For anyone overseas feeling homesick for South Africa, or even for someone in Cape Town feeling lus for some views of the Kruger Park or the Blyde River Canyon, Google Maps is partly answering the call. Short of taking a trip on a second’s notice, you can click on Google’s newly launched South Africa, the Mzansi […]

The new movie by “Tsotsi” director Gavin Hood opens in South Africa and the United States on Friday, and not only brings him back to Africa but it looks like it’s going to be a blockbuster and rank him with the world’s top action and suspense directors. “Eye in the Sky” has a brilliant cast – Helen […]

Amidst the chaos and flooding during yesterday and today’s welcome downpour in Gauteng, one man’s selfless actions have made some hail him a ‘hero’. The country, which has been suffering what some say is the worst drought in a century, received such a heavy rain yesterday that some roads from the Kruger National Park (see video below) to […]

In the wake of the tragic death of Franziska Blöchliger, the teenager brutally murdered in Tokai Park on Monday 7 March, a remarkable and inspiring event took place on the evening of 9 March. (Watch video below.) The mothers of Westlake Village, who had come together to clean up their community and effect the arrests […]

Business Day associate editor Sam Kokeli saw Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday, after the deputy president wrapped up a week of answering questions in Parliament. And both of them were sitting in economy class on the South African Airways flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Ramaphosa is the second high-ranking member of government to attract attention for […]

South African golfer Ernie Els was jumping for joy on Monday, when Rickie Fowler hit a brilliant hole-in-one on a bonus hole to earn Els’ autism foundation a whopping one million dollar donation from sponsors at a charity event in Florida! The event took place at Palm Beach Gardens in the USA, where Els has […]

Raymond Ackerman, who put what is arguably South Africa’s favourite supermarket on the map after buying three stores in the turbulent 1960s, turns 85 today. Last week, quite coincidentally, a documentary about Ackerman’s life and how he strived to run a fair, non-racial business in apartheid South Africa, “Good Business, The Story of a South African Retail Giant”, […]

While South Africans may have been in tears at losing the cricket match – and KFC T20 International Series – against Australia at Newlands on Wednesday evening… Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne has been filmed sobbing after holding a South African baboon spider named Britney. Warnie, as he’s known in Australia, has a well-documented phobia of […]

South Africans Stephen and Laura Kramer relocated to Melbourne, Australia, 20 years ago where they both work as vets. They’re back on holiday in South Africa…and loving it. With the hugest respect to all our Aussie mates (and Kiwis too!), here’s a blog Stephen wrote at the weekend for his daughter back in Australia… “Ok Manda, here’s the travel […]

Here’s a beautiful poem written yesterday by one of the pupils in a Grade 6 class at Cedarwood School in Glenferness (north of Lonehill in Gauteng). According to Gen Andrews, who works at the school, the class was set a task in English to write a poem entitled ‘Love for my country’ in which each line had […]

Local residents and parents have been paying tribute to a life tragically lost yesterday when 16-year-old Constantia Waldorf schoolgirl, Franziska Blöchliger, was murdered in Tokai Lower Forest in Cape Town, South Africa. And the support of the community for the family was evident today during a radio interview with her father. Andreas Florian Blöchliger said he is Swiss and came […]

Known for travelling the world with great cars and adventure in its heart, the hugely popular Top Gear not only has two new hosts including “Friends” actor Matt LeBlanc but shot its first episode in the highlands of South Africa and Lesotho. With the departure of the original hosts – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May […]

There’s a homeless 28-year-old man who has been quietly getting on with cleaning up Bantry Bay in South Africa and asking for nothing in return. Local Capetonian Jay Margolis discovered Siyabulela Dan Magobiyane – and his mission to clean up the mess – on Monday afternoon. Jay was intrigued after watching Siyabulela hard at work, and later uploaded the […]

Nothing like a bit of encouragement to push you when you’re cycling – which is exactly what this ostrich did to two foreign cyclists who were training for the Cape Town Cycle Tour. Their friend taping it all said he almost fell off his bike he was laughing so much. “We came down to South […]

A strike at Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa has led to a unique opportunity for locals to volunteer and get up close and personal with some of the over 2,000 animals, while the allegedly illegal strike continues. The zoo workers went on strike on Friday, causing the zoo to shut down, because of apparent issues with salaries […]

It’s Sunday…must be braai day! And here’s a classic recipe for South Africans around the world…yummy boerewors baked into a pie on your braai! The recipe includes puff pastry, fried onions, mushrooms, cheese, tomato sauce…and of course boerewors! Now try Suzelle DIY’s braai pie

After public outrage, world headlines, a petition and relentless support from her barrister, 92-year-old Myrtle Cothill is now allowed to remain in the UK with her daughter. Her barrister, Jan Doerfel, posted the following message to the petition page on Change.org today: “Right in time for [UK] Mother’s Day, we have been told by the Home Office that the original […]

It’s been a big week for Kevin Richardson. South Africa’s Lion Whisperer reached the milestone of 150,000 followers on YouTube and he had awesome photos of himself and his mates, the lions, splashed all over media across the world. And for Kevin it’s fantastic news – because it means the story of the lion is […]

Nashville singer Beau Davidson has released an epic version of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight‘ in collaboration with the very band that made it a worldwide hit in 36 countries. The song, which had its roots in South Africa, was made famous in 1961 after The Tokens performed it in America. Speaking in a documentary about the new […]

DAVID MILLER scored his maiden half-century in the T20 international format to blast the Oxigen Proteas to a three-wicket victory over Australia with four balls to spare in the opening KFC T20 International match at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Friday evening. Miller’s performance (53 off 35 balls, 3 fours and 3 sixes), which won him […]

There will be an estimated 35,000 people riding the 109-km Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday, the biggest timed road race in the world, and it will include everyone from fund-raisers, moms and dads and kids, people in costumes, tandem riders, conservationists and even nudists. Well, the nudists won’t be ridding in the Cape Town Cycle Tour […]

Settle back for ten minutes and enjoy this beautifully edited visual diary of a Dutch couple’s “amazing road trip on the beautiful African continent, filmed in HD. What a beautiful journey. We visited South Africa, Swaziland and The Seychelles…” The clips were filmed with Gopro Hero 3 and Nikon D5500, and the video was edited with Final […]

The coffee chain Starbucks is to open its first two stores in South Africa in April, one in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and the other in the massive Mall of Africa between Johannesburg and Pretoria, according to news reports on Thursday. The stores will be Starbucks’ first in sub-Saharan Africa. The chain will reportedly adapt its menu […]

There is no obvious way to sneak up on herbalist Antoinette Pienaar and Karoo healer Oom Johannes Willemse. As documented in her well-loved book The Griqua’s Apprentice (translated from Kruitjie Roer My), they live on Theefontein Farm near Beaufort West, which can only be found via an intricate set of directions involving small dirt roads with middelmannetjies […]

Check out this awesome version of Toto’s ‘Africa’, lip-synced by American actor Dax Shepard and his actress wife Kristen Bell. You can feel the love – for Africa and each other. Dax (‘Parenthood’) only uploaded the video this year, although it was filmed over two years ago, before kids (they now have two daughters). He […]