South Africa
Oktoberfest in South Africa
September 3, 2010 by Susan McKee
It may be spring in the Southern Hemisphere, but you can’t keep a German from celebrating Oktoberfest. Road Trips Foodies heading to South Africa in October might consider a stop in the Nelson Mandela Bay area between October 28 and 31, 2010, for the Bavarian-themed event.
There’ll be a wide range of both local and imported beers plus music, entertainment and, oh, yes, food! The sponsor is (no surprise here) the German Club of Port Elizabeth.
An Apron To Braai For
August 27, 2010 by Simon Barber
Calling global South Africans living in the US!
If you plan to invite friends round for a braai on Heritage Day (Friday, September 24, but Saturday will also do, or both), send us your address by filling in the form below, and we’ll send you an apron like the one our colleague Vuyo Vezi is modelling on the right.
We were inspired to do this by Jan Scannell at braai4heritage.co.za and his patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who explains it all in this video:
All we ask is that you send us pictures.You can do that by going to Global South Africans to submit a post.
Tell us where you’d like us to mail your apron.
South Africa Breaks Flag-Flying Record
August 25, 2010 by Nic Haralambous
If you were at the Tri Nations game last week Saturday you probably flew a flag. If you did fly a flag you were part of a successful world record attempt.
South Africans smashed the previous record of flags flown at one time which stood at 6 600. The auditors are apparently still working like crazy to get the final numbers in but they are projecting close to 90 000 flags were flown at the South Africa vs New Zealand game at the FNB Stadium.
Here’s the story from ewn.co.za
Free flags were handed out at the FNB Stadium and auditors believe the final number was in the region of 90,000. The previous record was 6,600.
Deputy MD of Draft FCB, Heidi Nelson, said they were just waiting for the final official confirmation.
“We just need the auditing process to happen with Guinness and for them to actually issue out with the certificate that says we have claimed the record but for all intents and purposes, South Africans did us proud on Saturday and we have broken the record,” she said.
*UPDATE: Tinus chimed in and kindly sent through the official image being…
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Instead of One Size Fits All, Many Innovations for Improving Small-Scale Agriculture
August 25, 2010 by Danielle Nierenberg
By Matt Styslinger
In the past, a one-size fits all approach to agricultural production has crippled attempts to encourage long-term sustainability. Many approaches have emphasized chemical and other high-tech and expensive inputs, in favor of short-term gains. Our attention has been focused on a narrow range of crops, while only a few technologies, including synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, get funding. But many less well known—and less well funded— approaches, such as those that consider regional and ecosystem-specific nuances, have the potential to reduce negative impacts of agriculture and increase production over the long-term.
Many less well known—and less well funded— approaches have the potential to reduce negative impacts of agriculture and increase production over the long-term. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
The National Research Council’s Committee on Twenty-first Century Systems Agriculture has published a new report, Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century, which examines different approaches in “sustainable agriculture.” The report highlights strengths and weaknesses of these approaches for improving agricultural sustainability and reducing the costs and unintended consequences of agricultural production. It also evaluates how some of these approaches could improve the sustainability of small-scale…
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Pick-up Soccer in South Africa
August 25, 2010 by Bob Skinstad
The largest event our country has ever hosted (how fortunate for the world that we did) is now over and done with, but are you? The World Cup was a huge success and now it is interesting to see what sort of legacy has been left in Africa’s southernmost country.
One of the clear effects for us all to see, was how the event piqued an interest in many white South Africans. Before the World Cup many only really associated football with the fowl mouthed chavy punks from the English league. Fortunately the many different ‘flavours’ of world football were all presented to us on the field and on the streets so we could hopefully realise that the game is far bigger than just what we see on DSTV during the nine months of the Premier League in England.
What has left the Gear Guy and Bob smiling, is the awesome opportunity of brilliant pitches that are now available to play a quick game of pick-up 5-a-side or, if you are organised, a full-on 22 man game.
It’s not always that lekker though to play in studs or blades and many of these practice fields and smaller 5-a-side pitches that…
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South African Strikers and the Effects of Their (In)action
August 24, 2010 by Nic Haralambous
I have been asked to comment on the strikes taking place in South Africa. Obviously it’s relevant for the “SA Rocks guy” to have an opinion on something this controversial in SA right now.
I’ll give it my best go.
I think that teachers, doctors and nurses deserve to be paid a wage that reflects their value to the community and legally if they feel they are not being paid sufficiently they have the right to strike.
In my head striking involves a lack of action or inaction. A conscious decision to NOT work. Not to work at destroying structures, people, businesses and potential killing patients and babies at hospitals. This is inexcusable.
There is no problem with not going to work. There is a problem when you prevent people from entering hospitals, when you raid operating theaters and abandon other peoples’ children when you are responsible for their lives. This, I have a problem with.
Ivo Vegter has written a fantastic article on the topic over at the Daily Maverick. Read it, it has great value and one of the smartest things in his article is his calculation that ultimately what is being asked…
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Athlone Towers Demolition Video
August 23, 2010 by Nic Haralambous
Yesterday I went to watch the demolition of the Athlone Towers in Cape Town.
Many people missed the actual dropping of the towers as the event occurred about five minutes earlier than planned. I caught the tower dropping, just barely.
Here’s the video:
South Africa: Coffee Bay to Cape Town
August 23, 2010 by Susie Hughes
An early start in Durban and a nine-hour Baz Bus trip or something got us to Coffee Bay on August 4. I’ll say again that I love the Baz Bus, but it only stops at gas stations along the way, all of which feature a branch of the South African fast food restaurant Steers. For some reason, every time it stops, most people feel compelled to grab something from Steers and then visit the shop, you know, just in case. For me this meant FAR too many French fries and if, in South Africa, you are in the hellish throes of a Kit-Kat shortage currently, I must own up and say that it was I who consumed every last one of those delectable treats.
In Coffee Bay we were booked in at the Coffee Shack, which is the place to be in the area. Coffee Bay is on South Africa’s Wild Coast (or the Transkei), and is so named because in 18 hundred and something a ship carrying coffee beans ran aground there, spilling, um, all the beans! After some welcome drinks and before dinner, we watched a few of the local girls perform a traditional dance for us, which…
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SA vs. New Zealand in Rugby: 360-Degree Photo View
August 23, 2010 by Fred Hatman
Saturday. Springboks v All Blacks. Soccer City (or whatever they call it now), Soweto. Historic event. The first time the Boks play a Test in the most famous “township” on the planet.
It also happens to be Springbok captain John Smit’s 100th test for his country. Our beloved country. Barney Smit, widely considered the best rugby skipper in the world. And you all saw the pictures of him standing alone in the centre of that phenomenal calabash of a stadium, holding his son and daughter. Ninety thousand fans waving The Flag. The captain was almost blubbing, wasn’t he? Quite acceptable.
If ever a stage was set for the under-performing Bokke to find their redemption, this was it.
But you all know, or should know, what happened next. Sickening. Especially for our Captain Fantastic. Even All Black captain Richie McCaw graciously said that “rugby can be a cruel game”.
But we move on. A year away from the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. There could be no sweeter redemption than to retain our World Cup in the backyard of the mighty All Blacks.
But let’s have a slightly unusual look at Saturday’s Tri-Nations heartbreaker. I’ve been playing with the 360…
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South Africa Part Dos: Howzit, Bru?!*
August 23, 2010 by Susie Hughes
Oh my goodness how I love me that Afrikaaner twang! Similar to how other girls swoon over the English thing or the Australian thing, throw me a “Howzit?” (or, “What’s up?”), and I’m yours! Sigh.
Ahem. Now, back to business- the Baz Bus. The Baz Bus is a fantastic system of buses (surprise!) designed for backpackers to travel across South Africa in any direction they please in as much or as little time as they like. It’s also a fantastic way to meet people. As you might have guessed, we started in Johannesburg with a plan to end in Cape Town by the second week of August. Our first stop from Jo’burg was Amphitheatre in the Northern Drakensberg mountains. It was about a five and a half hour drive, although the bus does stop quite frequently for loo and food breaks and whatnot (more on that later- the Baz Bus is not conducive to eating well!).
There’s only one hostel in Amphitheatre, and it’s really good- gorgeous scenery, a pool (though it’s winter in SA, so far too cold for that!), a hot tub, an indoor climbing wall, a massive telly room, a bar that sells beer in wine-size…
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