South Africa Blog

You have seven days left to cast your vote for Table Mountain in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. Currently sitting at number 7 in its category, the majestic icon needs your votes to boost its position before Tuesday July 7, when voting closes.

Table Mountain soared to number five, but now sits at number seven in the New 7 Wonders of Nature global rankings, rocketing 22 places from its previous position of 29 three weeks ago. It is now officially ahead of legendary mountains such as Mount Everest, K2 Mountain and Mount Kilimanjaro but is behind other popular sites including Mount Olympus in Greece and Vesuvius Volcano in Italy.

Photograph from http://www.sa-venues.com/table_mountain.htm

Well-loved and respected South African celebs and sports stars have shown their support for the cause. The Archbishop Desmond Tutu, comedian Marc Lottering, radio DJ Natalie Becker and the Proteas cricketers have all cast their vote for Table Mountain.

To qualify for the next round, Table Mountain needs to be ranked in the top 11 of its category – mountains and volcanoes – which has 36 fellow nominees. Table Mountain is currently ranked seventh out of 37. Other categories include seascapes, lakes, islands, ice formations, waterfalls and forests.

The New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland announced in January 2009 that Table Mountain was one of 261 magnificent natural sites from 222 countries to have made it through to the second round in this global race to name the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The New 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by votes from the public.

The public can vote online at www.votefortablemountain.com or by calling 0041 77 312 4041 and selecting Table Mountain’s three-digit code which is 332. Calls to the New 7 Wonders Swiss mobile voting number will cost R3.29 a minute in peak times (7am – 7pm) and R2.92 a minute off-peak (7pm – 7am).

Voting to select the top 77 sites (11 per category) runs until July 7 this year. Thereafter a panel of experts will select the 21 finalists (3 per category) – these will be announced on July 21 when the third and final phase of voting will begin. The official New 7 Wonders of Nature will be revealed in 2011.

Contact the Cableway on 021 424 0015 for information.

Cape Town’s instrumental supergroup Sterling Electric Quartet will be performing a free concert at Marimba’s Restaurant on Friday the 10th July 2009. Captivating audiences from all walks of life with their spectacular display of virtuosity and their energetic stage presence, this all-female outfit is fast-becoming one of the most sought after bands on South Africa’s entertainment and event circuits. The launch of their new album this year has catapulted Sterling into the limelight both locally and internationally with performances in Dubai and Portugal.

Their show contains well-known hits as well as strikingly energetic, original compositions. Sterling turns Classical favourites like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony into contemporary dance hits which, together with their renditions of well-known South African songs and Latin House, Jazz and even disco chart-toppers, never fails to leave their audience wanting more!

Entrance is free and the performance commences at 5:30 PM.

For further information go to http://www.SterlingEQ.co.za
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Surfers set their sights on Ballito for 1.4 Million Mr Price Pro Ballito: ASP World Qualifying Series surfers the world over are setting their sights on the pristine seaside town of Ballito on the KwaZulu –Natal North Coast, as the countdown begins for the illustrious R1.4 Million Mr Price Pro Ballito.

The 6-Star ASP WQS event kicks off from 26 June – July 5, 2009, marking the critical halfway mark on the WQS tour and will see some 150 competitors from as far a field as Brasil, Hawaii, the USA, Australia, Spain, Reunion, and France leave nothing to chance as they compete for critical ASP ratings points.

Former ASP World Tour campaigner Daniel Ross (Aus) leads the field as the highest rated surfer in the event. Winning the 6 Star Prime in Margaret River (Aus), as well as securing a quarterfinal finish at the Quiksilver Pro in Durban, Ross has rocketed to an incredible World No. 2 on the WQS ratings, his consistency making him a top contender for this years’ Mr Price Pro Ballito crown.

“It’s been an unreal start to the year for me,” Ross commented from Australia this week. “Winning the Drug Aware Pro (Margaret River) was a big personal achievement as it is classed as one of the best events outside the ASP World Tour and to back it up with more good results at the next two 6 Star Prime events, has put me in a great position.”

“The Mr Price Pro has such a long history and has been won by so many great surfers, guys like Jeff Hackman (Haw), Mark Richards (Aus), Tom Carroll (Aus) and Shaun Tomson (Zaf), so to win and be put alongside a list of names like that would feel incredible.”

With an affinity for reeling right-hand point breaks similar to the fast, hollow set-ups offered by the two mobile Mr Price Pro Ballito event venues, Surfers and Salmon Bay, Ross is set to be a standout at the upcoming event.

“I’ve yet to surf in Ballito but I did a trip with Jordy (Smith) last week and he was saying that the waves in Ballito can be really fun and are better than the waves at New Pier at this time of year” Ross said.

Another surfer hoping to make his mark in Ballito will be WQS No. 5 Jadson Andre (Bra). The young Brasilian stamped his authority on the Durban surf when he won the Quiksilver Pro Durban recently and will be looking to emulate his success on the South Coast, with a solid result on the North Coast at this event.

Local favourites WQS No. 13 Travis Logie (Durban) and WQS No. 15 Brandon Jackson (Durban North) will hold the country’s hopes in the balance as they battle the worlds finest as the highest rated South Africans at this event.

Logie, an elite ASP World Tour competitor for four years from 2005 to 2008 and arguably the most consistent finisher at the Mr Price Pro, reaching two finals over the course of his career, is back on the WQS this year where he is campaigning for a 2010 World Tour berth.

The opportunity to earn precious WQS ratings points at home makes the Mr Price Pro Ballito pivotal to his 2010 bid.

“The Mr Price Pro Ballito is a huge event for me and like any 6 Star being at home there is added incentive to do well,” said Logie. “After finishing with a second place last year I think it’s time for a win.”

Brandon Jackson (Durban) is a former two-time winner of the Mr Price Pro Junior and is currently campaigning for a second year on the WQS where he has made impressive ground this season.

“I’ve bounced back after a bad year in 2008 and have worked hard in the off-season training with my mom and surfing with Travis (Logie). Although Ballito is not my home break, I’ve been surfing there my whole life, I know it well and it’s a good opportunity for me to get a result before they reseed the WQS.”

Other standouts in this year’s line-up include WQS No. 6 Brett Simpson (USA), WQS No. 11 and former ASP World Tour campaigner Luke Munro (Aus), WQS No. 12 Blake Thornton (Aus) and WQS No. 14 Gony Zubizarreta (ESP), all of whom are expected to put on an impressive show.

Patrick Gudauskas (USA) who narrowly missed qualifying for the elite ASP World Tour at the end of 2008 is the top seed for the event. Placing equal third here event last year, Gudauskas will be looking to make the most of his Round of 96 seeding as he focuses on moving up the ratings ladder from his current WQS No. 27 position.

Joining Gudauskas in the Round of 96 will be prolific junior surfer Yadin Nicol (Aus) who is the second seed for the event, WQS No. 6 Dion Atkinson (Aus), former South African now Australian resident Shaun Gossman, Leigh Sedley (Aus) and recent wildcard runner-up at the ASP World Tour Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Adam Robertson (Aus).

Brasil are sending their best in Wiggolly Dantas as well as former ASP World Tour surfers Raoni Monteiro, Leonardo Neves, Rodrigo Dornelles and Yuri Sodre to name but a few.

TJ Barron and Dustin Cuizon are the only Hawaiian surfers seeded directly into the Round of 96 where they will be hoping to be joined by the likes of the younger surfers in Mason Ho (Hawaii) son of Hawaii heavyweight and former pro surfer Michael Ho, and John John Florence both of whom will surf from the first round.

The South African WQS field sees Warwick Wright (Durban), Damien Fahrenfort (Durban) and Antonio Bortolleto (Durban) seeded into the Round of 96 while young up-and-comers Rudy Palmboom (Bluff), Dave Richards (Cape Town) and former Mr Price Pro Champion Ricky Basnett (Bluff) (2006) will have to make their way from the Round of 144, as will former ASP World Tour campaigner Royden Bryson (East London).

Local Pro Surf Tour talents such as recently crowned South African Champion Gavin Roberts (South Coast), Simon Nicholson (Durban), Frankie Obherholzer (South Coast) and Keegan Nel (East London) are other local talents not to be overlooked.

The 6-Star Mr Price Pro Ballito holds a prize money purse of R1.1 Million in the Men’s division with the winner taking home R 164 000.

All the action will be broadcast live on the webcast on www.mrpricepro.com.

Related Sites:
Ballito Accommodation
Durban Accommodation|
South Africa Travel News Blog

Top band Prime Circle will lead the pack of homegrown music talent at this year’s Mr Price Pro Ballito music concert which takes place at Salt Rock beach for the first time. Music has always been associated with this world-class surfing event and this year Mr Price, Kwadukuza Municipality and East Coast Radio have teamed up to present an awesome line-up of true-blue South African sound.

On July 2 once the sun sets on another action-packed day of surfing, its time for the rock and pop heroes to take over from the surfing legends who will be in action in Ballito from June 26 to July 5. The good news is that the concert, which features nine varied acts, is completely free. The beach will reverberate to the sound of music from 4.30pm through to when Prime Circle take the stage at around 10.30pm.

It all kicks off with popular Durban band Rise (4.30pm to 4.50pm) which was launched in 2007 with a strong emphasis on vocals, guitar, catchy dance beats and uplifting songs. The song, All We Have Is Now, from their first album is currently play listed on East Coast Radio. From 5.40pm to 6pm Idols finalist Pixie Bennett takes to the stage with her band. The Pixie Bennett Band has played at various gigs in Durban and festivals around the country including Splashy Fen and White Mountain.

Next up is indie rock/disco funk outfit Gonzo Republic (6.10pm to 6.40pm) who sang their way to the top of the 5fm charts with their hit Nothing to fight about off their album I’m OK, You’re OK. Turning “up the beat” from 6.50pm to 7.20pm are the City Bowl Mizers who’ll have you on your feet with their eclectic and catchy blend of early 50s pop and upbeat rock ‘n roll.

Keeping the groove going is melodic pop-rock band aKING (7.30pm to 8.15pm) who claim the title of being “an audio diary of life and survival in the suburbs”. Their songs have already won acclaim with radio stations such as 5fm and MFM – they were rated number one on the MFM Top 10 Artists and Top 10 SA Albums of 2008. Next up is Zebra and Giraffe (8.25pm to 9.10pm), a cleverly-named act which is actually the 12-lettered pseudonym of Johannesburg music wunderkind, Greg Carlin, who is launching an assault on music charts with his album Collected Memories.

Headline act Prime Circle completes the stellar line-up from 9.20pm to 10.20pm. Bouyed by several explosive live performances, a gold-selling album, significant radio play and a prospective jump into the international arena, Prime Circle is one of the country’s leading rock bands. The band’s latest album, All or Nothing, reached gold status just six months after hitting the SA market with its key single, She Always Gets What She Wants, making its mark all over the country’s rock, all hit and adult contemporary radio stations.

Rock the night away on Thursday, July 2 with Mr Price, the KwaDukuza Municipality and East Coast Radio.
Where to Stay? See Ballito accommodation and Ballito Hotels
For Enquiries contact Brad on 031-310 8575

If you want to get away from it all and chill out in a superb mountain setting while listening to acoustic performances by some of the country’s top artists, then look no further than the annual White Mountain Folk Festival. Running from 24 to 27 September, this intimate, family-friendly festival is held at White Mountain Lodge near Giant’s Castle in the beautiful Central Drakensberg region of KwaZulu Natal, only 34km from Estcourt on tarred roads, 200km from Durban and 430km from Johannesburg.

On offer is a four-day programme of laid-back acoustic music, as well as a wide choice of outdoor leisure activities, arts and crafts, a beer market and assorted food stalls. Festival-goers can also make full use of the lodge’s facilities, including a restaurant, pub, games room, swimming pool and satellite TV.

Early Bird tickets are now on sale at Computicket for just R350, which is a saving of R150 on the gate price. This offer is limited to 500 tickets only, so make sure you get in early. Children under 12 pay R50. The price includes camping in the newly graded and grassed festival campsite overlooking the dam.

Now in its fourth year, White Mountain has quickly become a firm favourite on the events calendar and is perfectly timed to coincide with Heritage Day and the start of the school holidays. The line-up is currently being finalised and will be announced shortly. For more information contact Pedro at 082 892 6176.

Related Pages:
Visit the Drakensberg
Drakensberg Accommodation

The 2009 Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival programme has been finalised and this year there are a record number of events spanning the 10 days of the festival. Touted as The Best 10 Days of Your Winter, the festival is being promoted by organisers as 10 days of fun and activities for the whole family.

Says Festival Manager Nicci Rousseau: “The Oyster Festival was historically focussed around the two weekends which featured the two major sporting events, the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour and the Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon. However, the aim has always been to give the festival a full programme of mid-week events and I’m pleased to say that this year we have really achieved this goal with nearly 100 mid-week events including four exciting new ones.”

The new events are the Geo Oyster Geocaching Competition, the Pick n Pay Fun Event for the Disabled presented by DCAS, the Navigation Drift Dive Challenge and the Night of 1000 Pictures. The Geo Oyster Geocaching Competition is a daily event which offers a fun way to navigate around the greater Knysna Basin. The event will take competitors to a combination of nature, sports and festival destinations to find clues that will unlock the finish location.

The Pick n Pay Fun Event for the Disabled, the first ever Oyster Festival sports event for disabled competitors, will see wheelchair athletes and able bodied assistants race in events of between 3 km and 5 km. In the Navigation Drift Dive Challenge teams of scuba divers will attempt to navigate their way under water from The Heads to Thesen’s Jetty without surfacing.

The Night of 1000 Pictures is a two-night exhibition of photography, illustrations and paintings to raise funds for Knysna Hospice. Local artists have been asked to donate art works which will be sold to the public at R100 each.

There will also be a full programme of mid-week events at the Knysna Secondary School which is hosting a programme of feast and celebration with the Proudly Knysna Secondary School Campaign. The Oyster Carnival at the Knysna High School Fields is a perennial favourite with its fun fair and dog agility competition, while this year’s Pick n Pay Young Oyster Festival programme at Loerie Park will keep kids occupied in a safe and healthy environment for hours.

Other mid-week festival favourites include the Wade Bales Wine Festival, the Pick n Pay Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras presented by Tabasco, The Knysna Oyster Company Shucking Competition in partnership with Tabasco, the Longbarn Oyster Eating Competition and the Admiral’s Masquerade Ball presented by Zanzibar.

Mid-week sporting events include the Scottish Leader Whisky Bowls Tournament, the Salomon Featherbed Trail Run, Duesouth XTERRA, the Golf Digest Bell’s Knysna Classic and the Protea Hotel Knysna Quays Waitron Race. The SA Navy also makes its grand entry through The Heads midweek in a spectacle worth watching.

And if you’re just coming for the oysters, you’ll find 30 local Tabasco Hotspots where oysters will be served naked, cooked or garnished at very pleasing prices throughout the 10 days of the festival!

Says Rousseau: “We’d like to encourage festinos to extend their stay in Knysna to enjoy the full 10 days of the programme which is guaranteed to have something that will appeal to everyone. Make this the best 10 days of your winter!”

Related Pages & Useful Info:
Knysna Accommodation
Knysna Attractions
Visit the Garden Route

Friday 18th September is Do It Day – the one amazing day each year when South Africans take time out to share their energy and skills with good causes around the country. Note it in your diary – this year is going to be the biggest Do It Day yet! Do It Day is an annual call to action event organised and hosted by GreaterGood South Africa and brought to you by The Old Mutual Foundation and other associate sponsors. It’s a day of nation-building that connects South Africans with good causes, to give something back to our communities.

It’s easy to make a difference on Do It Day – all you need to do is sign up online for a project in your city that you’d like to volunteer at and arrive on the 18th September. GreaterGood SA aims to mobilise ‘Team South Africa’ and recruit a record 20 000 volunteers working on 2 000 projects this year, providing a huge range of options, so that everyone will be able to find something that appeals to them. The non-profit organisations registered with GreaterGood SA have loads of jobs that need doing, from painting homeless shelters, to making sandwiches for the hungry and clearing alien vegetation at animal welfare societies.

Do It Day projects are categorised into ‘heart’, ‘head’ and ‘sweat’ projects. An example of a heart project might be reading to the elderly at a care home in your community, whilst a head project might be using your computer skills to create a database or a website for a local organisation. Sweat projects simply require hard work and vary from fixing a roof to creating food gardens.

As we are gearing up for 2010, many of the Do It Day projects will have an urban greening focus this year, so that we can clean up our beautiful country in preparation for the soccer world cup. There will also be a focus on youth development, to get our children off the streets and onto the soccer pitch, and doing something constructive and empowering.

In these challenging economic times, the message of Do It Day rings loud and clear – everyone has something to give – and making a difference doesn’t have to cost you a cent. Do It Day is all about encouraging a culture of volunteering by leveraging the huge pool of human capital resources that are readily available, namely, our time, skills and energy, to uplift our communities.

GreaterGood South Africa sees Do It Day as a powerful, symbolic tool for change, with the potential to promote sustainable, long-term relationships between volunteers and causes and transform mindsets about giving. The event promotes teamwork, motivates staff, demonstrates the virtue of hard work and supports good causes in communities across South Africa.

You can sign up online from 1st July, at www.doitday.co.za, or simply SMS the word ‘Volunteer’ and your name to 33009.
*SMS’s are charged at R1,50. Free SMS’s don’t apply.

Signing up as a volunteer is quick and easy. And if you can’t make the actual day, you can still contribute – we have some ready-made alternatives for you. Just visit the website or contact us on (021) 762 7338 to find out. www.doitday.co.za

By: Janine Erasmus, Source: Mediaclubsouthafrica.com

South Africa added a sixth biosphere reserve to its tally when the Vhembe region of Limpopo province became one of 22 newly proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

The 22 new biospheres, located in 17 countries, were added to Unesco’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves during the 21st session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere programme. The total now stands at 553 sites in 107 countries. Unesco’s Man and the Biosphere programme addresses the impact of man on the environment by studying the social, ecological and economic implications of biodiversity loss. It then takes steps to minimise this loss through sharing of knowledge, research and monitoring, education and training, and multilateral decision-making.

Biosphere reserves are nominated by their governments for inclusion to the Man and the Biosphere programme. Whether they are terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine in nature, all are experimental areas where different approaches to integrated environmental management are tested. This is important as it helps to deepen our knowledge of what works in conservation and sustainable development.

With South Africa celebrating National Environment Month in June and focusing on climate change and the attitude of citizens towards the environment, the biosphere project takes on an even greater significance. Various activities are planned throughout the country to mark the occasion, including campaigns to boost awareness of the need for sustainable living, much tree planting, and conferences, workshops and information sessions.

A number of important environmental commemorative days are held around the world during June. World Environment Day falls on 5 June, while World Oceans Day is celebrated on 8 June and World Day to Combat Desertification falls on 17 June. The other new world biosphere sites range from the sacred Mount Myohyang in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to the tiger reserve of Similipal in eastern India and the island of Fuerteventura off the coast of Spain, and Australia’s Great Sandy marine area.

Vast biodiversity
South Africa’s six biosphere sites are Kogelberg (added in 1998), Cape Winelands (2007), Cape West Coast Reserve (2000, with an extension in 2003), the Waterberg (2001), the Kruger to Canyons Reserve (2001), and Vhembe. This is a tshiVenda name for the mighty Limpopo River symbolising life.

The new addition is situated in the northeast of Limpopo province. It is famous not only for its bird and animal life, but also for its rich cultural history, dating far back to the awe-inspiring rock paintings of the San people. Vhembe encompasses the ancient African kingdoms of Thulamela and Mapungubwe. The latter is one of South Africa’s eight world heritage sites and was inscribed on the Unesco list in 2003.

Vhembe includes the northern part of the Kruger Park, the Makuleke Wetlands, which are protected under the international Ramsar Convention, the Soutpansberg and Blouberg bio-diversity hot spots, and the Makgabeng Plateau, which boasts hundreds of rock art sites.

Economy in the region is driven mainly by agriculture. As it falls into the subtropical belt of the country, crops are usually fruits and vegetables. There is also a substantial cattle farming industry.

Natural treasures
Vhembe is preceded by five biosphere reserves that cover an amazing diversity of landscapes, plants and animals.

The 100 000ha Kogelberg reserve on the country’s southern coast sits in the middle of the world heritage Cape Floral Region. Home to an extravagant 1 880 different plant species, 77 of which are found only in this region, the Kogelberg is richer than the South American rainforest in terms of sheer biodiversity. Economy is boosted by apple farming, commercial pine forests, and tourism.

The Cape West Coast biosphere reserve starts in Cape Town in the southern suburb of Diep River and stretches up the west coast as far as the Berg River. Also encompassing parts of the Cape Floral Region, the reserve includes the Ramsar-protected Langebaan lagoon as well as Dassen Island, a penguin colony. The Koeberg nuclear power station falls within its boundaries. The main economic activities are fishing and agriculture.

The Cape Winelands biosphere reserve includes a part of the Cape Floral Region as well as the world-famous wine-growing region. Here, too, lie the historic settler-founded towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Agriculture and tourism are the main sources of income.

In the northern reaches of South Africa lies the Waterberg biosphere reserve, an area of some 400 000ha in Limpopo. It is an important catchment area for the Limpopo Basin, with four large rivers originating within its borders – the Lephalale, the Mokolo, the Matlabas and the Magalakwena Rivers. San rock art abounds, as does the flora and fauna of the area. The main economic driver is tourism.

The Kruger to Canyons biosphere reserve is so named because it stretches from the Kruger National Park to the spectacular Blyde River Canyon. It is an important conservation area in South Africa because it also covers three biomes, or communities of plants and animals living together in a certain climate – the Savannah woodlands, montane grasslands, and forest. The economy revolves around mining activities, forestry, and fruit and vegetable farming.\

Source: http://mediaclubsouthafrica.com/