SA Rocks

Cape Town is featured twice in Airbnb’s list of the 40 coolest vacation rentals in the world.

The two places featured were:

A Camps Bay Mansion at $989 per night.

And

A Cape Town Bed and Breakfast at $185 per night.

Brilliant to see Cape Town keeping up its reputation as a very hot tourist hotspot in the world.

There were only 19 countries and 34 cities featured so it’s not a bad achievement!

You can see the entire list over at Airbnb.

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The unique beat of South Africa was felt in last night’s INDABA 2009 opening ceremony, culminating in a message sent around the world that South Africa was ready for the 2010 World Cup – “We are Ready!” was echoed throughout the ICC in Durban. The collective anticipation of the 2010 World Cup exuded passion and exuberance, as the official South African Tourism 2010 TV ad was launched.

After the opening ceremony, the INDABA delegates kicked into party mode at the Beach party on Durban beach. Performers from the Drum Café got the partygoers dancing and even the driving rain couldn’t dampen the festivities.

Global Media Face-off

This morning, Richard Quest – host of CNN’s “Quest Means Business” – opened the Global Media Face-off with the words; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. An accurate description of the excitement of the impending 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM and the effect of the global economic downturn on the South African economy.

These topics were the focus of the session, which featured panelists including Danny Jordaan, FIFA 2010 Local Organising Committee CEO and Monhla Hlahla, Airports Company CEO.

Quest vowed to keep the panel open and transparent telling the media that no topic was off limits. He readied the panelists with some questions of his own and then opened up the floor. The response was enthusiastic and tough questions were asked around the potential security issues, transport readiness and comparisons with the 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM in Germany.

Horst Schmidt, consultant to FIFA and general secretary of the German Football Association described how the World Cup in Germany united the East and West and changed the global perceptions towards the country. He expressed his belief that next year’s event would do the same for South Africa.

Throughout the session, Quest kept true to his word, deftly ensuring the panelists satisfied the media’s questions and concerns. This was made clear when he asked the audience to put up their hands if they believed the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM would be a success – the room was filled with raised hands, whistles and applause.

It is clear that the global media agrees with the words of Carol Manana from last night’s opening ceremony – “It is Africa’s time to shine, Ke Nako!”

Visit the INDABA 2009 blog for more

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The Art of Non-Conformity is a blog run by one man who has set himself the goal of traveling to every country in the world before he turns 35 in 2013.

So far he’s visited over 130 countries but ranks South Africa as one of the best in the world.

You can see the blog post Chris wrote about SA at the Art of Non-Conformity blog. But for the sake of ease let me quote him:

When writing about travel, I try to stay away from stereotypes, positive or negative. Regardless of whether the stereotypes are rooted in fact, using them to exaggerated effect is a sure sign of a novice writer. That said, it’s hard to miss the obvious fact about where I am: South Africans are certainly among the most friendly and hospitable people in the world. This, my friends, is just the way it is.

Chris has written his reasons for starting his project to travel the world, they are varied and plentiful and let’s be honest, who needs a reason to travel the world? Not me. I wish I had his balls and dedication.

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Found this post over at the RoadSafety Blog. Good find and glad they blogged it.

It’s always great to have South Africa recognised as a fantastic place in its entirety. Tourism in SA is set to absolutely boom from this year with the Confederation Cup this year and World Cup next. We are in for big things and can only expect that publicity of our country will grow.

The original article was published on the NYTimes website.

Have a look:

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I was in Cape Town this weekend. I am sorry if I didn’t contact you but I left my Mac at home, didn’t check my mail, didn’t blog and was temporarily technophobic for four days.

Camps bay at beach bar
Cape Town is a city that has the right idea. I obviously say this as a Jo’burg local, but I appreciate the mountain, I appreciate the view and I appreciate the beachfront and being at the tip of Africa. Many CT locals forget where they are but I was well aware of it.

I really did do too many things to actually mention in depth but here is a quick rundown of where I was, what I saw and what I loved:

Friday we did the Claremont jol vibe, Tiger Tiger – What a hole – was packed and pumping but I am not a fan of that place. Rondebosch is central, suburban with a view of the mountain. Oh, speaking of the mountain let me just mention something to all you local Cape Tonians; EVERYONE CAN SEE THE MOUNTAIN, there is no need to point it out.

Saturday we toured the coast. Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek, Simmons Town and everywhere along and in between. Chapman’s Peak was closed due to rock falls so we had to skip Hout Bay due to extra time to get there. Dinner at the V & A Waterfront is festive but well overpriced so think twice about that.

V&A Waterfront

Sunday was spent driving the wine route of Stellenbosch. We eventually settled at Spier for out “tasting” that never actually happened. We had Lunch at Moyo on the wine farm and never recovered. Three course (or more) meal with wine, great service, African ethos, vibe, feel, setting, architecture, layout and more. Absolutely beautiful.

Sunday night we parked our bums at the Opium Beach Bar in Camps Bay and didn’t actually move from there. Stunning sun set, fantastic company and even better cocktails ended off our evening and weekend.

Long street in Cape Town central was our final destination that unfortunately dissapointed. But nonetheless if you are a tourists it is worth the walk up a long and steep hill-type street.

Cape Town is amazing and the thing I love the most is the option available to you as a person. You can choose to be a workaholic, a surfaholic or balanced person who works hard, plays hard and lives well. Jo’burg is Jo’burg on any day of the week but Cape Town can be so many different things, places, people, experiences and mind-sets.

If you haven’t lived in Cape Town (I haven’t) then I suggest that you add it to your list of things to do before you die.

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