Many travellers to and from South Africa will be elated to hear that changes to the immigration regulations have been announced this morning in Pretoria. The changes include a relaxation of the stringent Unabridged Birth Certificate (UBC) requirement as well as new postal options for those who don’t have a South African embassy or mission office […]

In its regular feature ’36 Hours in (Name a Place)’, the New York Times focuses on a great city or part of the world. This week it’s Cape Town’s chance to be in the spotlight. From museums to a revival of life in the city centre, from going up Table Mountain to eating at local markets, […]

The catchline for Spencer Conway’s new TV show says it all: ‘One Man, One Dream, 34 Countries’. The ‘dream’ is also one humungous challenge – to circumnavigate Africa by motorbike. The show, ‘African Motorcycle Diaries’, is a six-part series, premiering in early November, of motorcyclist Conway’s journey across 55,345 kilometers of road (and plenty other surfaces), and his […]

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in Botswana is one of nine hotels vying for the top hotel award at this year’s World Architecture Festival, to be held in Singapore in November. The 12-suite lodge’s unique shape has been likened to an upturned boat or a big wooden ribcage, although we prefer the allusion to the endangered pangolin. […]

South Africa’s 21st wine route has just been launched…and it’s quite spectacular, with so much more than just wonderful wine. Less than two hours out of Cape Town, the Stanford Wine Route in the Western Province is perfect for a day out… or even a relaxing weekend. It’s such a beautiful part of the world where […]

You never know what you’re going to find up one of the alleys in Kalk Bay, a gem on the False Bay side of Cape Town, and it just makes you want to explore. So says one of the locals interviewed by musician Arno Carstens in a recent video about the artist-town-meets-fishing-village. The video gives you a good […]

For anyone experiencing delays in getting a passport or Smart Card ID in South Africa, relief is on the way, with a new programme launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday to allow certain banks to take applications and issue them. The Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba said the initiative – which is still being rolled out – will allow people […]

Four of the top 10 hotels in Africa favoured by multimillionaires are in South Africa, although none of them made it into the first three. The multimillionaires’ five highest-rated boutique hotels on the continent, however, were all in South Africa. Those are some of the findings of a survey conducted over a period of 12 months and released […]

A British lawyer on a flight from Doha in Qatar to Cape Town is suing Qatar Airways after being bitten by a highly venomous spider during the flight, according to news reports. Jonathon Hogg (40) apparently spent a month in hospital in South Africa, where he underwent three operations and a skin graft. He reportedly said the […]

LONDON – British Airways has announced it will cut two of its seasonal flights to Cape Town in 2016, which some have ascribed to the new visa restrictions for South Africa. BA said the flight to Cape Town on Thursdays and Saturdays, and the return flight on Fridays and Saturdays would end on March 27, 2016, […]

It has been 21 years since South Africa re-established relations with Cuba, and although it has long been on some travellers’ lists (and bucket lists), now is the perfect time to think about really going there. The main reason is that the island will probably soon be flooded – with Americans. The United States has recently […]

Maybe it’s because I’m a South African, always thinking in terms of the precarious state of my country’s currency and what it can buy overseas. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been a freelance journalist for so long, scraping by on a meagre income. Either way, I’ve always sought out the free or cheap in New York […]

Several parts of the Cape Peninsula’s parks have reopened to visitors, six months after devastating fires tore across Table Mountain and vast stretches of Constantia and Silvermine, and engulfed the mountainside above Muizenberg and False Bay. All of the Cape Peninsula, including Silvermine (which reopened yesterday), Table Mountain and the beaches as well as Cape Point, fall […]

This is no five-step waltz, no quadrille, and by no means is it a cakewalk. It’s more like a cactus tango or a dusty Jitterbug, this Nama Riel dance they do so well out here in the Northern Cape Karoo. It’s ‘Stomp the Yard’ in Calvinia, Williston, Brandvlei and beyond. The cheering crowd forms a square […]

According to a list compiled by BuzzFeed, four of the world’s most secluded hotels are in Africa. The list was put together by the website’s Photo Essay Editor Gabriel H. Sanchez who describes the 22 locations as “perfect for people who hate people”. The list – which begins with “pretty much the most photogenic hotel in the world” Explora […]

American actress Uma Thurman has joined the ranks of celebrities putting their names behind save-the-rhino causes, with the magazine Town & Country dedicating its entire October Issue to the rhino, including a long feature in which Thurman is shown on a trip to relocate a pair of rhino. Thurman, who has acted in “Kill Bill” and is […]

Meet Table Mountain, KwaZulu-Natal… The entire planet knows about Cape Town’s iconic version…but not many people in and out of South Africa have ever seen or heard of Pietermaritzburgs’ own Table Mountain. These photos, captured by Peter de Groot from PdGPix, reveal the incredible views from Pietermaritzburg’s Table Mountain over KwaZulu-Natal… “Awesome views of the Msunduzi and […]

While the falling rand is bad news for South Africans, tourists from abroad – or South Africans living overseas – can score big during the currency’s slump. While other safari destinations in Southern and East Africa quote their prices in U.S. dollars, South Africa still quotes in rand, making it more attractive, according to safari operator Onne […]

In June this year, four months after Al-Shabaab militants massacred 148 people at Garissa, South African safari-operator Steve Fitzgerald welcomed the first guests to Angama Mara in Kenya. Fitzgerald maintains there’s simply no comparable super-luxury lodge in the Mara. ‘If Angama is successful, it could do the same for Kenya as the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge […]

Sunsets, yachts and fabulous flowers…just a few things that make Langebaan one of the most beautiful spots to visit in South Africa. If you’re in the Western Cape area this weekend, the flowers are in full bloom! And if you’re not…we hope you enjoy these fabulous flower photos instead. Taken by John Cronje on Wednesday (2 […]

It was fast. It was fun. It was clearly something people in our lovely country should do. And thanks to Kia SA for making it possible after my trusty SUV broke down just in time to not leave! Read about the trip down memory lane – Part One and Part Two. Despite all the bad […]

Travel tips seem to be a dime a dozen these days and most people probably know it all when it comes to booking and organising their next holiday, or at least think they do. But what about travelling when you are migrating? Suddenly it’s a whole new ball game as you aren’t just thinking about […]

Well, that was a whistle-stop tour of the country. And yes, would have loved to have been able to take much more time doing it, revisiting every little fun thing I’ve seen over the years, but alas, time constraints and a couple of pre-teens (my twins, the Pixies) filled with ennui precluded that from happening… […]

Sometimes things come about because you’re tired of the fast pace of life, the continual “mission mission mission, get there quickly,” rush around…and then you come back from a holiday feeling like you need one. And dragging two fractious Pixies around while you do it is no fun. The Pixies are my daughters. Twins. So […]

Many of us probably think of Hillbrow in Johannesburg as a no-go zone, but Nick Bauer and Mike Luptak are making a point of taking people to its very heart. And to Ponte City too. And beyond. Through their company, Dlala Nje, Bauer and Luptak offer two increasingly popular tours – This is Hillbrow and The Taste […]