A South African mom’s heartbreaking poem, written on the plane as she left South Africa to move abroad – went viral last year… because Lindi-Mae Humphreys’ words about the pain of leaving behind everything she knew and loved struck a chord with every South African who has left their beloved country to seek a safer […]

Many South Africans have been fuming since Oscar-winning Hollywood star Charlize Theron said in a podcast that Afrikaans is a dying language spoken only by about 44 people. But in the midst of their anger, South Africans have still – naturally – found time to joke. (Although many missed that 44-year-old Charlize was joking too… […]

South African musician The Kiffness – who recently returned from a tour of Germany – graced US TV screens this week when he was featured by Jimmy Fallon in the ‘Do Not Play This Song’ segment. A bemused David Scott (aka The Kiffness) posted a clip on social media on Wednesday afternoon, and said: “made […]

South African chef Jan Hendrik is celebrating today after both his restaurants – in France and South Africa – were included in the international 50 Best Discovery List. Jan is of course famous for his Michelin-star restaurant – simply named JAN – in Nice on the French Riviera. Jan (full name Jan Hendrik van der […]

It just got easier for tourists from Europe to visit South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park. Lufthansa Group’s leisure airline, Eurowings Discover (4Y), took off from Frankfurt on Tuesday evening at 9:55 pm and touched town in Mbombela, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), at 14:10 pm for the first time! After a short stopover in […]

As you will have noticed, I took a long sabbatical away from my blog… writes Susan Hayden from the Disco Pants Blog. I had a few reasons: it’s time-consuming; posts can take me an entire day and I don’t earn any money off it, so paid work has to come first. Then, trolls abound on […]

As Lindi-Mae Humphreys sat on the plane between Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg two days ago, her emotions were running high. Her life was about to change forever. In Jozi, she would be catching a plane to The Netherlands… a new country, a new home, a new life. And leaving everything she knows and loves behind […]

Great white sharks have long been at the top of the food chain in parts of South Africa’s oceans. In their peak winter hunting months, around 1,000 great white sharks a day could be observed off the coast of the Western Cape province. But in 2017, great white shark carcasses began to wash up on […]

Four massive male lions – including a white one – caused a massive traffic jam in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Watch below. It has to be the coolest traffic jam ever… as the four lions stroll down the middle of the road, heads held high with total confidence and disregard for the waiting […]

I first saw Nkosinathi Maphumulo aka Black Coffee perform at Amaros Night Club in Pretoria, South Africa during the late 2000s. Dressed in a casual T-shirt, no one would have guessed he was destined for global glory. Beneath strobe lights, bathed in throbbing house music, clashing voices and perspiration, he could have been just like […]

Andrea Bocelli and his 8-year-old daughter Virginia have performed an exquisite version of Leonard Cohen‘s Hallelujah. The hauntingly beautiful rendition was recorded over the weekend in Italy, as Bocelli lifts spirits again just as he did with his record-breaking special Easter concert in Milan. The weekend concert – ‘Believe in Christmas’ – took place on […]

For the first time in almost 800 years, the planets of Jupiter and Saturn will be so closely aligned on 21 December (Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere) that they’ll create what looks like that radiant star you sometimes see twinkling on Christmas cards… the Star of Bethlehem, which followers of the Christian faith believe […]

This beautiful piece of writing by Jacqui Ikin evokes all the emotions, scents and sensibility about what it means to be South African, or to visit SA… What It Means to Be South African, … a Poem by Jacqui Ikin I sit here quietly thinking about what it means to me to be South African, a visitor […]

An uplifting story about a pregnant dolphin rescued by legendary Italian diver, Enzo Maiorca – who inspired the 1988 film ‘The Big Blue’ – is inspiring a new generation to take care of the ocean… with social media users passionately sharing the Facebook post this week. The tale was posted on Friday, and recounts the […]

On this week’s African Voices Changemakers, South Africans will get a chance to find out more about their very own Zozibini Tunzi, as CNN International’s Arit Okpo meets the reigning Miss Universe. Despite having her reign interrupted by the pandemic – at a time when Tunzi should have been travelling the world –  she says […]

Tennis great Roger Federer has shown his support for South Africa, his mother’s homeland, by sending a video message wishing the Springboks good luck as they face Japan in the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Watch below as Springbok captain Siya Kolisi reacts to the message during an interview with CNN. Federer, who has both […]

Thanks to chance and kindness, homeless people in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, are sleeping a little warmer this winter… and plastic is being recycled at the same time. PE resident Suzette Hendricks, who is a house parent at Lake Farm Centre in PE, happened to “accidentally” come across a video on YouTube in December 2018 […]

If you live in South Africa, you’re very familiar with the term “load shedding.” If you’re not from South Africa, you probably have no idea what load shedding is writes Canadian expat Phil Maloney. In a nutshell, load shedding occurs when Eskom, the government monopoly that provides the country with consistently intermittent power, decides to cut off […]

The current situation is very disturbing to me, let alone all the other bad stuff happening in OUR COUNTRY  on a daily basis… writes ‘Calm Black Woman‘. Let me tell you, this one issue in South Africa is really getting to me, and real bad!! I am sure you know what I’m talking about? Land […]

An incredible photo of an elephant carrying a baby cub has gone viral on Twitter… with over 6,700 people retweeting it since it was posted this morning. And alarmingly, it appears that thousands of those actually thought the photo was real!!!! Some suggested a movie should be made based on the scene, and others remarked […]

Dear white brothers and sisters, I love you, but we need to talk about the land issue… writes Prof Jonathan Jansen. In the past few weeks I have spoken at different kinds of events – book fairs, corporate lunches and community workshops – and noticed incredible stress, tension and anger on the part of white […]

An American travel blogger and video maker, Drew Binsky, has created a fantastic video listing the ten ways you know you’re in South Africa. His list includes the usual suspects that are unique to South Africa like biltong and braais, but also has items like how we call chapstick or lip balm – ‘lip ice’. […]

In South Africa we love the diminutive and the shortened word as much as the next far-flung English-speaking country – arvie for afternoon, mozzie for mosquito, and so forth. A recent video by Australian friends Josh and Rhys explains “How to Speak Australian – Abbreviate Everything” (see video below) that strikes the same note. Many of the words […]

South Africa is a country of extreme contrasts. It’s home to some of the oldest known human fossils and the world’s youngest language (ja, nee…Afrikaans). The land itself—though mired by its history of battles over ownership—is one of resplendent beauty. Speaking as a local, you may accuse me of bias. But I assure you that […]

Kruger Sightings has uploaded this sweet footage of a baby rhino chasing the birds, together with a message saying “this video is dedicated to Roger Gower, a man who was killed this week, while protecting our precious wildlife.” British helicopter pilot Gower was shot down this weekend by poachers in Tanzania as he approached the scene […]