South Africa Blog

Life on Earth is not a documentary. The Earth is a living organism that responds to each day with different subtlety. At any moment in time a complex cycle of natural wonder is playing out somewhere on this planet, while a butterfly flits in the Amazon, a lion roars in the African night and a great white shark silently moves through the Indian ocean. This intricate choreography that we are a part of is often hidden from view – playing out in some remote and undisturbed part of this planet. Earth-Touch strives to capture the best of this activity every day – quickly, simply, in the highest quality possible and then to relay it to audiences everywhere in the world, in the shortest time possible. Earth-Touch puts people in touch with the Earth, Now.

All the Earth-Touch content producers, film makers and editors are commitment to making entertaining and educational wildlife films and new media in ways that are environmentally and ethically sound. The footage is not sensationalized, the subjects are not antagonized…the mission is simple, to celebrate truth and the beauty of nature.

Any representation of the natural environment demands from the crew, a very high level of personal integrity that supports the values of environmental awareness and concern.

This is best achieved when high standards of journalism are merged with a profound respect for the natural world. Earth-Touch content producers scrupulously avoid harming or disturbing their subjects and the habitats in which they live in.

On the website you can download weekly podast highlights, featured stories, backgrounds and screen savers, earth-touch audio clips etc. We encourage people of all ages, backgrounds and demographics to come explore the natural beauty of their planet!

Visit this spectacular website at http://www.earth-touch.com/

New website www.adamandeve.co.za showcases South African fashion designers. A forward-thinking South African company has launched a first of its kind in SA website to encourage established and up-and-coming fashion designers to showcase clothing and accessories in their unique online, virtual shop.

Showcasing popular Designers such as Ape Town, Kluk CGDT, Levis, Rosenwerth, Puma amongst many others, the site is sure to delight any ardent online shopper. This online shopping centre makes top end fashion easily accessible to local and international clients.

Visit the site at: www.adamandeve.co.za

Social Networking for the Business Person – Social Networking with Brains:

On MyGenius, a South African business community at www.mygenius.com, hundreds of business owners have gathered with one thing in mind: to take their businesses to a new level. My Genius is an online networking community for 21st century citizens. The site provides a template for individuals in business to become engaged members of a community that shares a common vision: supporting each member’s growth in business.

For members of MyGenius, taking their Businesses to a new level is achieved in a number of novel ways:
- MyGenius members network online, creating private networks in which they can promote their businesses to one another
- MyGenius members meet under the guidance of experienced business coaches to learn to market themselves and to fine tune their business strategy
- All community members provide one another with support, sharing of ideas and opening of opportunities.
- The South African economy is pumping. Make sure you use the next few years to take your business to a new level. Check it out. Go to www.mygenius.com

Joining this site is a no brainer for anyone who is in business for themselves or business people needing to network. An excellent idea brilliantly executed, visit the site now at http://www.MyGenius.com

Newly relaunched with a new look, user friendly search functions and fast loading pages, for all your accommodation in KwaZulu Natal and Durban, try www.Durban-Venues.co.za. You will find accommodation, you can book Hotels, bed & breakfasts, guest and country lodges in Durban, the Natal Midlands, Drakensberg, North and South Coasts of KwaZulu Natal and of course the ever-popular Umhlanga Coastline. 

Use the advanced search to search for accommodation of a specific type such as holiday homes, self catering villas or cottages and chalets or search by town name. If you are looking for a Conference or Wedding venue you can find these here too. All establishments show photos, all their contact telephone numbers so you can contact them directly. This is a NON-COMMISION site so you deal directly with the establishments and can get discounts. (But ask for a discount!) Don’t expect any discounts during the June/July school holidays though – accommodation can be hard to find especially along the coast, so start looking now!

Visit the site at:
KwaZulu Natal and Durban Accommodation
KwaZulu Natal Beaches

Zoopy.com is new, its fun, its fresh… Zoopy.com is South Africa’s first video and photo sharing social network. It’s the easiest way to connect and share videos and photos with your friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers.

The process is simple and easy … 

Take a photo or shoot a video - you don’t even need any special equipment, just use your cell phone or scan your old photos (or use your sophisticated equipment if you have it!). Then upload your photos or video to your Zoopy profile. Write a description, choose a channel to publish your material to and watch your masterpiece come to life in minutes!

Once your videos or photos are live, you’ll have people from all over South Africa clicking through to see your latest creations. You can also invite other Zoopy members or friends and family to view your works!

It looks like a lot of fun and although the site is brand spanking new, (live for a couple of days) there are already plenty of videos to view including the controversial “Teacher” video (which was removed from YouTube by the way, so I was delighted to find it on Zoopy). 

Go to http://www.zoopy.com/ and take a look. Read or subscribe to the Zoopy blog to keep in the know about the contests they are running and latest news… they sound like a fun bunch of guys who have worked really hard to bring South Africa something special, so head on over to Zoopy and support!

Good Morning South African Bloggers! Me Sue - a some-time contributing editor to the SouthAfricaBlog.co.za, I have not posted much in the past… that’s about to change. With the new site design completed (almost!) I’ve been tasked with starting the new section devoted to South African site reviews with a strong emphasis on Blog sites. (we’ll do the odd web site review but the flavour-of-the-month is blogging so lets look at all the new blog sites coming up). That’s what I love to do on the ‘net – surf around, read and tell people about new or interesting sites I’ve found.

So I’ll kick off with reviewing some of the best and newest South African blogs. And what a choice… there are plenty to choose from. Seems to me South African’s have been watching the blogosphere with interest and are coming out strongly with their own slant on blogging. The result is some unique topics and quite different blogs. Great South African stuff! I’ll be doing individual write-ups (or “reviews”) of all the sites I’ve recently discovered but ’want to point out a few notable new blogs that were mentioned to me today.

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With Tailor-Made South Africa Travel even planning your trip is a safari. Find out how you can explore your deepest wishes and make them all come true when you go on the South African safari of a lifetime …

Tailor Made South Africa Travel arrange individual travel itineries for individuals, groups and clubs wishing to visit South Africa.  Each one is tailor made to the clients individual specifications and each is of course very different. South Africa offers so much scope for discovery and it is not easy to know the best ways to have the time of your life if you are visiting for the first time, so Tailor Made South Africa travel really do help you to make the most of your experiences.

We have a wealth of experience to make your trip of a lifetime extra special, with particular care paid to customer service from beginning to end.

A site I always enjoy spending time on is the http:ZAR.co.za site. Authored and created by two South Africans, they have collected an amazing amount of information about South Africa and her people, which they are obviously very proud to share. From interesting facts and trivia that are known or not so well known about South Africa to statistics on population, growth, economy, languages, religion, provinces, capitals etc.

My personal favourite section of this site is a section on notable South Africans: “Meet some of the people that helped inspire a nation to greater heights. Some are tragedies, some are the stuff of legends …” (see this section at: http://zar.co.za/bio.htm). Here you will find bios on famous South Africans such as our beloved Nelson Mandela as well as Desmond Tutu, Miriam Makeba, Prof Chris Barnard, Olive Schreiner, Charlize Theron – and many, many more well know South Africans. Written in a style that is easy to read and interesting at the same time, I often spend a few hours reading these bios and learning even more about people who make me proud to be South African!

A nice touch on the site is their Quiz section. Do the “South African Slang” quiz – words we use every day such as Yebo! “vrot” and “aikona” – with explanations of their origination and meaning – well done. (I scored 86% – seems I need to brush up on my slang!). Other quizzes you can do (they only take a few minutes) is a Who’s Who? And geography quiz. (Geography is not my strongest point so I’ve saved this one for a day when I feel like learning something!).

Go to http://zar.co.za/sound.htm and listens to “Sounds of South Africa”. Includes animal sounds and bird calls, some of our languages and another favourite – Music. Listen to Mandoza, the Johannesburg African Choir, the famous Drakensberg Boys Choir, our South African Anthem “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” amongst others.

This is a site for all South Africans – and I love it!
Visit the site at: http:ZAR.co.za

The travel and tourism industry in South Africa is an exciting place to be at the moment. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism recently announced the results of the latest tourism review and once again South Africa emerged as a star performer. With just over 2.7 million arrivals from January to April 2006, the country has for the first time broken through the 2.5 million mark for the first four months of the year. There has been a 16% increase in arrivals across all territories compared to the same period last year. In addition, the greatest sporting event in the world promises an even rosier future for this sector.

This dynamic industry demands a vibrant and vigorous online presence that caters for travel and tourism professionals, product owners and tourists. Such a lively online hub is now available in the form of the recently launched TravelWires.com – a dynamic travel and tourism online news resource for the South African industry.

TravelWires offers up-to-the-moment industry news, events, product launches, services information and vacancies, published on the site daily. Designed to help tourism industry players keep their fingers on the pulse of what is happening, the site covers eighteen sectors of the industry including trade associations, tour operators, wildlife, car rentals, airlines, restaurants, accommodation, technology, public relations, reservations, media, suppliers, travel agents, MICE, cruise lines, rail, casinos and luxury coaches.

In addition, TravelWires will serve as an industry platform for debate, opinion and sharing best practice. All stakeholders within the industry are invited to contribute expert content on a wide variety of subjects, take part in the snap online polls and participate in building a vibrant online community providing support and ideas. The site will also allow travellers to provide feedback in the ‘Rant and Rave’ section - allowing the industry to continually improve and adapt to changing traveller needs.

“This is such an exciting industry and these are exciting times,” says Muzi Mohale, founder of TravelWires CC. “There is an urgent need for a platform for the travel industry where players can share their ideas, debate and work together to improve the industry. We realised the need for a fresh approach to online resources for the travel industry and we know that TravelWires.com will become the source of choice for industry news, views and happenings.”

If you are planning your September Long Weekend Break (23, 24 and 25 September is a long weekend!) or if you are planning to spend the December Holidays in Cape Town, we’ve put together a few new and useful sites to assist you.

Cape Town Accommodation – Newly relaunched with a fresh new look, user friendly search functions and super-fast loading pages, for all your accommodation in Cape Town try www.Cape-Venues.co.za. You will find accommodation, you can book Cape Town Hotels, bed & breakfasts in Cape Town and Peninsula, including the Cape Winelands, Overberg and the outlying areas. It is a NON-COMMISION site so you deal directly with the establishment and can get discounts as there are no agency commissions. But don’t expect discounts during Cape Town’s peak season – accommodation can be hard to find so start looking now.

Cape Town Hotels – If you are specifically looking to stay in an Hotel in Cape Town try the this site. Obtain instant hotel quotes for all the hotels listed on the site by simply using the quote facility available throughout the site. In addition to the hotels, they have a wedding section to help visitors planning on getting married in the Cape with everything they will need to plan the perfect Cape Town Wedding. Also a fast, user friendly site, worth taking a look at.

Other Useful Cape Town Holiday Sites:
Accommodation in the Western Cape
Cape Town Beaches
Cape Town Attractions

Unique in Camps Bay, Cape Town and nestled under the Twelve Apostles in a peaceful location, Cape Rose Cottage enjoys breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the most magnificent sunsets.

Your English hosts Pam and Steve, have created a charming home with a beautiful garden for the discerning guest who is looking for luxurious self catering or Bed & Breakfast accommodation in Camps Bay in a ‘home away from home’ haven in a safe, secure and peaceful setting in one of the most beautiful areas in Cape Town, South Africa.

This warm and inviting Camps Bay home, with a wonderful ambience, is beautifully decorated and furnished. The 1st floor section of the house offers two self contained suites which each accommodate two people. The suites have a separate entrance and an adjoining lounge. The entire floor can be let as a penthouse (ideal for two couples travelling together) or the suites can be let individually.

The ground floor offers the stunning Cape Rose Suite which also has its own private entrance and accommodates two people. This suite leads out directly to the beautiful tranquil garden and solar heated swimming pool. Honeymooners and those seeking something a little more special in Cape Town will delight in the exclusivity and romantic decor that the suites offer.

For additional photographs, information and to see a virtual tour, please visit the website at: Cape Rose Cottage Camps Bay or contact Pam and Steve on: Tel: +27 (0)21 438-1786.

Related Links: Cape Town Accommodation and South Africa Travel

Mpumalanga-Venues.co.za is an easy to use online directory of Accommodation in Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park Accommodation in South Africa. Travellers to this popular South African destination are able to find Hotels, Game Lodges, Guest Houses and Bed & Beakfast accommodation within the various Game Reserves, in the larger Towns and cities and can also search for self catering accommodation options within the province.

Search for your preferred Mpumalanga Accommodation by town name, by establishment name, via A-Z directory or by clickable map and then make a commission-free booking by dealing directly with the Lodge or Hotel you plan to visit.

Popular Site Links:
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga Accommodation
Kruger National Park Accommodation

South African Golfing Safaris invite you to discover Africa in style… “We invite you to come and share the pleasures of our world class golf courses, interwoven with breathtaking landscapes of unsurpassed beauty.

You will stay in lodges, hotels and resorts that have been specially chosen to meet international standards of hospitality. Luxury and comfort, combined with exhilarating sights and sounds in beautiful African settings, will make your dream holiday a reality. At South African Golfing & Safari Tours, we believe in the highest level of service and quality. We invite you to discover Africa in style, with us.”

To book your South African Golfing Safari contact the South African Golfing Safaris Team at:
Telephone: +27 21 689 2221

For your next holiday in Cape Town, look no further than Troodos House in Hout Bay for either Bed & Breakfast Accommodation or Self Catering Cottages. Troodos House is set beautifully on the mountain side in Hout Bay. Bordering on a forest and with it’s own large indigenous garden, Troodos House offers magnificent mountain and valley views.

At Troodos House, The main house has four en-suite double bedrooms, all with full picture windows with unobstructed views, overlooking the unique rim flow pool. The rooms all have sliding doors, leading on to the two large pool decks and have ceiling fans. The fully equipped self catering cottages feature French doors which open onto the patio and garden, with its panoramic views.

Visit the Troodos House Website at: Troodos House & Cottages in Hout Bay or Contact Gay and Tony on:
Telephone: +27 (0)21 790-5220 (international).
Telephone: 021 790-5220 (local).

FreeState-Venues.co.za is an online travel guide for the Free State in South Africa. Redesigned with a fresher look, the site now also features destination information as well as Free State Accommodation. You are now able to search for your preferred Free state accommodation by town name, by establishment name, via A-Z directory or by clickable map.

Find the ideal accommodation in the Free State: from Guest Houses, Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and Self Catering estabishments throughout the Free State and deal directly with the Establishment Owners to get the best rates possible. All contact details are displayed so you can Deal Direct and SAVE!

Site Links:
Free State Accommodation Map
Bloemfontein Accommodation
Free State Map