There have been some classic moments during the two years of the Zondo Commission of Enquiry into State Capture. And even though many think the commission is a waste of time and money, information coming out of the witnesses has clearly helped crime-busting agencies. One only has to consider the arrest this week of seven […]

Strong winds and rains have battered Cape Town over the past couple of days, leaving extensive damage including a large truck being overturned, the blue statue at Sea Point falling over, several trees blocking roads and business and residential properties damaged. (Check out photos of big waves at Kalk Bay Harbour.) Winds had blown at […]

There has been widespread condemnation after a pride of seven lions in the Karoo National Park in Beaufort West were killed, apparently put down by the South African National Parks (SANParks)… but this evening SANParks will be holding a webinar where its conservationists and other experts will answer questions, and explain their reasons behind the […]

There was much excitement this weekend as Theewaterskloof Dam, Cape Town’s main source of drinking water, appeared to be overflowing. But it turns out that was the wind pushing the water over, and not the dam that was actually all the way full just yet. But it is close… as can be seen by these […]

South African singer Belinda Davids flew the flag high for SA, making it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent. On Saturday night she blew the nation away with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” on BGT. BGT said: “Not many people can take a Whitney Houston song and make it sound even […]

South Africans around the country (and world) answered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to take up the Jerusalema dance challenge for Heritage Day on Thursday. Here are just three of the many, many videos posted by wonderful, proud and fun-loving South Africans. For different reasons, these three are amongst the best… WATCH Woodside Sanctuary’s Perfectly Imperfect […]

Each year, Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng goes on a hike with the UCT Mastercard Foundation Program Scholars. The initiative, built on the premise that all young people, no matter their starting point in life, should have the opportunity to obtain a quality education and pursue their aspirations, provides full-cost scholarships to young Africans pursuing first-time undergraduate […]

Biltong and Chappies, Mrs Balls and Bobotie. These are a few of our favourite things. Celebrating South African Heritage Day today, The Kiffness has produced a song about his (and most South Africans’) lekker-ist things to eat. He says: “Happy Heritage Day! ?? … Here’s a song about some of the South African things I […]

Since the first Blitzkriek Braaikaaster was created a couple of years ago, more than 100 Stainless Steel guitarbraai-grids have been made by Klein Karoo cowboy craftsman Bert Lintvelt and two special people who’ve become like family to him – Werner van Eik (Boetie), a local Ladismith gardener, and his cousin farm girl Lenovia van Eik […]

While President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to proudly celebrate Heritage Day – on Thursday 24 September – by taking on the Jerusalema Dance Challenge, SA will actually not be the first country to use the gospel hit song for national celebrations (watch video below)… In Papua New Guinea, which marked its 45th Independence […]

Residents in St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, have expressed concern for homes along the canals as the sea has this weekend broken through the sand barriers, and the mouth of the Kromme River has apparently turned and opened onto the properties on the ‘frontline’ of the canals… as can be seen […]

South Africans have been fiercely proud of ‘My Octopus Teacher’, the breathtaking documentary filmed in South Africa that’s currently enjoying popularity on Netflix internationally. It’s SA’s first Netflix Original Documentary and explores the moving relationship between Craig Foster and an octopus that he befriends in a kelp forest in the Cape Peninsula waters, during a […]

On the 21st of July, Wildlife ACT’s Community Conservation Manager and expert rhino tracker, Zama Ncube, and Priority Species Monitor Izzy Rowles, were on a monitoring session in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, when they came across an agitated White Rhino cow. A few seconds later they heard the sound of a White Rhino calf calling. This is […]

Step aside, Bear Grylls – South African adventurist Riaan Manser is bigger, badder and better at nature. And you can stream his travels on Showmax now. When it comes to roughing it, almost no one matches Riaan:  He was the first person to cycle around Africa – 37 000km. During his trip in 2006, he […]

Social media viewers around the world are falling in love with Sakhile Dube’s voice. Sakhile – a safari guide from St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa – can be seen (and heard) demonstrating how the click sounds are pronounced in the Zulu language. His wonderful smile, welcoming viewers to iSimangaliso, and his smooth voice […]

Five young boys have been nicknamed ‘The Magnificent 5’ by the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa, after their caring rescue of a timid Labrador. The Animal Welfare Society (AWS) of South Africa – which offers a range of veterinary services to the underprivileged and disadvantaged communities of Cape Town – said the group of […]

The High Court of South Africa has dismissed the appeal filed by Zanchieta Wild Cat Farm against the judgment of Honourable Ms Justice Mokgohloa concerning Zanchieta’s inclusion in the award-winning Blood Lions documentary; and instructed Zanchieta to pay Blood Lions’ legal costs. Blood Lions’ documentary feature film – which blows the lid off claims made […]

A video filmed in the UK has gone viral on Twitter, showing a man with what appears to be a towel wrapped around his waist, on a construction site, yelling at a white-skinned South African (something he mentions) who is not in view. It appears that the South African may have been the foreman on […]

Away from the beaches and lagoons for which the seaside town of Plettenberg Bay is famous, at 8am on a Saturday morning in the industrial area, crowds of people gather with their dogs, which run around playing, barking and causing a ruckus alongside their owners who are queueing down the street. It is overcast and […]

After announcing four other original productions in July, Showmax has said it will be involved in another two new international co-productions: an epic African mythology series “Blood Psalms,” with Canal+ International, and the Megan Fox action movie “Rogue.”   “This continues a move towards co-productions from Showmax’s parent company, MultiChoice, which partnered with HBO on […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche investigates the situation in Standerton, South Africa, that has shocked the nation. Video footage this week of the streets of Standerton in the Lekwa municipal district in Mpumalanga, showed how the residents and municipal workers are burning fires late into the night and dumping their rubbish right outside the municipal buildings. […]

As communities, dance groups, hospitals, schools and many other people around the world continue to dance the #JerusalemaChallenge – which has lifted spirits globally during COVID – the original video of South African Master Kg’s brilliant song, sung by Nomcebo Zikode, has now been viewed 100 million times on YouTube. From Ghana to Italy to […]

South African musician David Scott – aka The Kiffness – has released his latest music video, a “sokkie treffer” called ‘Mevrou’ (watch below)… and his Afrikaans teacher from High School (Mevrou du Toit) has contacted him nogal! (See her message at the bottom of the page.) Dave said that following the success of The Kiffness’ […]

If you haven’t seen this yet, it sums up the South African mood as the country entered Lockdown Level 2 on Monday at midnight, and the ban on alcohol sales was lifted. The Kiffness (aka David Scott) says: “My Trollie’s vol en ek gaan zol. Chorus translation for my non-Afrikaans speaking friends: I’m going to […]

Between July and August 2020, 10 critically endangered African White-Backed Vultures have tragically been discovered dead in four separate incidents in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Thanks to special GPS tracking units, these are helping identify what the threats to the species are… which unfortunately appear to be man-made threats. Of the 10 deceased birds, four […]