Tourism Month Focuses on Free State

Tourism Month Focuses on Free State

September is always designated Tourism Month in South Africa, though by all indications the other 11 months are giving it a run for its money. In all tourism contributed 1.5 million jobs and R425.8 billion (approximately $29 billion in U.S. dollars) to the nation’s...

Best Walking Safaris in South Africa

Best Walking Safaris in South Africa

Rule No. 1 for anyone embarking on an African walking safari is this: When confronted by a wild animal -- like, say, a lion -- don’t run. The thinking is that if you act like prey, you will be treated as such. Which, of course, is easy to do in theory, but harder in...

Why Nonfiction Books Are All the Rage in South Africa

Why Nonfiction Books Are All the Rage in South Africa

The popularity of nonfiction books in South Africa, brought into sharper focus by the incendiary reaction to author Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s recent book Gangster State, has long been a reality. Myburgh’s book explores the alleged malfeasance of current African National...

South African actress Pearl Thusi to Star in Netflix Series

South African actress Pearl Thusi to Star in Netflix Series

South African actress Pearl Thusi believes her star turn on Queen Sono, the first African original television series ordered by Netflix, will “change the game for every artist on this continent,” as she tweeted when plans for the show were announced in December 2018....

South Africa beats Pakistan in cricket test series

South Africa beats Pakistan in cricket test series

South African captain Faf Du Plessis could not help but be heartened when the Proteas earned a nine-wicket victory over Pakistan in the sides’ second test Sunday in Cape Town, clinching the three-test series. “I’m happy that we are dominating teams at the moment,” Du...

Springboks Split First Two Matches in Rugby Championships

Springboks Split First Two Matches in Rugby Championships

The Springboks played unevenly (and sometimes less so) at the outset of the Rugby Championships, splitting their first two matches against Argentina. Aphiwe Dyantyi and Makazole Mapimpi tallied two tries apiece to lead the Boks to a 34-21 victory over the Pumas on...

New-Look Springboks Take Test Series From England

New-Look Springboks Take Test Series From England

New Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus is literally changing the face of South African rugby, and the early results speak for themselves. The Boks emerged with a 2-1 test series victory over England in June, three months after Erasmus, a 45-year-old former Bok captain,...

South Africa’s role in Black Panther

South Africa’s role in Black Panther

While much about the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther is fanciful -- it is, at its core, a superhero movie -- there are real-life touchstones throughout the film that can be traced back to the African continent in general and South Africa in particular. They are as...

South Africa’s Indian Diaspora, in Film

South Africa’s Indian Diaspora, in Film

In Russell Peters’ latest project, a Canadian-produced TV series titled Indian Detective, the Indian-Canadian comic plays a grandiose, ne’er-do-well, and utterly hilarious Indian-Canadian constable named Doug D’Mello. After Doug takes a sabbatical following a flawed...

The South African Indian Diaspora

The South African Indian Diaspora

The thriving, South African Indian community may well be the largest diaspora that you’ve never heard of. Today, some three million South Africans can claim Indian ancestry, and left an indelible, unforgettable mark on the nation. Durban, for its part, has even been...

Are Asian Travelers the Future of South African Tourism?

Are Asian Travelers the Future of South African Tourism?

As much as it pains me to say it, South Africa’s economy has seen better days. For one, growth is down. In 2017, the South African Reserve Bank cut its growth forecasts, topping out at around 0.5 percent, the latest blow in a long series of economic setbacks that have...

South Africa’s Journey from Pariah to Tourism Superstar

South Africa’s Journey from Pariah to Tourism Superstar

In 1986, the United States sanctioned South Africa. This was some 40 years after the beginning of apartheid, the government-sanctioned policy of separating citizens into different facilities, schools, and institutions based solely on race. Today, three decades later,...

The Adrenaline Junkie’s Guide to South Africa: AIR Edition

The Adrenaline Junkie’s Guide to South Africa: AIR Edition

You’ve scoured the land and sailed the seas, and now the sky’s the only limit left. There are few experiences to better get your adrenaline pumping than soaring through the open air, and the SA adventure scene has plenty of ways to feed that need. Whipping through the...

The Adrenaline Junkie’s Guide to South Africa: LAND Edition

The Adrenaline Junkie’s Guide to South Africa: LAND Edition

In a land as ruggedly beautiful as South Africa, it’s no stretch to say that there are thousands of options for adventure sports. From rafting down fearsome, fast-moving rivers to biking twisting downhill trails meters away from sheer cliffs, South Africa is at once...

The Surprising Story of Afrikaans

The Surprising Story of Afrikaans

Recently, I read an interview of Charlize Theron, where she revealed that at least once a day, she spoke Afrikaans in one way or another. Though Theron is perhaps South Africa’s most famous actress, I’d also go so far as to say that few people know that she’s South...

Braai, Glorious Braai

Braai, Glorious Braai

Summer is here in all of its humid, sweaty glory. And for South Africans, the arrival of the heat brings with it braai, our national style of barbecue--and a cuisine that is little-known, even in the meat-obsessed United States. Part of the reason is likely due to...

Afrikaans, English, and the Stellenbosch University Debate

Afrikaans, English, and the Stellenbosch University Debate

Note: this will be the first in a series covering the languages of South Africa, and some of its complicated politics surrounding it. For a country of 55 million people, South Africa has a lot of languages: eleven official ones, along with a wide range of dialects...

Hops and Suds in South Africa

Hops and Suds in South Africa

Brewery tours in cavernous warehouses past rows of stainless steel machines. The smell of yeast and ferment, a mild, slightly sour scent that recalls sunny days and cold drinks. Tiny microbreweries with a vast range of choices. This craft-brewery scene isn’t in a...

A Brief History of Springbok Rugby

A Brief History of Springbok Rugby

What is your favorite rugby team? The only answer for this question is, of course, the Springboks. Clad in green and gold jerseys atop white shorts, the Springbok team’s mascot is the spry, long-legged antelope native to our country. Throughout their hundred-plus year...

An Introduction to Super Rugby

An Introduction to Super Rugby

If you’re a new rugby fan, entranced by the spectacle that characterizes the sport, you must watch Super Rugby.  What is Super Rugby? To put it simply, Super Rugby is the top transnational league for the Southern Hemisphere (and, recently, Japan). In a sense, it’s not...

Four South African-owned Businesses in NYC

Four South African-owned Businesses in NYC

As a South African expat in New York, I find myself missing the foods, wines, and goods of my home country from time to time. Luckily, New York is a diverse, large city with plenty of variety and choice; because the United States (and New York in particular) is home...

The Best Brandy You’ve Never Heard of

The Best Brandy You’ve Never Heard of

From my previous articles, you’ve come to understand that South Africa is a world leader in wines and whiskies, two surprising vintages that have been little-known outside the nation–at least until now. But there’s another part of the picture: brandy. In fact, of the...

South African Whiskey

South African Whiskey

From wines to olive oils, we’ve already covered a number of South Africa’s top exports on this blog. South Africa’s varied, fertile lands, from rolling grassland to the lush greenery of the coastal regions, seem to produce new culinary delights by the dozen. We can...

The Three Sisters of Cape Malay Cuisine

The Three Sisters of Cape Malay Cuisine

Given that our last article centered around the untold, colorful, and painful past of South Africa’s Cape Malay population, it seems only fitting to discuss three Cape Malay specialties which have come to define South African cuisine today: bobotie, koeksisters, and...

South Africa’s Forgotten Minority: The Cape Malays

South Africa’s Forgotten Minority: The Cape Malays

Were it not for their unique cuisine, vibrant traditions, and beautiful houses in the Bo-Kaap district of Cape Town, South Africa’s Cape Malay population would have easily been lost to history. But beneath the cheerful veneer of pastel homes and deliciously fusion...

What’s in a Name? The Story Behind the Rainbow Nation

What’s in a Name? The Story Behind the Rainbow Nation

The Rainbow Nation. Coined by Desmond Tutu immediately after the first open, fair elections that the nation had seen, the nickname quickly came to encompass the myriad peoples and cultures of South Africa, from black to white and everyone in between. The moniker...

Bunny Chow: A South African Original

Bunny Chow: A South African Original

Durban, the thriving, seaside heart of South Africa, is best known for three things: its sprawling, golden sand beaches; its bustling, humming port; and bunny chow, deliciously savory, slow-cooked lamb curry served inside a hollowed-out loaf of bread. I may be...

5 South African Travel Bloggers You Should Follow

5 South African Travel Bloggers You Should Follow

I’ve searched high and low to find great resources for South African travel. By far, the best way to properly explore South Africa is through the eyes and ears of a South African. These five award-winning, native bloggers will have something for everyone’s tastes....

Blogger Spotlight: 5 Amazing South African Food Bloggers

Blogger Spotlight: 5 Amazing South African Food Bloggers

From the daring to the comforting, the new to the experienced, you’ll find a wide range of influential figures in the blog world to deliver mouthwatering recipes to your screen, mouth, and stomach. Here are five South African food bloggers you should check out now!

Spotlight on 4 South African Lifestyle Bloggers

Spotlight on 4 South African Lifestyle Bloggers

In South Africa, influential bloggers are as talented as they are plentiful. The nation is brimming with innovation and culture, so while it’s not hard to find great blogs, it can be tricky to pick out the best of the bunch. Getting to know South Africa’s network of...

Cape Town’s Coffee Culture is Percolating

Cape Town’s Coffee Culture is Percolating

There’s something special about strolling into a coffee shop to enjoy a favorite beverage while reading the paper or chatting with fellow java lovers. So it’s no surprise that South Africa has experienced a resurgence in recent years as its coffee culture finds a...

The Big Birds Sustaining South Africa’s Economy

The Big Birds Sustaining South Africa’s Economy

Did you know that ostriches are the largest living birds and that over 80 percent of the world’s population makes its home in South Africa? This is also home to 65 percent of the world’s market for ostrich related products, from feathers to eggs to the popular South...

Circus Lions Find Freedom in Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary

Circus Lions Find Freedom in Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary

In what was its largest rescue mission to date, this past April the Animal Defenders International (ADI) orchestrated the transport of 33 former circus lions from South America to South Africa. The animal rights group works to place animals in their natural habitats,...

The Dwindling Rhinos of South Africa

The Dwindling Rhinos of South Africa

The rhino population of South Africa has been in danger for years because of poachers killing for horns. Criminal groups are hunting down these endangered animals because an average rhino horn can fetch upwards of $150,000, or six times the price of a bar of gold.

How Social Media Is Driving Growth for American Rugby

How Social Media Is Driving Growth for American Rugby

As a South African, rugby is one of the first sports I recall becoming a fan of as a kid. Along with golf and cricket, rugby makes up a large chunk of my, and much of South Africa’s, sporting memories. In the U.S., however, rugby remains a fringe sport. Today, the sport is starting to catch on beyond college campuses.

Step Back In Time In South Africa’s Garden Route

Step Back In Time In South Africa’s Garden Route

The pretty town of Knysna is the tourist hub of South Africa’s Garden Route region, a 150km-long stretch of beach towns, ancient forests and mountainous scenery on the country’s southern coast. Its tidy streets bristle with travel agents while its guesthouses welcome honeymooners with flutes of South African bubbly.

South Africa’s First Female Owned Airline

South Africa’s First Female Owned Airline

Fly Blue Crane launched last September as the first airline owned by a black woman. In less than a year of service within South Africa, Fly Blue Crane is going to spread its wings and offer international flights to Swaziland and Mozambique. Soon they hope to further expand to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Top 10 Hotels in South Africa

Top 10 Hotels in South Africa

This article, written by Fiona Rossiter, was originally published on her lifestyle website:  Inspired Living, SA South Africa is a stunning location, that serves as the perfect destination for a getaway, whether it is romantic, for the family, involving business, or...

South Africa’s Bright Cricket Future

South Africa’s Bright Cricket Future

Cricket has been an intrinsic part of South Africa’s identity since the early 1800s, when the sport first came to the country. Two centuries later, the sport is just as strong, and South Africa’s relationship to the sport has evolved into a global perspective.

7 Heritage Sites in Port Elizabeth

7 Heritage Sites in Port Elizabeth

South African heritage is not something you can sum up or pinpoint to something specific. It’s a delicate, colourful and tangled mix of where we came from, where we are and where we are going. It’s a lot of old with a hint of new breaking through to joyously celebrate our arts, cultures, languages, food and people. It’s our chiefs, our settlers, our generals.

South Africa’s Top 10 Parks and Reserves

South Africa’s Top 10 Parks and Reserves

This article, written by James Bainbridge, was originally published on LonelyPlanet.com From snow-capped mountains to the Bushveld, and from sub-tropical beaches to the Kalahari, South Africa is a mind-bogglingly diverse country. Showcasing the best of its stunning landscapes, its parks and reserves are great places to experience African wilderness and see the continent’s famous wildlife.

How Social Media Helped South Africa’s Sylvester the Lion Escape Death

How Social Media Helped South Africa’s Sylvester the Lion Escape Death

Like a real life Animal Planet drama, the saga of South Africa’s Sylvester the Lion swept the hearts of millions across social media. It all started last summer when Sylvester escaped from Karoo National Park in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. Park officials believed he escaped through a hole under a fence.

Cape Town’s Best Walking Tours

Cape Town’s Best Walking Tours

Cape Town’s beautiful city center—an easy-to-navigate grid brimming with historical monuments and quaint Victorian architecture aplenty—is in the throes of a revival. The streets have been cleaned up, hip new restaurants and boutiques keep opening, and a monthly art exibition and cultural program is one of the city’s star attractions. For those who want a closer look at all the vibrant city has to offer, read on for some of its best walking tours.

The History of Cricket in South Africa

The History of Cricket in South Africa

In South Africa, two sports dominate the culture: Rugby and Cricket. Cricket, much like rugby, is now a global game that is enjoyed by the South African masses from all walks of life…

South Africa’s Most Popular Wines

South Africa’s Most Popular Wines

If you aren’t a wine connoisseur, you may not know that South Africa is a major player in the global wine industry. Here are the 5 most popular wines according to the experts at Wine Enthusiast…

South Africa Flag

South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation—an array of cultures and backgrounds that make it the great country it is. At HenriSteenkamp.org, you’ll find a true portrayal of the Rainbow Nation under a rainbow of topics ranging from wine to sports and beyond.