1.2m foreign arrivals in SA for July

StatsSA reported on Monday that more than 1.2 million travelers from other countries came to South Africa in July 2013. Compared to last year, this is an increase of 12%. 

"A majority [90.1%]... were in South Africa for holidays, compared to only 6.5%, 1.8% and 1.6% of tourists who were in South Africa in transit, for business, and for study purposes respectively."

Of the tourists who visited the country this year, 204 120 were from overseas, and 564 460 were from Southern African Development Community countries.

The data indicated that a total of 3 285 691 travellers - arrivals and departures - passed through all South African ports of entry in July 2013. This was about 200 000 more than last year.

To see full article see here 

Hermanus Whale Festival

The Hermanus Whale Festival is celebrating the returning of the southern right whales to the bay of Hermanus for its 22nd year from Friday, 20 September to Tuesday, 24 September. Some events are also held on the following weekend on Saturday, 28 September.

As home to the best land-based whale watching in the world, Hermanus is just the right place to pay homage to the magnificent Southern Rights, and there’s no better time to recognize their miraculous survival than during September, which is peak whale-watching season in the coastal village.

The marine giants will definitely remain the star of the Hermanus Whale Festival, but on land, visitors to the small seaside town can expect to be equally dazzled by great entertainment and activities, gut-busting eats, quality crafts and kiddies fun.

Plus, the fit and sporty can participate in one of four Hermanus Adventure Week activities such as the Hermanus Open Water Swim, the Hermanus Whale Festival Night Run, the Hermanus Whale Festival Mountain Bike Classic or the festival trail run.

See the full article see here.

Easy Weekends

Find accommodation in South Africa.

A wedding invitation arrived in the post last week. It looked very pretty, but why do we still send wedding invites by snail mail? We schedule the rest of our lives electronically with Outlook meeting requests, iPhone calendars and Facebook events? I know some may say it’s tradition, but so is eating goat’s testicles in some countries. Or am I just being “unromantic”? Either way, I have totally digressed from the topic.

The wedding is in Robertson (where they hold the Whacky Wine Festival each year in June), at a beautiful little boutique winery called Wolfkloof. Now the drive from Cape Town is by no means far, but I thought traveling back to Cape Town at 1am with my tie around my head and reminiscing about the awesome air guitar I performed on the dance floor earlier, is probably not the best idea. So making a weekend of it and staying two nights in the Breede Wine Valley sounded like a sensible decision. 

From previous experiences, I’ve learned that the more affordable weekend accommodation gets snapped up as soon as the wedding invitations arrive. I also wanted to find the closest possible guest house or self-catering unit to the wedding venue.  

Most accommodation booking websites aren’t particularly helpful when you want to search for weekend getaways in South Africa, with an exact location in mind. Easy Weekends allows you to do exactly that using Google Maps. It can also filter the accommodation according to how much you want to spend.  So if you click on the R 201 – R 500 button, it only shows you accommodation in that price bracket, on the map. I like. 

On the flip side, if you have no idea where you want to go for a weekend getaway, use the map on www.easyweekends.co.za, and discover that little farm cottage, mountain lodge or beach house that you never knew existed. It’s also a great office time waster… Good times!  

Cheers,
Chris

SA's global rankings in 2012

The World Competitiveness Report has just pronounced that SA’s ranking has improved by two places from 52nd to 50th.

More surveys on just about everything:

• According to the Open Budget Index 2010, South Africa has the most transparent budget in the world. (International Budget Partnership)

•  South Africa’s debt to GDP ratio is 40 percent (USA 100 percent, Japan 200 percent, UK 90 percent). The World Bank recommends a ratio of below 60 percent.

•  South Africa is ranked 1st out of 142 countries in respect of regulation of security exchanges according to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011/12

• South Africa's banks rank 2nd in the world for soundness, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2011/12.

• South African Tax Revenue has increased from R100-billion in 1994 to R742.7-billion in 2011-12 and the individual taxpayer net from 2.5-million taxpayers in 1994 to 10.7-million in 2011

• South Africa is ranked 1st in respect of auditing and reporting, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2011/12.

• The South African rand was the second best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2007 and 2011, according to Bloomberg’s Currency Scorecard.

• The number of tourists visiting South Africa has grown from 3.9-million in 1994 to 11.8-million in 2010. South Africa is ranked among the top five countries in the world in respect of tourism growth (growing at three times the global average).

• The percentage of the South African population with access to clean drinking water has increased from 62 percent in 1994, to 93 percent in 2011. Access to electricity has increased from 34 percent in 1994, to 84 percent in 2011.

• Since 1994, 435 houses have been built each day for the poor.SA has 45-million active cell phones (population 49-million) — ranking in the top five globally in terms of cell phone coverage.

 To see the full article on iafrica.com, click here

Leopard and Python Tug-of-War

A massive snake may not be the average feline's choice of chew toy. But there was no stopping these leopards having a tug of war with one unlucky python. The six-and-a-half-ft (2m) long African rock python became the unwilling 'rope' in the game, after being captured by a female leopard in the long grass.

But as she dragged it, still wriggling, along behind her, she was ambushed by her over-zealous son who wanted to land the kill for himself. The young male snatched the end of the enormous snake in his powerful jaws, and tried to tug it away from his mother. The two big cats fought ferociously over their prey for half an hour, in front of stunned guests at the MalaMala game reserve, South Africa.

The brutal battle was only ended when the female leopard gave up, retreating to a tree while her son tucked in to his prize. But he only ate a morsel before deciding it was not to his taste, and discarding the snake's body in the long grass. The unusual scene was caught on camera by American photographer Josh Scheinert.

South Africa Outperforms 2010 Global Tourism Market

South Africa recorded a remarkable 15% increase in tourist arrivals to the country in 2010 – outperforming the global average by 8%. And while the Fifa World Cup in June and July played a role in the increase, tourist arrivals were buoyant all year round.

Last year saw just over eight million (8 073 552) tourist arrivals compared to slightly over seven million (7 011 865) in 2009, comparing well with international standards.

Figures from the UN World Tourism Organisation showed that global tourism arrivals were estimated to have grown by 6.7% in 2010. This meant that South Africa outperformed the global market by 8%.

For the full story, on SouthAfrica.info click here.

Table Mountain Cable Car Half Price Special!

Table Mountain Cableway’s famously popular Sunset Special starts on Monday November 1 this year and runs until the end of February 2011. Adults pay R90 per person return while children under 18 years pay R45 per person return after 6pm. Tickets can only be purchased at the Cableway’s Ticket Office from 6pm. Click for more info.

The Cableway operates weather permitting. For information call (021) 424 8181 or visit http://www.tablemountain.net/

“A world in one country”

South Africa has been billed as 'a world in one country', offering a taste of the African experience with the chance to visit traditional tribal villages, game reserves and sprawling townships. At the same time it also offers all the pleasures of a first world holiday experience, with luxury hotels, sophisticated shopping, exciting theme parks and clean beaches.

It is not only cultural diversity that makes South Africa magical. The country has a wealth of animal and plant life scattered across its varied climactic zones from desert to snow-covered mountains, forests to grasslands and mangrove swamps.

Click for the full article on South Africa.

Some great wildlife photo's

Vist http://www.findingafrica.com/ for safari holidays in Southern Africa and taylor made photographic trips to Namibia.

Win a 10 days holiday in South Africa for 2!

For more information on this prize click HERE.

BA passengers pick Cape Town as favourite destination

British Airways has announced that its passengers worldwide have identified Cape Town as their favourite destination. As of November this year, British Airways will offer a second daily flight between Heathrow and Cape Town ahead of the 2010 summer season due to increased popularity. The additional flight will see the introduction of BA’s new Boeing 777 for the Cape Town route.

British Airways Commercial Manager in South Africa, Sue Botes, says demand for flights to Cape Town was on the rise even before the FIFA World Cup, and the airline is accommodating the increasing demand by offering an additional daily flight.

Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du-Toit Helmbold says, “An additional daily British Airways flight is very good news for Cape Town’s tourism industry. Cape Town’s popularity has been rising steadily over the past few years and with all of the positive 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage and word-of-mouth recommendations, the city’s popularity has sky-rocketed.”

What to do with your Vuvuzela - Post 2010

“CUP GETS 9/10 FORM TOURISTS”

Cape Times
Babalo Ndenze

2 July 2010

An overwhelming majority of World Cup visitors from 13 countries have given the city and the province almost full marks, with more than half indicating their desire to return with their families after the tournament, a snap shot exit poll by the provincial government has found.

The poll of 50 visitors from 13countries,all here for the World cup, was conducted on 30 June in the international departure lounge of the Cape Town International Air Port. They were from the United States, England, Dubai, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Mexico, Scotland, China, Montenegro, Cayman Islands, Singapore, Switzerland and Germany.

Among the visitors surveyed, 38% perceived the destination as safe, 36 % felt really safe and 16% felt very safe. The remainder (10%) felt either unsafe or very unsafe.

The top attractions in the Western Cape are Table Mountain (84% visited) and Cape Point (68% visited).

Those surveyed had listed these icons as their top three non football experiences, “but in a substantial twist, the third most popular positive experience of World Cup tourists, were the people of the Western Cape, whom they said were friendly, fantastic, helpful, polite and hospitable”.

For the fill story, click here.

Top marks for South Africa

South Africa scored nine out of 10 for its organisation of the 2010 World Cup. "Nobody in the world is perfect, but the organisation of this first World Cup in Africa and in South Africa was pretty close," FIFA president Sepp Blatter told a 2010 World Cup wrap-up press conference in Johannesburg on Monday.

"I was more than satisfied and happy with the smooth running of the tournament. It was a huge success for both South Africa and the continent of Africa. "It is down to the people of South Africa for the way they opened their arms to this event."

For the full article on iafrica.com, click here.

Robben Islands football heritage

It is a little-known story outside of South Africa that has come into focus with the country hosting the continent's first World Cup.

Robben Island, best known for being home to political prisoners jailed by the old apartheid government, most famously former leader Nelson Mandela and current president Jacob Zuma. But what few realise is the role football played in shaping resistance at the prison. Many of the inmates were passionate about the game and used it to help find relief from their grim existence.

Zuma was a referee, but Mandela, later to become South Africa's first black leader, was kept in isolation with other high-risk prisoners and was not allowed to play. Warders wouldn't allow inmates a football at first so they tied rags together and played "matches" in their cells, but these were quickly broken up.

Several prisoners started writing letters of complaint, knowing it was within their rights to be allowed to exercise, but it took three long years before authorities finally caved in and let them have a ball.

They soon created a league, the Makana Football Association in 1967, named after a prophet banished to the island in 1819. They put in place the same structures that would apply to any league, based on FIFA frameworks, publishing tables, fixture lists and detailed minutes of meetings. There were even authorised transfers, often written on tiny scraps of paper.

For the full article on iafrica.com, click here.

YouTube, now with instant vuvuzela sound

Want to hear what your favorite pop star or politician sounds like accompanied by the most memorable sound of the soccer World Cup in South Africa -- the droning vuvuzela trumpet?

Try YouTube. The popular video-sharing website has added a vuvuzela button -- in the form of a soccer ball -- on its latest video player, allowing the sound of the vuvuzela to play alongside the video being watched.

The results can be hilarious, try watching a speech by any major global politician drowned out by the relentless blasting of the plastic trumpet, which has caused controversy at the World Cup.

For the full article on moneyweb.co.za, click here.

Something for SA to be proud of

The Huffington Post
Shari Cohen
International development worker in the public health sector
Posted: June 15, 2010 11:35 AM

South Africa Rolls Out the Ubuntu in Abundance I went on a rant the other day regarding the cost of the 2010 World Cup versus all the critical needs South Africa is facing and whether or not the most vulnerable of this country would gain anything from having the World Cup hosted in their country. At that time, I also had some very positive things to say about our hosts for the 2010 World Cup and I wanted to share that side of the coin as well, because it is equally important.

To say that I have been blown away at the hospitality South Africa has shown the rest of the world would be an understatement. I think back on recent Olympics and struggle to remember much reporting in the USA of athletes from other countries. I remember when a Togolese guy won a bronze medal in kayaking and NBC reported it and I thought to myself, "Where are all the other fascinating stories like this one...like the Jamaican bobsledding team." In today's America, sadly, we have drifted so far towards being so US-centric that we only seem to root for the Americans.

Not so here in South Africa. I've been here since early May and each week I have become more and more impressed with the global embrace that South Africans have offered up to the world. On the way to the airport a couple of weeks ago, I heard a radio program that said each day they would focus on one country that would be coming to South Africa for the World Cup, and they would explore not only that sport's history in soccer, but also their politics, religion, and socio-cultural practices. On the television, I've seen numerous programs that focus on a particular country and its history of soccer and how the history of that country is intertwined with their soccer history. I've seen programs on India, exploring why India enjoys soccer but hasn't really excelled at the global level... yet. And I've seen shows on soccer in Muslim countries. Maybe it's planned, maybe it's unplanned, maybe it's by chance, but it is happening. It's not just about South Africans showing off their varied and multifaceted culture to their global guests; it's also about using this opportunity to educate South Africa on the rest of Planet Earth's inhabitants.

As I moved through my work here in the provinces over the last six weeks, I had a pivotal meeting with the Board members of a rural NGO. They were explaining their guiding program philosophy of Ubuntu. No, not the Linux program. I'm talking about the traditional African philosophy of Ubuntu that essentially says, "No man is an island."
I found a better explanation from Wikipedia:
Archbishop Desmond Tutu further explained Ubuntu in 2008:
One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality -- Ubuntu -- you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.

To me, Ubuntu is the acceptance of others as parts of the sum total of each of us. And that is exactly what I have experienced during the lead up to, and the initial days of this World Cup. There is nary a South African citizen that I've met on the street, or in shops or restaurants or hotels, that hasn't gone out of their way to greet me and make me feel like I am home. And I don't mean that in the trivial, "Oh, aren't they nice, homey people here... “Sort of way. I mean real, genuine interest and questions. People seriously want to know where I come from. What it's like where I live. How does it compare to where I am now. What do I think of South Africa? Oh yes, and what do I think of Bafana Bafana... The questions and conversations are in earnest. They are honest. And they are had with enthusiasm and a thirst to know more. South Africans are drinking deeply from the cup of humanity that has been brought to their doorstep. I would never imagine that an American World Cup or Olympics would ever be this welcoming to the rest of the world. And that saddens me for the state of my home country, but it also makes me feel the pride of the South African people.

I have been truly humbled on this trip. And while I have my gripes regarding development here, I cannot say one negative thing about how South Africa has handled its duties as host and hostess to the world. If I could say one thing to sum up being here during this once-in-a-lifetime experience, it would be that I've learned the value of Ubuntu, and that when found and offered in abundance, the world is indeed a better place to live in.

So, if South Africa accomplishes nothing more on the playing field, it will still have won as a host country. I am a cynic, no doubt about that. And yet I have to admit, I'm a little teary just writing this because I leave for home next weekend and I will be leaving a little piece of myself here in South Africa. I just hope I have learned enough to bring back a little piece of Ubuntu to my homeland, where perhaps with a little caring and a little water, it will take root as naturally as it does here, in the cradle of civilization. It's funny; many people in America still ask me, "Are the people in Africa very primitive?" Yes, I know, amazing someone could ask that but they do. And when they do, I usually explain that living in a mud hut does not make one primitive, however, allowing kids to sell drugs to other kids and engage in drive-by killings -- isn't that primitive behavior? I think it is. When I think of Ubuntu and my recent experiences here, I think America has much to learn from Africa in general, in terms of living as a larger village; and as human beings who are all interconnected with each other, each of us having an affect on our brothers and sisters.

As the 2010 Cup slogan goes, "Feel it. It is here." Well, I have felt it, because I am here. Thank you South Africa, for giving me this unexpected gift. I am humbled.

Day 12 Matches

The qualification equation will be resolved once and for all in groups A and B on Tuesday when, to ensure fairness between the teams in contention, the two games in each section will kick off at the same time. Uruguay and Mexico currently lead the way in Group A with four points apiece and a draw between them in Rustenburg would send both through to the last 16. In Group B, Argentina stand on the verge of the knockout phase, even if they could still conceivably be eliminated on goal difference if they lose to Greece and three teams finish on six points.

France vs South Africa, Bloemfontein (16.00 local time)
Mexico vs Uruguay, Rustenburg (16.00 local time)
Greece vs Argentina, Polokwane (20.30 local time)
Nigeria vs Korea Republic, Durban (20.30 local time)

For the full article on Fifa.com, click here.

Day 11 Matches

Although European champions Spain were widely backed to take Group H by storm, it is Chile and Switzerland who will battle for top spot in the section after the less-fancied duo both recorded wins in their initial outings. Having been humbled by the Swiss, Spain now need to get their tournament up and running against a Honduras side that put in a valiant effort before losing 1-0 to Chile.

Portugal vs Korea DPR, Group G, Cape Town, 13.30 (local time).
Chile vs Switzerland, Group H, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, 16.00 (local time).
Spain vs Honduras, Group H, Johannesburg (Ellis Park), 20.30 (local time).

For the full article on Fifa.com, click here.

Vuvuzelas go global

The vuvuzela may have had a lot of bad press overseas, but English football fans seem to be so smitten with them that a British supermarket can’t keep up with demand for the infamous South African plastic horn.

Sainsbury's, the country’s third-largest supermarket chain, said on Wednesday it expected to sell out of vuvuzelas within 48 hours as British fans snap up English-themed versions of the horn. According to AP, the retailer has sold more than 40 000 vuvuzelas, which are priced at £2 each.

"Overall we originally had anticipated selling 75,000 by the end of the tournament we could possibly reach this target by the time England kick off again on Friday as the vuvuzelas have been so popular,” said a spokesman for the supermarket. England play Algeria in Cape Town on Friday.

For the full article on iafrica.com click here.