Team South Africa returned home today from Turkey after an awesome win at the Eurasian Schools Debating Championship (ESDC) 2016. The young South Africans won 9-0 in the Grand Final debate opposing Team Romania on the motion THBT (this house believes that) employers should not require employees to have university degrees. Team Romania congratulated South Africa on […]

The aptly named Crankhandle Club on Sunday began a weeklong series of events showing off some gorgeous vintage and veteran cars on the roads of the Western Cape when it hosted a run out to Kalk Bay in Cape Town, with some of the participants well over a century old. The run out to the village on False […]

South African beauty queen and former Miss World title holder, Rolene Strauss has married the love of her life, D’Niel Strauss (founder of Orientis Venture Capital). The 23-year-old posted the Ecclesiastes 3:1 Biblical passage to her facebook page this morning: “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” She then added […]

A wonderfully caring father has been inspiring South Africans this week since a photo of his morning ritual became popular on Facebook, inspiring others with its Starfish poem-like qualities… The pollution-fighting Western Cape resident has become a bit of a sensation on social media since his proud daughter, Sonja Smith-Janse van Rensburg, posted the following photo […]

Congratulations to South African teenager Leroy Mokgatle who has won the audience choice award and a scholarship at the international ballet competition “Prix de Lausanne” held in Switzerland. Leroy’s prestigious scholarship award is only the second awarded to a South African in the competition’s 44-year history, and the first for SA in 28 years. Non-profit dance […]

Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Director General Mkuseli Apleni said in a statement yesterday that the DHA is on track with the implementation of those Cabinet concessions on immigration rules which were announced in October 2015. These include an extension of the expiry date of the Parental Consent Affidavit, and the future roll-out of South African passports […]

Lots of us have it, a kind of nostalgia-memory about home triggered by the littlest thing. We’ll be somewhere abroad and suddenly see, hear, smell something that reminds us of South Africa. Even New Yorker Sean Evans still gets it after spending only two weeks in the country. In an article in Conde Nast Traveler […]

The innovate site 10and5.com have launched a free Web show that highlights lots of creative things going on in South Africa you might not have heard about. Hidden galleries, music gigs, shops and loads of things to do. “This is our first episode and we’re super excited to share it with you – it’s full of […]

Does anyone know anyone who works at uShaka Marine World and could help make a dream come true for a group of orphaned and vulnerable kids from Gauteng? The children and the staff, from Winnie Mabaso Foundation, are “mega excited” to be heading to Durban in March for the first time in their lives, thanks to […]

ZAAHID APPOLES captured this mesmerising footage – and photos – of the windy seas and clouds over Table Mountain as the legendary “Cape Doctor” paid a visit… Watch Video: Cape Doctor over Table Mountain

For those who can’t make it for a safari trip in South Africa this year, here’s a collection of beautiful photos taken in Weenen Game Reserve during the last weekend of January 2016… All photos were taken by PETER DE GROOT who joined a small group of fellow photographers for a weekend of camping and photography in […]

I had the pleasure of photographing the Secret Sunrise Cape Town experience this morning. Apart from groovy music, silly dancing and creative outfits… the most beautiful moment transpired when one of the instructors put his wireless head phones on a school boy standing by… Moments later, all of the Secret Sunrisers moved towards the school […]

Looking for deeper insight into South Africa – or just a good read? Here are snap reviews of classic South African books, covering everything from non-fiction to fiction to poetry, and featuring a range of the country’s greatest novelists, poets, journalists and historians. (Thanks to South African Book Fair for the main pic.) Non-fiction 1. Long Walk […]

More than R10,000 of donations were sent in by people who saw a TV programme on Wednesday about a woman in Ocean View, Cape Town, who has been called the  Mother Teresa of Animals. Watch the interview with Ingrid de Storie: Not long after Ingrid de Storie’s story aired on TV, people started sending in money, […]

In support of World Cancer Day on 4 February, and the international awareness campaign it promotes, the Proteas will play a Pink One Day International on 12 February that Cricket South Africa hopes will raise R1 million. This will be the the third time the Proteas have donned pink for the cause. According to CSA, previous events have raised almost R500,000 for […]

As lion populations across Africa are seriously threatened by populations encroaching on their habitat and cattle farmers protecting their herds, among other things, a group of as many as 200 lions that few people knew about has been discovered in northwest Ethiopia. “During my professional career I have had to revise the lion distribution map many times,” […]

South Africa’s fast food restaurant chain Nando’s has proved just how fast they are – producing an advert about President Zuma’s #PayBackTheMoney options less than 24 hours after the president proposed an end to the controversy. Late last night the presidency revealed the president’s suggestion to pay back part of the tax payers’ millions that were spent […]

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 […]

It’s hard to believe, but there have been 25 million people up Table Mountain on the cable car, and the 25 millionth guests were surprised by cheers on Tuesday when they got off the cable car. Watch the lucky couple arrive on top of the mountain: The two suddenly famous customers were Bafana Sibanyoni and his […]

U.S. talk show host Ellen de Generes has long been known as a supporter of animal causes, and now it’s African animal causes too. Two of her most recent guests were Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the South African conservationists and award-winning photographers. The South African couple, who have lived in the Botswana wilderness for some […]

The France-based chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen has become the first South African to win a coveted Michelin star for his restaurant JAN in Nice on the Riviera, it was announced on Monday. It was one of more than 50 new stars awarded in 2016, Michelin said. For restaurants in France a Michelin star is […]

A prestigious new list of the top places in the world to see in 2016 starts off with the Cape Winelands, which,  as it happens, have also just featured for all the great food and wine you get on the so-called “gourmet trail”. The highly esteemed Robb Report says in its Top 21 Destinations for 2016, “South Africa’s perennially picturesque […]

It’s a long way from Barkly East to Lillehammer but that’s the journey teenager Elizabeth Olivier is taking as she prepares to be South Africa’s sole representative at next month’s Winter Youth Olympics in Norway. She’ll be swopping the South African sunshine for Norwegian chill as she competes at the slalom and giant slalom events. […]

The scandalous love story between Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams is known to many Southern Africans, but one newspaper calls it the “greatest love story you’ve never heard about”. Award-winning British actor David Oyelowo was so captivated by the true story that he’s spent the last five years bringing it to the screen. Seretse was an Oxford-educated student and a […]

Certain cities around the world get a name for great coffee. San Francisco, Seattle, London, Tokyo, Taipei. Now add Cape Town to the pack, especially over the last year or two as specialty coffee shops have exploded all over the Mother City. We sniffed out the best brew to be found. 1. The best coffee shop for over-the-top […]