JOHANNESBURG – Barely two days before Ukrainian visitor Ivan Ivanova was stabbed to death while hiking in Cape Town, the Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said the government was paying attention to the issue of safety in the country that had been raised by potential visitors. Kubayi-Ngubane told the Real Estate Development Summit on Friday last […]

A new facility that rehabilitates wild animals that have been injured or abandoned, with a view to returning them to the wild, has been opened at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, outside Port Elizabeth. At the R5 million (or $350,000) facility, the animals are treated before being released back to the wild, Shamwari said in a […]

The question most people ask when we meet them somewhere on our travels through the vast dry Karoo region of South Africa is: “How do you find your stories?”… writes Chris Marais from KarooSpace. Those who read our Karoo books and our regular features in SA Country Life magazine and various other publications want to know what sets us […]

Late last year SAPeople ran a competition with South African Airways for a return trip for two from Heathrow, London, to South Africa. The lucky winner was Lucy Vaughan (and her boyfriend whom she surprised). SAPeople spoke to Lucy this week on her return from her holiday to SA… What made you enter the competition […]

CAPE TOWN – British Airways would remain the only airline flying a daily flight between London and Cape Town for the time being, according to Wesgro, although the agency was in regular discussions with other airlines to fly to the city, according to CEO of the Western Cape’s tourism and trade body Tim Harris. A […]

CAPE TOWN – The publicity for the world-famous Mount Nelson hotel – “an oasis of calm within Cape Town’s beating heart” – must have seemed like a cruel joke yesterday after a group of men stormed the lobby and robbed staff and holiday guests, and broke jewellery displays to steal the contents. In an emailed […]

No matter how fabulous a South African expat’s life is abroad, there’s still nothing quite like a holiday back home… whether it’s once a year or once a decade. To fly home with SAA and catch up with family and friends over a lekker braai, watch the sun set in an African sky, and marvel […]

Imagine walking through a lush tropical forest. You hear a rustle overhead, and a half-eaten fruit plops onto the trail. You lock eyes with a howler monkey, before he gives a soft grunt and moves higher into the trees. These magical, fleeting connections with a wild animal can be the highlight of a holiday. Wildlife […]

On July 16, one of the most luxurious trains in the world, the South African Rovos Rail, set off to make the first-ever passenger train trip from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. It is the second major journey across Africa that the private rail company has launched in its 30 years. The train journey […]

A French couple has been forced to resign from their jobs at a supermarket in France after their trophy pictures – of hunts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Tanzania – went viral. The photos, which had been taken back in 2015, show the couple with dead animals, including a leopard (which would’ve cost over $7,000 […]

A new luxury game lodge in South Africa has been long-listed for an international design award. The lodge – Cheetah Plains – was designed by ARRCC with décor by OKHA in the Sabi Sand South Africa. ARRCC, which has been selected to compete in the 2019 Dezeen Awards in the Hotel and Short Stay category, […]

New Zealanders can pack their bags and head to South Africa with ease again! The new South African Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, announced today that New Zealand tourists can once again visit South Africa without needing to get a visa first. Former Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba had withdrawn visa exemption for […]

The World’s Best Vineyard 2019 competition, held in London this week, has announced that the Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West, in the Western Province of South Africa, is Africa’s top winery. “We are absolutely delighted by this award,” said Vergelegen CEO Don Tooth. “The Vergelegen team is committed to building South Africa’s reputation as […]

As many travellers between Johannesburg and Durban know, there is a quaint little church that is situated in Van Reenan (Free State) at the halfway mark. It looks beautiful in the spring, summer, autumn and even winter (see below). This weekend filmmaker Richard van Schalkwyk stopped on his way to KZN and took some footage […]

One of the scariest elephant charges in Africa ever is going viral on social media at the moment. Watch below. The video was uploaded by Kuiseb Delta Adventures, which offers quad bike and 4×4 tours in Namibia… but it’s not sure who actually filmed the video or where. What is certain is that is was […]

South Africans are exploring their own gorgeous country like never before! According to South African Tourism (SA Tourism), domestic holiday trips rose by 59.7 % in the first quarter of this year (January to April 2019). Thanks to an SA Tourism marketing campaign enticing South Africans to travel their country, the period this year showed […]

Table Mountain Cableway will be hiring up to 150 seasonal staff for the peak tourist season, 1 November 2019 to 30 January 2020. Its annual online recruitment drive opened yesterday (Monday 17 June). With opportunities in Food & Beverage, Operations, Security, Cleaning and Retail as well as at the Table Mountain Café and Ticket Office, […]

South Africa’s Cape Town International Airport has been named the continent’s leading airport at the recent edition of the World Travel Awards. And Table Mountain was named Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction. The announcements were made at the prestigious 26th World Travel Awards (WTA) ceremony held in Mauritius over the weekend. Cape Town International Airport won […]

CAPE TOWN – Cape Town plans to add routes to Australia and South America after last month reaching a deal with United Airlines for its first direct flight to the United States, the head of air access for South Africa’s top tourist city said. This’ll be good news for Western Cape expats in those regions, […]

Four South Africans, who remained in Egypt for medical care following a bus explosion in that country, returned home on Wednesday. The bus, had been carrying 25 South African tourists from the airport to the pyramids in Giza. According to Egyptian authorities, a rudimentary device containing nails and pieces of metal detonated on the perimeter […]

CAIRO – Egyptian security forces have killed 12 suspected Islamist militants in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, a day after an explosion targeting a tourist bus – carrying South African passengers – injured at least 12 of those on board. A rudimentary device containing nails and pieces of metal detonated on the perimeter […]

If you’ve always wanted to visit Mount Kilimanjaro, but just can’t be asked to actually get fit enough to climb it… you could be in luck! Tanzania wants to boost tourist numbers by putting a cable car on Africa’s tallest mountain, and is currently in talks about the project with a Chinese and a Western […]

CAIRO – South Africans are believed to have been in an explosion targeting a tourist bus which injured at least 12 people (perhaps 17, according to some reports) near a new museum being built close to the Giza pyramids in Egypt on Sunday, two security sources said. According to Reuters, the sources said that most […]

One of the world’s most iconic monuments – the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France – is celebrating is 130rd anniversary this week with a fabulous laser display. The Eiffel Tower was first opened to the public on 15 May 1889. If you’re living or holiday in Paris, the show is on for the last time […]

Have you ever kept a travel journal? Here is mine – an African in America, from when I arrived in the U.S. of A a little while back. Oh what a place… writes Audrey Kruger. Getting off the plane Whoa mense! Hierdie plek is incredible! America! A-merr-rica! Getting off the plane and heading to immigration […]