A Jet Set Capital
There are a handful of highly cosmopolitan cities that decorate the global travel map – Rio, Sydney and Buenos Aires to name but a few – that all have in some way the attributes of beauty, grandeur, romance and fine living. The common perception of Africa, however, tends to preclude a lot of these qualities, but it often comes as a very pleasant surprise to the fist time visitor to the continent to find that amongst these international urban jewels is the South African city of Cape Town.
In fact, for the first timer, South Africa itself hardly seems like Africa at all. With its clean and ordered cities, its superb transport and communication infrastructure, and its sophisticated cultural and business forums, it could hardly be further removed from the popular image of the continent. South Africa is Africa for beginners – a perfect springboard for the wider reach of a continent that will in every respect satisfy the expectations of the adventure hungry outfield traveler.
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The bunny chow was created in Durban (Which has the largest population of Indians outside of Bradford India) in the 1940’s.
The term Bunny Chow is derived from two words, Bunny (relating to Bhanya, the Bunny Chow’s inventor) and Chow (South African slang word for food)
Bunny chow consists of a quarter, half, or full loaf of bread with it’s centre removed and filled with your choice of curry made using traditional recipes from Durban, including mutton, lamb, chicken and bean curries (however the original bunny chow was strictly vegetarian).
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Well there is no sight of the mysterious iceberg that was sighted last week at 6pm on Monday, 35 nautical miles south east of St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape by the crew of the fishing vessel Ntini.
The air force on routine patrol were asked to keep a lookout for the bobbing block, but it was nowhere to be found. Read excerpts below:
“According to the crew of the Ntini, the iceberg is about 25 metres in length and 20 metres in height and was spotted south east of St Francis Bay, 35 nautical miles off shore,” he said. It was first seen at 6pm on Monday. “But, we must take into consideration, that they flew in unfavourable weather conditions where there were high waves,” he said.
“It’s very unlikely because of the warm Agulhas current off the east coast,” he said.
“The history of iceberg climatology in this area also shows that there has never been anything like this in the past,” he said.
Hunter said the ‘South African Sailing Direction’, a book published by the Hydrographic Office under the South African Navy, mentions that there were a few iceberg sightings in the 1850s near Cape Town.
He said there was also a report from a ship in 2002 off the Cape west coast of a piece of ice, about a metre-high above the water.
“We refer to this as a ‘growler’ because it is very small. Bearing in mind the cold Cape Town water, this was, to an extent, acceptable,” he said.
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Umkhosi woMhlanga is the Zulu name for the Royal Reed dance which happens every September at KwaNyokeni Palace, Nongoma, which is the Zulu nation’s royal residence.
Over 10 000 virgin maidens are invited from throughout KwaZulu Natal, to dance in the ceremony and thousands more Zulus help the prepare. The occasion marks a Zulu maidens passage to womanhood, and serves to unite the Zulu nation under the King, who presides over the ceremony. (Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu)
Many of the Zulu maidens are ritually “topless”, so indiscreet photo taking is discouraged, as are women wearing pants entering the royal residence. This season two tourist had been arrested for taking pictures of the topless Zulu maidens, but later released. “Zulu maidens are increasingly becoming targets of unscrupulous photographers and cameramen who take the pictures of maidens and flash them on Internet porn sites,” said Nhlanhla Mtaka, media director for the event.
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To carry on with the shopping theme, Durban is home to one of the biggest shopping retail outlets in Africa. With more than 280 stores and a wide variety of restaurants, entertainment and recreational activities this is not just any shopping centre! Situated in the ever-expanding Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre about 20 minutes outside Durban, there is something for everyone at Gateway.
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The Durban vs. Cape Town rivalry in South Africa is hotting up, with Robyn producing some slick Marxist video propaganda to lure people away from Cape Town with promises of exotic culture and boringly clement weather.
For people that don’t like too much sunshine, warm water and man eating sharks, I maintain that Cape Town is still the better option 
enjoy.
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Cape Talk Radio has a great page on their website allowing organisers to list events interactively on a calender.
It provides listing of all the little happenings you may be interested in, like workshops, plays, exhibitions and so forth, and is the most comprehensive I have found. Cape Talk: Whats on
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So I arrive at work on a Tuesday afternoon after a hectic weekend, where Billy’s opened on a rare Sunday afternoon to host a Red bull function which featured an awesome South African duo called Goldfish, to the news that i was going diving with sharks the following Saturday! What, where and how??? Apparently there was an incentive for us waitresses… whoever sold the most Vodka Red bulls would win a shark dive… oh cool!
Saturday morning arrives and a group of us are off down the coast… the morning started a bit chilly and overcast! We arrive at Blue Wilderness, Rocky Bay and are quickly kitted up with wetsuit, flippers, goggle and snorkel. After a group shot and a short orientation from the lead diver, it as time to hit the beach. The rain started to come down at this point and the sea was looking very rough. We had a pretty rough but exciting 30 minutes boat ride to the dive site where the chum was dropped and within seconds we saw our first shark from the safety of the boat! While staring in disbelief into the open waters… we spotted a Southern Right Whale jumping in the distance!
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The Zulu Kingdom now offers visitors a chance to experience the Brew Route, similar in many ways to the wine routes of the Western Cape.
The Route consists of 8 breweries, which range from SABMiller (second largest brewer in the world) to the family run Farmers Brauhaus in Hattingspruit, Dundee.
The route takes tourists through a large part of the province and is impossible to complete in one day, but there is excellent accommodation available throughout the route, especially in the Midlands.
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Capetonians love flea markets! and we have several every weekend: Here are the main ones.
Greenpoint Stadium Flea market: This started with a guy selling Boerewors rolls on the weekend and has blossomed into the largest fleamarket in Cape Town.
It is held every Sunday and public holiday from 09:00 till 17:00. This used to be a fantastic market with bric-a-brac and intersting things, nowadays it has declined into somewhat of a tourist trap, with many stalls selling identical items, Chinese grey goods and boot polished curios. It is still worth a walk around, if not only for the bustle and throng. It is situated in Greenpoint, in the carpark of the stadium, but since construction began for 2010 I suspect the market has been moved nearby or cancelled for the time being. I will update this post when I get information.
Milnerton Market: This is my favourite flea market in Cape Town, with plenty of oddities and collectables that vendors have dredged from deceased estates and antique stores. The market has a policy of keeping the curio and t-shirt sellers to a minimum to retain the feel of the market. It is held on an open piece of land next to the R27 (West Coast Road) in Milnerton every Saturday and Sunday from 07:00 till 16:00. There are some good food stands here also selling pancakes, boerewors rolls, biltong and rusks.
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