Loadshedding, Hippo Crossing warning signs, beautiful homes with high fences (to keep people in or out?), Chop & Dop, Bakuzzis (!) and packed mini-taxis… These are just a handful of things that make South Africa unique. In a brilliant advert that uses the astonishment of foreigners to showcase the best (and worst) of South Africa […]

As hoped by so many people who have been following the story of Thandi – the brave rhino who survived a cruel poaching incident exactly three years ago today – her little rhino calf, whom she miraculously gave birth to recently, has been named Thembi. The name is meaningful for two reasons. Firstly, Thembi means Hope in isiXhosa. And […]

Kirstenbosch’s suspended walkway, the Boomslang, was today declared Most Beautiful Object in South Africa (MBOISA) at Design Indaba Expo 2015. This award comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Cape Town’s Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden attracted more than one million visitors last year, securing it as one of the most important tourist attractions in South […]

I was fresh out of school with boots too big to handle and an attitude to match when I embarked on the fascinating journey of life in another country. Let me just say that I wanted in no way to find myself at 18 years of age living in the middle of the countryside! I […]

Proteas captain AB de Villiers has set Twitter aflutter after his awesome performance on the field today in Sydney, achieving the fastest 150 runs in One Day International (ODI) history and helping South Africa break records and reach the highest ODI score ever made on Australian soil! The 31-year-old now holds the record for making the fastest 50, […]

Get ready for an influx of lovely Dutch tourists who may just fall in love with Cape Town and its attractions after watching the video below. The video, filmed by two Dutch brothers, was commissioned by Linda, the country’s largest women’s glossy magazine/website with a readership (and a Facebook following) of over a quarter of […]

Initial reports that China had banned ivory imports for a year got a severe dousing later today after it was clarified that this ban only referred to ivory carvings. The ban, effective immediately from today (Thursday 26 February 2015), was reported by various media around the world. The New York Times quoted international conservation organizations […]

Jacques Wieciech is no stereotype. He looks like a tough rugby player, but he sings like a bird. He is a body builder, athlete and personal trainer, but he spends his time singing opera and helping children to overcome bullying. And recently the South African expat spent time back home giving talks and performing back […]

Some things never change…even when people are ‘sick of it’. A video uploaded almost two years ago has taken off again on social media, with many of those sharing it believing it to be a brand new song written just for the aftermath of the 2015 State of the Nation address (SONA). Rick Andrew uploaded […]

Although there wasn’t a huge South African presence at the Academy Awards last night, there was an Oscar for a film produced by a South African, Eric Abraham. Abraham is a South African born film and theatre producer  who co-produced the Polish film Ida which was awarded Best Foreign Language Film at the glamorous ceremony in Los Angeles. The […]

What she did for him 19 years ago was amazing. What he does for her now is awesome… Bernina RSA posted the following story a couple of days ago about one of their employees. The story has – unsurprisingly – gone viral. It captures the essence of what often goes unnoticed but which happens daily in […]

A young guy in Vereeniging, Refentse Morake, is fast becoming an internet sensation with his guitar and beautiful voice…recorded on the cellphone of a passerby! Vereeniging resident Cecilia Kruger Marchionna (also known as Tannie Kleintjie) happened to overhear Refentse playing on his guitar when she was wandering up the road…so she whipped out her cellphone, […]

Fifteen slang phrases that are not only useful if you’re visiting South Africa, but also if you happen to have befriended, married, employed (or been employed by) a South African overseas! 1. Shame! This is an endearing term that is used by South Africans in just about every social situation. Seriously, when in doubt, just say […]

Suzelle’s “bitesized DIY web-series” has inspired South Africans to try some creative do-it-yourself projects…and inspired some children around the nation to film themselves imitating her! Even her colourful language… The latest videos – featured on this page – were filmed by proud mom Carolyn Lewis, with her son Kahlil and daughter Maya in the starring roles of Suzelle and […]

An exquisite series of photographs taken in Pondoland of the local Xhosa cattle – the ones that are famous for hanging out at the beach – will be the focus of an exhibition in New York in April. And all South Africans in New York are welcome! The 20-large scale works were taken by professional photographer and South African expat […]

Firefighting helicopters battled to get a fire under control on Signal Hill in Cape Town yesterday. Zaahid Appoles captured these photos which show the helicopters dropping water bombs as the fire moved into a gully on the slopes of the mountain, making it difficult for firefighters on the ground to reach it. Efforts to put […]

Last Sunday night, after yet another weekend of South Africa’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) being called out repeatedly to attend tragic – and avoidable – scenes, one of their paramedics sent us the following heartfelt letter. THEN I CAN CRY…by Alan Rudnicki We choose our career for many reasons. And from Day One we know it’s chosen us. It’s not […]

Yoh! Just as I was coming to terms with the Stazi in Parliament and people in funny hats not being the 80s flashback I thought it was, on paying for my much cheaper diesel yesterday, I caught the lunchtime news. That chap Julius is a miracle worker. Seriously. Not only has he inadvertently united South […]

Eish, Johnny Clegg is an inspiration on so many levels. Check how the legendary South African still unites, and dances with energy at the age of 61. The video was filmed by Marguerite Nokuthula de Villiers at the End of Year farewell dance outside Jeppe Hostel a couple of months ago, in December. In a previous interview […]

Yesterday marked the twenty-fifth anniversary since Nelson Mandela walked free – on 11 February 1990 – after 27 years in apartheid prison. It was an event that had been unthinkable to most South Africans, and the world, until only a few weeks before. Here is a fascinating look back at how South African newspapers reported on the […]

The 2015 Gourmand World Cookbook Award judges have chosen “Durban Curry, So Much of Flavour,” by Erica Platter and Clinton Friedman (PawPaw Publishers) as their South African Book of the Year. “It is outstanding, vibrant with passion and culture,” commented the judges. “Durban Curry” is also the winner of the South African Heritage and Indian […]

I live in Australia and over the past two weeks I heard and read two unrelated comments, but during the last day or so, they became quite related. The first was a comment directed at myself. I took my son to his sport and drama class and had a conversation with one of the facilitators. […]

Capetonian Bruce Marais left South Africa in 2009 to pursue a career as a (self taught) chef. Since then he’s worked in chateaux in France, villas in Spain, super yachts in the Med and settled in New York two years ago…but wherever he roams, he always returns home in the festive season for his annual SA fix… The […]

First we had loadshedding. Then the jokes. Now the musical videos… Ag Please Eskom – the joys of loadshedding Here’s a Loadshedding tribute song from Nikki Horn, aka TheNixter, whose previous South African-ised Christmas carols went viral during the festive season. Based on Jeremy Taylor’s ‘Ag Pleez Deddy’. Load Shedding Song 2015 – Hours Of Darkness […]

This morning we received a rather irate message from a Gauteng resident – Michael B.: “Where the hell are the lights? And now we have no water!” In fact in the past week we’ve received plenty of similar messages…Andrea in Durban was furious when she left work early “especially to get home in time to cook for […]