So in my little housely enclave, I’ve been thinking about what my thoughts are IRO the lockdown, about the changes around the world, about freedom, and how it’s – if at all – changed much in my life… Here’s what I’ve come up with!… writes well known South African radio and TV personality Melanie Walker. […]

interviewed by Jenni Baxter Melanie Walker is sapeople’s featured blogger in Johannesuburg. She also has a ‘few’ other jobs – which include writing  for SA Garden and Home, presenting a gardening show, “Grounded” on 1485 am Radio Today; scriptwriting and researching for a couple of shows on DSTV (including Studio 53 – lifestyle and entertainment […]

Carte Blanche presenter Derek Watts sadly died this morning. Listen to this wonderful interview he did with SAPeople last year…

It’s SNOWING in Johannesburg today!!! The last time Johannesburg experienced this kind of snow was over 40 years ago – 11 September 1981. Watch the videos below, but first, here are some pictures from Petro du Pisani’s view at work in Rosebank… Gavin Kennedy, head of Solid Gold Podcasts says: « We have a light […]

They call themselves the Betereinders, a play on the never-say-die Betereinders – the Afrikaans resistance campaign that held back the British Empire during the South African War in the early 1900s. But the Betereinders are on a different mission, quite literally dedicated to a better end for their country. They want to create a better […]

This week Carte Blanche explores the psychological impact of pandemic rules – was the crisis management worth it in the end? South Africa’s top current affairs show meets parents who paid a high price at the peak of the pandemic. (Here’s the most up-to-date Carte Blanche this Sunday line-up.) « Our NICU story is sure to […]

Radio legend Kevin Savage (69) has sadly passed away today, 9 July, following a lengthy battle with cancer. Radio station Hot 102.7 said Kevin, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer over four years ago, “fought heroically till the very end”. South Africans were today reeling from the news, as it comes on the same day […]

Welcome to SAPeople’s Podcasts… where you can join Melanie Walker and Jenni Baxter for your regular fix of SA culture and news, get the low-down on all the good stuff happening at home and abroad. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple etc here: https://pod.link/sapeople 

As positive cases of coronavirus peak in South Africa – with another 8,735 recorded on Thursday and 95 deaths, the country’s social media users have increasingly been urging each other to wear masks. This comes as Texas is making world headlines with a similar number of cases – over 8,000 on Wednesday – and introducing […]

South Africa has had many ups and downs, but yesterday – Monday 2 September 2019 – it appeared to reach a new low with South Africans around the country heaving a collective sob in the face of more devastating and senseless crimes. Facebook timelines were strewn with tearful, angry and heartbroken messages. Twitter burned with […]

South Africa’s Tourism Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, says she would like to reassure international tourists that it IS safe to travel to SA and that “their safety remains top priority for the South African government”. The Minister pointed out to international tourists that with regards to recent incidents (the brutal murder of a Ukrainian hiker in […]

Johannesburg is famous for having one of the largest urban forests in the world, but now the South African city faces losing much of that extraordinary and beautiful 10-million tree canopy as a tiny beetle threatens to cause one of South Africa’s largest ecological tragedies. ‘Garden Style’ author Melanie Walker reports on the current crisis, […]

We often think of Proteas as being Proudly South African (afterall, the King Protea is South Africa’s national flower), but how many of you knew that they’re actually widely distributed throughout the southern hemisphere… in places such as Australia, Tropical Africa, South America, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Malaya? This family apparently dates back […]

“Land expropriation without compensation.” So… what does that phrase actually mean? And how does it affect all the peoples of our country? Melanie Walker reports, as South Africans have 24 hours – until Friday 15 June 2018 – to make their voices heard for or against changing the Constitution. (See bottom of the page for […]

I first met Julia Albu, one of the Grand Dames of the PR industry, some 25 years ago… writes Melanie Walker. Larger than life with a voice to match, Jooooolia was definitely one person who I would always say yes to whenever she asked me to get involved in the ‘Hat Day at the Races’ […]

On Saturday Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden hosted a farewell to Johnny Clegg. Johnny, who has played at the Garden for the past 10 years, agreed to bring his Final Journey Tour to the Garden. Robyn Gwilt was there to capture these awesome photos. Clegg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago and is currently in remission. It […]

Together, they figure they have done South African Tourism more good than any other two blondes… and have travelled to the moon and back. Melanie Walker and Viv Vermaak. The one is a former barefoot trans-African arm-wrestler. The other is a former fashion model and adrenaline junkie. The one hosted a show called ‘Going Nowhere […]

Generations of late night revellers in Johannesburg made a pilgrimage to order toasties and milkshakes… and farewell the iconic Doll House roadhouse as it closed its doors for the final time this week. Renowned South African writer Gus Silber said: “The Doll House roadhouse on Louis Botha, Joburg, gives way to the bulldozers and the […]

While the ANC were celebrating their 105th birthday down the road at Orlando Stadium in Soweto this morning, the Mayor of Johannesburg – Herman Mashaba from the DA – spent his Sunday morning addressing concerned residents gathered outside an electricity substation in Roosevelt Park. Power had been off since Saturday midnight, as well as for several […]

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… […]

It must be said: I’ve been blessed. For a blonde whose claim to fame used to be jumping out of helicopters (for a TV show called Treasure Hunt) I got to meet and appreciate so many great men and women in this well-talented country of ours. Yes, the opportunity to hunt down treasures of the […]

The more I listen to the radio, or read social media outpourings, honestly – the more I’d like to pretend I’m a big brown bear in Siberia and it’s hibernation time. There’s the dire state of affairs in other parts of the world, which seems to be foremost in many a Seffrican’s mind. Whereas I […]

HIGHLIGHTS this week include: interviews with SAReunited co-founder Amanda Tsinonis and wildlife photographer Chris Brunskill; photos of the sparkling new South African soccer stadiums and Durban’s Paradise Spoilt. Check out our featured bloggers from New York, Durban, London, Tanzania, Australia, Johannesburg, and Los Angeles. A big WELCOME plus more behind-the-scenes news from the Editor…

Check out what our featured bloggers from around the world are saying about life in their corner of the globe… If you would like to launch your own blog, contact us and we’ll set you up.  

It’s been a horrific week in South Africa for Bradley Steyn, whose brother-in-law – John Bosman – was callously murdered on his strawberry farm in Nelspruit a few days ago. Yesterday however, Brad managed to smile for the first time… and feel the hope of a nation… A couple of days ago Brad posted a […]