…coupled with a fairly sombre message asking potential tourists to “reconsider” South Africa. The video, with a British voice-over, begins by posing the question: “what is beauty?”. After  answering with a stream of stunning visuals of SA scenes, as well as using sentences […]

The Franschhoek Literary Festival is one of the Groot Menere of all South African litfests. As authors of the Karoo Keepsakes series, my wife Jules and I normally hang out at smaller gatherings, like the Richmond Boekbedonnerd affair, the Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival at home here in Cradock and WordFest in Grahamstown. In fact, we’ll […]

Today’s inauguration of President Jacob Zuma, which marks the start of his second and final term as state president, will be attended by around 20 000 people who will feast their eyes and ears on the best pageantry that South Africa has to offer. But amidst all the pomp and ceremony that marks one of the biggest days […]

Some of South Africa’s hottest young surfers will be riding it out next weekend in the second leg of the Quiksilver “Takes One to Know One” event in Umdloti. The KZN North Coast event – which will be held on 31 May to 01 June – will feature close to 90 surfers and offers over […]

Since the National Elections, many of those South Africans overseas who made a massive effort to vote have raised questions about the election process from the mysterious VEC10 form to the lack of voting stations and the distressing news for those in four cities that their votes were never even counted in the end. In a blog post […]

Thandani Ntshumayelo apologised to his Orlando Pirates team-mates today on Twitter, after the bare-all photo he posted of them on Instagram caused a bit of a sensation! After the team’s 3-1 win against Bidvest Wits on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup Final 2014, the guys posed proudly with their shiny new trophy…in the shower! Stark […]

Bafana Bafana have left today for their Australasia tour…and they need our support! So if you’re an expat in that region, please go cheer them along on 26 May (Australia) and 30 May (New Zealand). The football team faced a major crisis in the days leading up to their departure, as many players withdrew from the […]

Here’s an interesting TED talk by an American finance executive, Mellody Hobson, imploring businessmen and citizens to make a concerted effort to not ignore race. She argues that speaking openly about race creates better businesses and a better society. Mellody happens to be one of the only two black women in the USA to chair […]

So this isn’t a South African story, but we couldn’t resist sharing Jimmy Fallon’s latest video offering. The popular American TV show host got into a little bit of “nip syncing” with pro-footballer Terry Crews (whom you may recognise as the star of the Old Spice commercials). A very buffed-looking Fallon appears to hold his […]

Ardent Oscar opponents may yet be granted their wish for him to be locked up and the key thrown away. The Olympian athlete with carbon-fibre prosthetics, who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013, begins his court-ordered mental health evaluation next week. This ruling follows earlier testimony by forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryll Vorster […]

South African “lion whisperer” Kevin Richardson’s videos of him playing, wrestling and hugging lions have become famous throughout the world. But his latest one has a very stylish twist. In this video Kevin plays football with the lions whilst dressed in a very larni suit. The video, which was created for fashion house Van Gils, has […]