Joburg put on the most perfect day with bright blue skies reflecting off the shiny skyscrapers and an expectant buzz from invited guests mixed in with the funky tunes emanating in the background. Models wearing glorious outfits by Kluk CGDT did much to enhance the glamour of the occasion, and high heels were aplenty - showing off summer legs and a sense of sassy local style.

This year, South African Tourism - in conjunction with partner, AFI - has put its support behind the various key fashion events taking place around the country. First it was Joburg Fashion Week, then Cape Town Fashion Week and now Africa Fashion Week which place from 20 to 22 October 2011 in Johannesburg.

‘It’s important that we showcase who we are as South Africans,’ said Sugen Pillay, Global Manager: Events for SA Tourism. ‘For a long time we have been trying to position South Africa as a lifestyle destination and we believe fashion is a great way to do that.’

With some of the hottest names in African fashion taking to the catwalks during Africa Fashion Week 2011, we can only inspire fellow travelers to come to South Africa and experience our food, wine, music, shopping, nightlife, culture and go away with many fond memories - not to mention a suitcase filled with fantastic designer labels from the continent’s hottest designers.

The book includes 20 excellent routes as well as detailed maps and GPS information on a bonus CD.  This essential travelling manual includes expert advice from trained guides in each of the areas covered, best times to travel, as well as family-friendly,  self-sufficiency and appeal ratings. Each entry begins with the Top 10 Attractions of the trip, making it a useful guide in terms of ‘window-shopping’ for your next adventure.

So whether you’re planning on crossing the Cederberg, going along the West Coast (!Khwa ttu to Hondeklipbaai and beyond), or exploring the Central Kalahari, 4 x 4 Routes Through Southern Africa will be a valuable and assuring reference.

Map Studio has made 2 copies of 4 x 4 Routes Through Southern Africa available, so send your comments to this blog and you’ll be eligible for this great giveaway! Do this before 14 October 2011.

South Africans, in their rainbow splendour, are naturally welcoming. The hotel staff will give you smiles as warm as the sunshine, the restaurant waiter will give a warm thank you in respectful gesture when tipped or draw smiley faces on your receipt. The game rangers will tell you wild stories that will make you roar with laughter. The driver of your coach will take you to a happy place.

The people on the city streets will start dancing when their hearts start singing. The beachcombers will help you catch your wayward Frisbee; shoppers will show you to the right aisles when you’re looking for something and that man called Piet will invite you to a ‘braai’ at his home. Because his marinade is made from a secret recipe that you won’t taste anywhere else and who needs a reason anyway when it’s weekend and there is sport on TV?

We smile big, teeth present or not. And our eyes they smile too. They sparkle like the stars in the clear skies and the diamonds on display. Because we are happy to share our big, breathing spaces with you.

We have been waiting for you, the dancers ready to stomp the ground in greeting and there is a welcome drink and many warm hearts… come discover what makes South Africa so special!

Johannesburg has had a long love affair with jazz from the romantically-remembered Sophiatown to its namesake and one of the venues of the Joy of Jazz festival, the Sophiatown Bar Lounge - a high-energy jazz venue in the heart of Newtown Cultural Precinct.

The original Sophiatown, with its heady mix of shebeens (taverns), gangsters, cinemas, music and dance, saw some of the most important developments in South African jazz and delivered our legendary jazz icons Hugh Masekela (also performing at Joy of Jazz), Jonas Gwanga (who is the subject of an exhibition at the Market Theatre) and the late Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa.

This year’s Joy of Jazz brings the same calibre of talent from around Africa and the world to Joburg, many recipients of multiple Grammys, with Wynton Marsalis, the first jazz musician in the world to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, headlining the event.

The line-up also includes Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sibongile Khumalo, Simphiwe Dana, Mango Groove, the African Jazz Pioneers, Gerald Veasley, Jeff Lorber, McCoy Tyner, Victor Ntoni and new contemporary jazz talents such as Tutu Puoane, Tu Nokwe and Bokani Dyer. Then there’s the Brazilian Tania Maria, Olufemi, from Nigeria with his Afro-Soul Fusion, Angola’s Bonga and many more great jazz musicians.

So, get yourself ready for some sizzling entertainment that promises to bring back the vibrancy and heart of Sophiatown through the people who have come together to enjoy their passion for jazz!      

Two people will be lucky enough to WIN 2 tickets each to the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz 2011 – just comment on this blogpost and tell me why it should be you! Winners will be announced on Friday, 19 August.

Nelson Mandela, global icon, humanitarian hero, beloved grandfather to the Rainbow Nation and its children, freedom fighter, Robben Island survivor, Nobel peace prize winner, South Africa’s first democratic president, scatterer of wisdom, Madiba, is turning 93. And what better way to pay tribute to his long walk and a life dedicated to others than to give to those closest to his heart…

Children who suffer from incurable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, who are disabled, who are poor, who have no parents, who are working and bringing up children, who are exploited and victimised, who are refugees, who are struggling to get an education, who are homeless, who are hungry, who are feeling helpless. These children are in desperate need of compassion and hope. And you can be the answer. You can make a difference, because, unlike them, you are empowered.

Don’t know what to do? Here are 10 things to choose from, that will make your 67 minutes count in the lives of vulnerable children:

1. Get involved in Nelson Mandela’s humanitarian projects, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. Make a donation, volunteer or buy the books, it’s your choice.

2. If you love travel and/or are in the tourism industry, why not sponsor or organise an exciting excursion or a trip of a lifetime for a group of kids who have never seen the world outside of their current situation? It may be the only chance they ever get to travel, and you can get as many sponsors involved as are necessary. Tip: the beach is always a hit!
  
3. Volunteer to serve food to homeless children or as part of school feeding schemes, alternatively go and plant a school vegetable garden at a needy school.

4. Volunteer at a children’s charity and do anything from painting a wall to brighten up their day to entertaining them, the staff will advise on the best opportunities, suitable to the special needs of the children in their care.

5. Go shopping for children’s clothes, kids’ toys, games and stories or, go through your stuff at home in advance, put a bag or two together and drop it off on Nelson Mandela Day; you can also check with the charity of your choice and find out what they need, then see how many people you can inspire to make things happen and make a welcome delivery.

6. Teach a class or lend your expertise at a school for underprivileged children.

7. Visit hospitalised or terminal children and bring them joy by clowning around, guaranteed to work magic on your own stress too! If you want to stay in theme, make it the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

8. Do some research and decide which children’s charity you’d like to give monthly contributions to, then make your first payment and know you’re giving the gift that keeps on giving!

9. Tourism partners, familiarise yourself with and sign the Code of Conduct against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism - a lot more establishments need to sign up for us to protect our children and send a clear message to perpetrators that they are not welcome.

10. If you have ever thought of fostering or adopting a child, find out what you need to find out and put the ball in motion as every day you procrastinate is another lonely day for a very special child. There are millions of orphans in South Africa alone, it’s an unfathomable number, especially when you consider the lack of funds to take care of them.

Let’s all find the Mandela in us. I pledge to deliver bags of baby stuff and clothes to a children’s charity on the weekend, start a monthly contribution to a charity of my choice, and at the same time as organising our next family trip, I’ll be organising a travel trip for a group of vulnerable children - if you want to get involved, let me know! 

Tell me what you’re going to do in your 67 minutes, by commenting on this blogpost - the children look forward to our contribution and I’m sure you’ll find it’s one of the very best lunch hours you’ve ever had!

* When dealing with travel suppliers who offer volunteering, especially where children are concerned, please make sure you use someone who is accredited by Fair Trade in Tourism SA and follows the code of good practice, spearheaded by responsible volunteering operator Voluntours.

** When donating money or goods, make sure the people you are dealing with are legit and that you don’t fall victim to a scam.

Worldwide the youth remains a force to be reckoned with. Youth and student travellers, in particular, constitute 20% of all international arrivals, are adventurous, resilient, trend-setting, eager to learn and contribute to the communities they visit, environmentally-conscious, spread the word fast over a wide network and are not just a budget market! In fact they stay longer, spend more and have a higher lifetime value than the average traveller, and are worth USD136 billion a year globally. So, you really don’t want to ignore them…

Here are my top 5 highlights for youth and student travellers, proving that South Africa is a perfect match for these invaluable explorers:

1. Off the beaten track – South Africa’s vast open spaces combined with its creative and diverse people, make it an ideal space to strike road trip gold and find the unusual, the quirky, and the never-heard-of-but-can’t-wait-to-tell-everyone. Check out offbeat attractions and places like the Karroo Theatrical Hotel, in fact, my favourite off the beaten track destinations are the Karoo, the Northern Cape, the West Coast and the Eastern Cape. Not to mention a number of unusual accommodation options…

2. Outdoor to urban adventures – South Africa is the adventure capital of the world, where your choice of adrenalin fixes is limitless, from sandboarding to treetop canopy tours from walking with cheetahs to the world’s highest commercial bridge bungee jump and plenty more. But don’t forget the urban adventures to be had, from township shebeens to trendy nightclubs, from local sport events to live music performances, from art & crafts souvenir hunts to fashion & design finds – don’t miss the Young Designers Emporium, a proudly South African concept providing cutting edge fashion created by upcoming design stars.

3. Diverse cultures & communities – it’s so easy to immerse yourself in any or many of our diverse cultures, you will be warmly welcomed when visiting our cultural villages that will teach you about our traditions and beliefs, lifestyles and origins, you’ll be able to taste local food, visit a sangoma and even stay over in cultural accommodation. Our country has 11 official languages, why not entertain your friends with some Zulu phrases or aim to impress with telling an African story in isiXhosa – that mind-boggling ‘clicking’ language?

4. Volunteering & responsible tourism – South Africa’s leadership in responsible tourism makes it easy to travel with care. Options are plenty when it comes to volunteering projects to get involved with including wildlife rehabilitation centres and sanctuaries, craft initiatives that promote social upliftment and recycling, eco-friendly accommodation, and conservation.

5. Pilgrimage to youth heritage sites – When you go on a Soweto township tour, you will stand on the same street where the student march took place and where many lost their lives. You will visit the world-class Hector Pieterson Museum and memorial. Get to know the story of the Soweto Uprising and its historic context through interactive displays, a must-experience.

Evident in the ETEYA award finalists and winner, Kagiso Lekgobe, dreams dared and pursued can truly change lives and the face of tourism in South Africa. Kagiso first became interested in tourism when in high school he joined an Animal Conservation Club. Today, a qualified adventure sports instructor, he teaches and motivates young people to enter the adventure tourism sector. It is people like him who will realise South Africa’s dream to create 225,000 new tourism jobs by 2020, as identified in the National Tourism Sector Strategy.

Travellers to South Africa are encouraged to ‘leave ordinary behind’, to truly immerse themselves in the destination through its people and unique experiences, to open themselves to personal transformation and new beginnings, to do things differently. This is the incredible impact of tourism, the person you were leaving home and the one arriving back after your trip are not the same. South Africa has made an indelible impact on your emotional landscape, it’s touched your heart forever.

Our entry into the Golden Book may as well have been written in golden ink.

One of our writers, Chris Marais, drives around in a bakkie (pickup truck) with Karoo Space decals on its flanks. He and his wife Julienne du Toit (another of our scribes) live, eat, breathe (and occasionally drink in) the Karoo. From their home town of Cradock, they venture across the dry land and occasionally head south, to the Little Karoo.

Chris also blogs about South Africa’s culture and heritage, see Places, Faces and Human Traces, where you can join him and Julie as they criss-cross the Karoo – and other parts – on their journeys. The Karoo covers four provinces, 100 settlements and 40% of South Africa’s land surface. 

So, when my trip to Montagu came up, I consulted Chris and we got talking about Montagu and its up-country brother town, Graaff-Reinet, in the Marais neighbourhood. What makes them buzz? What qualities do they share? What are the differences?

Firstly, Montagu is called the ‘Gateway to the Little Karoo’, while Graaff-Reinet bears the title of ‘Gem of the Great Karoo’.

Some say Graaff-Reinet is the ‘most graceful’ country town in South Africa, with its national monuments, heritage buildings and museums. But those who know Montagu will argue that their town has more national monuments in one street than anywhere else in SA. And it’s very, very graceful to boot.

Montagu is surrounded by the fantastically-shaped Cape Fold Mountains, while Graaff-Reinet borders the wide-angle Plains of Camdeboo and is flanked on all sides by a mountainous national park.

Montagu is the dried-fruit capital of South Africa while Graaff-Reinet is famous for its venison and Karoo lamb.
When it comes to heritage overnighting, you can stay in the Montagu Country Inn (built in 1875) or, when in Graaff-Reinet, at The Drostdy, established in 1786 and rebuilt in 1804.

Graaff-Reinet is the fourth-oldest town in SA, founded in 1786 because the rule of law was needed to calm the troublesome northern frontiers. Montagu, snugged into the Cogman’s Kloof, was started up in 1851 as a staging post for travellers heading into the hinterland. Fascinatingly, Montagu once had its own currency and Graaff-Reinet its own president - not bad for two small towns!

Montagu lies on the western border of Route 62, known as ‘the longest wine route in the world’. Graaff-Reinetters once boasted an excellent tequila factory, but nowadays they go to Route 62 for their wines – and they love the journey down to Montagu. But when it gets really cold in the Little Karoo, the locals trek up to Graaff-Reinet for their gorgeous winter woollen slippers and their mohair blankets…

But our artistic inspiration didn’t suddenly flare up in time for the World Cup. South Africa has had a passion for design from pre-historic to modern times.

Draw inspiration from the:
• imposing, but beautifully gabled Cape Dutch homesteads to the progressive eco-architecture found in our urban centres
• Taal Monument to the  enormous Nelson Mandela statue on Nelson Mandela Square
• elegant Bushman paintings to the fantastical Ardmore ceramics
• rustic Karoo windmills to the recycled sardine-tin kitchen clocks
• traditional Ndebele geometric designs to the innovative art of William Kentridge
• golden rhino of ancient Mapungubwe to the golden province’s Gautrain
• Xhosa pipe to the scintillating MyGirl™ diamond cut by Shimansky
• reconciliation labyrinth to the S.A.L.T.
• zebra stripes to the proud Rainbow Nation’s South African flag
• football fan’s colourful makarapa to the non-conformist Stoned Cherrie fashion designs
• Zulu ilala palm baskets to the Zulu Mama chair by Haldane Martin
• Quartz stone tools from the Cradle of Humankind to the exclusive Carrol Boyes kitchen utensils

Of course, if it wasn’t for travelling, you won’t be able to discover the lines and magnificence of the simple and complex treasures in this country, where let’s be real, creativity knows no bounds…

WIN TICKETS: I have 2 tickets for the design highlight of the year, the Design Indaba 2011, so if you’re in Cape Town or will be on opening day 25 February 2011, comment on this blog post and stand a chance of winning these sought-after accessories!

From start to finish it was the most laid-back trip I could have imagined. Green and unspoilt, the Wild Coast’s beauty is extolled in travel magazines, yet it seems to have escaped the typical taints of tourism and was unbelievably uncrowded. Good news for those of us who visit and crave a real break from everything that makes our lives so fast and furious.

Here are the best stops I made on my holiday and some must-do’s on the Jikeleza Route:

Bibo’s – (on the way down the Friendly N6) a fabulous deli stop in Smithfield, refreshing little art village – the new Clarens?

Barons Select (another deli… when you’re self-catering and love good food, imported ingredients… wish Jo’burg had one) – it’s in Hemingways Mall in East London, where you’ll also find the following clothing shops worth visiting: Mbali’s Creations, Earthchild Clothing and YDE; for those who crave gaming, a casino is part of the complex

Glengariff beach – quiet, with lifeguards; great for collecting seashells, surfing and boogie boarding, beautiful dunes too, just keep a look out for bluebottles if you’re barefoot

Cintsa East beach & lagoon – the lagoon was perfect for small kids & dogs as it was only a couple of centimetres deep - but do check water levels before you travel

Tea in the Trees – lovely lunches and creative playground for kids, and on the first Sunday of a month, there is an arts, crafts and home produce market – best find: song-of-ruth for beautifully inspired clothing using shweshwe (traditional Xhosa fabric of German origin) and Venda fabric; Ruth is really special and creates a ‘symphony of colour, fibre and joy while you dance in your uniqueness’; she is inspired ‘to put together textures and designs to create unique dynamics, creations that well up from my deepest feelings’, she’ll also leave you with a handwritten note about the cloths and designs and may even take a picture of you! (When buying shweshwe, make sure you buy the real thing, as is the case with song-of-ruth.)

Cintsa Horses – volunteering to help horses rehabilitate at the New Hampshire Equine Rehabilitation Centre; if you have less time, the organisation runs beach and bush trails in the area, which also contribute to the welfare of the horses and is a great way to experience the Wild Coast

AV8 Helicopters – stunning views of the scenery and coastal forests of the Wild Coast, they also do charters from East London, which allows you to arrive in style at your Wild Coast destination

Umzi Wethu – struggling to find a curio shop (area untainted by tourism, remember), I finally stumbled on this one, which has really nice items, so for those last-minute treasures, check it out (110 Moore Street, Quigney, East London) and be sure to get yourself a little beaded South African flag to pin on your clothes!

There are great-sounding things to do on the Jikeleza Route, some of which I didn’t have time to experience, e.g. Mama Tofu (Xhosa lady in Khaya la Bantu cultural village telling you traditional stories with cultural dances and local food thrown in – luckily nothing to do with tofu…) and a lot of art by appointment, e.g. Kathryn Harmer Fox Studio with her unique fibre art. Don’t bother with the Milking Shed.

P.S. Winners of the MapStudio Dive Atlas are: Mark Stodel, Laurie Leed and Rudie Loots! Congratulations - we will be in contact shortly to send you your complimentary copies, courtesy of MapStudio.