Zanzibar

Zanzibar Dreaming – A South African’s First Visit

By Marguerite Coetzee 31-12-20 20:08

Flying over the ocean blue to an island called Unguja, I imagined Zanzibar to be a stereotypical island paradise – bleached beaches, coconuts falling from palm trees, sickly sweet pineapple drinks with those unnecessary little umbrellas – but with the influence of Africa, slavery, and the spice route. Water like liquid sapphire Captures fragments of […]

the journey man

Diamond Cowboys of Port Nolloth

By Chris Marais 29-08-16 15:04

Decades ago and deep in the Namaqualand desert at a point between Springbok, Steinkopf and the sea, a Cape Town housewife with a squeaky voice steals our hearts. This mommy from the suburbs has requested a tune that plays into our early years, way before Disco, Johnny Rotten, Duran Duran and Really Big Hair stole […]

south-african-grave-in-italy

Beautiful Tribute to South African Soldiers in Italy

By SAPeople Contributor 28-06-16 15:26

South African tourists, Peter and Michelle Roos, captured these poignant photos and the mood of a cemetery in Italy that became the last resting place for so many young South African soldiers… Michelle says that in the “midst of hedonistic pleasures” in Italy, the graves provided “a somber dose of other things that happened in […]

Living Donation

Kidney and Kindness from Expat in Canada – “She Could Save My Life”

By SAPeople 11-04-16 00:11

Proving old friendships never die, a South African expat living in Canada has offered her kidney to her former schoolmate in Johannesburg, whom she hasn’t seen for decades. And together they are now on a journey to make sure Di gets the kidney she desperately needs, and that awareness is raised about live kidney donations. […]

4 Reasons Why I Can’t Leave South Africa

By NIEL RAMSAY LOUW 21-11-20 13:20

Let me start with some context: I am a well-off white male – the international trifecta of privilege – and Afrikaans to boot, just to add some local flavour to my human stew of oppressiveness. Born eight years before the end of apartheid the only thing I really remember about the dark days are oddly vivid […]

Lost and found in South Africa

Lost and Found in South Africa – “God was Listening”

By SAPeople 20-02-16 20:27

It’s Monday 16 February, 2016. Dianne and I have just spent an idyllic 3 weeks in Hermanus in South Africa with our family that gathered from Australia, England, the USA and various parts of South Africa to spend time with 86-year old family matriarch Jennifer Stewart. With our US Dollars, we and the Brits are […]

Not moving back to South Africa

Why I’m Still Not Going Back to South Africa…

By SAPeople Contributor 18-02-16 16:31

A couple of years ago I wrote an article on my blog (Rant!) entitled ‘Why I will not go back to South Africa’ (see below). It was largely incited by the Oscar Pistorius trial, which was happening at the time – I’d just had a baby and found myself sitting glued to my cell phone […]

Danielle and Rachel

Love, Death, Daughters and Domestics in South Africa

By SAPeople 15-02-16 15:48

For those who haven’t grown up in South Africa, the closeness that often grows between a domestic worker and her employer’s family can be hard to grasp. But the bonds and emotions run deep for many, with ‘family’ becoming a blend of both the domestic’s and employer’s children. And when there’s a heartbreaking death in the ‘family’, everyone […]

To the Farmer: Forgive Us…

By SAPeople Contributor 16-01-16 13:47

I am not a farmer. My husband and myself have a small holding just outside Bloemfontein where we farm with a few sheep and lucerne. Today was a heart wrenching day for me. My Damara ram “Oupa” refused to stand up. I tried everything to get him to get back up but alas. He was […]

Elephant Story South Africa

A Photo Story of the Grumpy Teenage Elephant

By SAPeople Contributor 06-11-15 10:19

It’s not just human teenagers who are moody. Wildlife enthusiast Ida de Beer took the following photos during a recent trip to a safari park in South Africa. “The pictures are un-edited,” she says. “This is how the elephant came closer and closer…” Ida estimates the elephant is a teenager of about 15-years-old (and its ivory tusks are covered by […]

Suzelle DIY’s Essential Loadshedding Survival Kit for South Africans

By SAPeople 24-07-15 12:39

South African DIY Goddess Suzelle DIY has some fantastic tips for how to make a loadshedding survival kit. You’ll find the tips both romantic…and ingenious. And of course, many of the products required to make this essential kit can be found at Checkers. (Suzelle recently starred in Checker’s latest TV commercial along with Nataniël.) Watch Video: […]

Cape Town South Africa

10 Things I HEART about the Mother City

By Ursula Botha 11-07-15 12:51

I haven’t spent time in Cape Town for the past three years. Apart from the quick one or two day visits in December. And those ‘holiday’ visits don’t count because they’re smothered in family and vacation life. But on this latest trip I was extraordinarily blessed to fly down for work…and managed to get a sneaky day off on Monday. My one […]

union buildings, pretoria

‘The Journey Man’ Extracts – Pretoria Blues

By Chris Marais 01-11-15 20:01

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 […]

the journey man

‘The Journey Man’ Extracts – Bosman Bliss in the Bushveld

By Chris Marais 01-11-15 20:01

Groot Marico, 1979 – It’s a lovely Saturday out here in the Bushveld…I’m sitting under a fever tree on a farm in the Western Transvaal (now Northwest Province) talking to a Marico family and drinking their mampoer very slowly and, if I may say so, quite thoughtfully. It’s all so very Herman Charles. [The late […]

hillbrow

‘The Journey Man’ Extracts – We Remember Hillbrow

By Chris Marais 01-11-15 20:05

Hillbrow, Jo’burg’s inner city Tenderloin district, was never a nest of angels… In the late 1970s and 80s, it was the most cosmopolitan piece of real estate in South Africa. You had your excellent Hillbrow Records, your Mi-Vami shawarma place, Estoril Books, your globe-trotting tattoo artist down in the basement shopping area on Pretoria Street […]

Then I Can Cry…

By SAPeople 21-02-15 12:10

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 […]

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KAROO DIARY: Show Time in Prince Albert!

By Julienne du Toit 17-09-14 14:54

Karoo towns are never the first choice for those seeking the bright lights. Prince Albert, though, is an exception. It’s worth waiting until dark to drive down the main road and wait until the magic moment just after dusk, when the neon outside the Showroom Theatre flickers to life, highlighting its distinctive Art Deco lines. […]

Meeting a South African “Blessing”

By Estelle Poisson 06-09-14 14:25

Today I met a very friendly family in Durban, while I was shopping. My eye got caught by the adorable toddler that was peacefully sleeping in the trolley, his head laying heavy like a stone on his mom’s handbag. I asked his mom and aunt, Patience and Thembe, if I could take a picture of him. […]

Estelle Poisson

My First Year in South Africa – the Recap…

By Estelle Poisson 14-08-14 10:13

Today I’m celebrating my FIRST YEAR in South Africa. I arrived in Durban, from my homeland France, exactly a year ago. Who would have guessed that I would end up in South Africa, in Africa even? I left my friends, family, work, flat, shops, food… everything, and accepted to change my life completely, but I […]

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KAROO DIARY: The Silver Creek Flows!

By Chris Marais 27-02-15 19:46

If you’re South African and of a certain age, chances are you’ll be familiar with the Silver Creek Mountain Band. Text & Pictures by Chris Marais The Creek is South Africa’s longest-surviving bluegrass band. Forty years ago, they were a live music force to be reckoned with. Two fiddlers, banjo, lead guitar and a big old […]

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