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SouthAfrica posts
Video of the day: flying rhinos in South Africa
Dec 28th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
Flying Rhinos from Green Renaissance on Vimeo.
Flying rhinos aren't something you see everyday--not even in South Africa, where 19 of these endangered rhinos have recently been moved from the Eastern Cape to a conservation location in the province of Limpopo. Still relatively new, an airlift capture technique was used to transport black rhinos out of inaccessible or difficult locations. ...
Zimbabwe has mixed success stopping rhino poaching
Dec 6th, 2011 at 10:30AM:
Zimbabwe has seen an increase in rhino poaching this year, the government newspaper The Herald reports.
At least 23 of the 700 or so black and white rhinos in the country were poached this year, but authorities managed to arrest 37 poachers and horn dealers. Rhino horns are popular for folk medicine, especially in Asia where they fetch high prices. One tactic of the poachers is to poison ...5 train trips everyone should experience
Oct 29th, 2011 at 10:00AM: While some train routes can seem long and boring, there are many that allow for great views of unique landscape or luxury service. Still, there are some train rides that go above and beyond your wildest imagination. Check out these five train trips that everyone should experience in their lifetime.
The Blue Train
South Africa
The Blue Train travels approximately 1,000 miles between Pretoria ...Video: South African biker saves calf from drowning
Oct 24th, 2011 at 3:30PM: This guy must be related to MacGyver. While participating in the qualification trials for the Amageza Run, South African motorcyclist Johan Gray didn't think twice about stopping to save a baby calf who had gotten separated from the herd and fallen into a canal. While it took him a few tries, Gray was able to use his ingenuity to save the animal and bring him home. Thankfully, he was able to ...
5 best fast food chains around the world
Oct 14th, 2011 at 1:00PM: While fast food often gets a bad rep, you can't expect to eat all of your meals sitting in down in slow food restaurants. And, when traveling abroad, you will sometimes find that fast food doesn't always necessarily mean greasy fries and fattening burgers. Travelers can make their quick dining experiences worthwhile by visiting these five delicious and budget-friendly fast food restaurants, ...Mountain biker vs. antelope in South Africa
Oct 10th, 2011 at 6:15PM:
Mountain biker Evan van der Spuy earned a new nickname this weekend and it already has a trending hashtag on Twitter (#BUCKNORRIS).
Van der Spuy, a Team Jeep South Africa rider, was competing in the Time Freight MTB Express at Albert Falls Dam. Out of nowhere a red hartebeest decided to cross paths with Van der Spuy and Travis Walker, who captured the whole thing on a mounted GoPro.
So, ...
Baboon raider put to death in South Africa
Mar 26th, 2011 at 12:30PM:
He was known to his countrymen simply as Fred. The famous baboon's hobbies included car burglary, stealing fruits, harassing humans, and sunning on a gorgeous stretch of a South African road around Millers Point.
This week, South African authorities decided Fred's behavior was excessively aggressive, and put him down. While numerous activist groups such as Baboon Matters and the Nature ...Ten great hotel bars to see and be "scene"
Mar 4th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Craving insider access to the latest celeb hot spots? We've got the skinny on the latest "it" venues brimming with notables, views to die for and parties you just can't miss. With venues such as these we advise you to tread carefully, for your name may be the next to end up splattered across the front page of Page Six... don't say we didn't warn you.
Thompson Toronto
Bringing guests ...Photo of the Day - Tour d'Afrique
Jan 18th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
The 2011 Tour d'Afrique is officially underway! Just three days ago, more than 120 cyclists set off from Cairo, Egypt on a four month, 7,375 mile race across the world's most exotic and alluring continent. The competitors will pedal through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia before aiming to arrive in Cape Town, South Africa on May 14th.
If you ...Shootouts kill five rhino poachers in South Africa
Jan 16th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Five rhino poachers were killed in two shootouts with South African police this week, the BBC reports. Three were killed in Kruger National Park, one of the most popular game reserves for safaris in South Africa. Two others were killed near the border with Mozambique. Poachers often cross borders in an attempt to evade the law.
Two rhino horns were found among the poachers' belongings.
...Daily Pampering: The Nelson Mandela Platinum Suite in South Africa
Nov 10th, 2010 at 4:00PM: When you're one of the most revered men in the world, your own suite at one of the top luxury hotels in the world is just part of the package that comes along with being you. In the spirit of sharing and world peace, however, this particular suite named after Nelson Mandela is available to the general public.
The intimate Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas & Spa, located in Johannesburg, South ...Reflections on a round-the-world journey
Oct 25th, 2010 at 9:30AM:
Several nights into our journey, as we were speeding along dark roads en route to our guest house on the island of Lifou in New Caledonia, I felt a bolt of irrepressible excitement of the sort familiar, no doubt, to most travel enthusiasts. We'd just spent several nights in big, bold Sydney, a bona fide world city, well-organized and self-evident. Sydney was exciting, but, truth be told, not ...Round-the-world: Long layover in Johannesburg
Oct 6th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
A journey from Melbourne to Mauritius on Qantas and its oneworld partners is no straight shot. It requires a very early morning flight to Sydney, a long 14-hour jaunt to Johannesburg, and then a flight on to Mauritius. It's over 11,000 kilometers (almost 7000 miles) from Sydney to Johannesburg, 14 long hours by plane. During the very long haul flight, cloud cover limits views of the polar ...How to take a round-the-world trip
Sep 10th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
An open-ended round-the-world trip can be led by whimsy and happenstance and benefit accordingly from extremely loose planning. A more structured, time-limited round-the-world trip necessitates figuring out transportation in advance. With five weeks to play with, we fell into the latter camp.
I emailed AirTreks in the spring and dutifully submitted an itinerary through their global map ...A round-the-world trip: Where?
Sep 8th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
Once I'd dispensed with my unrestricted fantasies of scurrying from seldom-visited corner to seldom-visited corner (see Monday's post) we got down to the essentials of figuring out where we wanted to go.
The Micronesian islands of Palau and Yap were our first priorities. Both destinations had been on our radar for years. Palau with its faintly stinging marine lake jellyfish and the ...CheapOair, Lonely Planet and South African Airways team up for Twitter contest
Aug 20th, 2010 at 9:25AM:
Online travel firm CheapOair has joined forces with Lonely Planet and South African Airways to host a Twitter based contest.
Between now and August 30, they'll give away one Lonely Planet South Africa guidebook every day - and at the end of the contest, the winners will be entered into a random drawing for two round trip tickets to South Africa.
Entering is simple - every day, the ...GadlingTV's Travel Talk - Austin Mann @ the World Cup (part 2)
Aug 9th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
GadlingTV's Travel Talk, episode 26 – Click above to watch video after the jump
Are you ready for some (ahem) football? In part two of travel photographer Austin Mann's trip to the 2010 World Cup, we bring you a look at the intensity and passion of the world's biggest sporting event.
Watch as Austin navigates his way through the games and experiences how far people will go to show ...GadlingTV's Travel Talk - Austin Mann @ the World Cup (part 1)
Aug 5th, 2010 at 9:00AM:
GadlingTV's Travel Talk, episode 26 – Click above to watch video after the jump
For everyone out there that wanted to make the trek to South Africa's 2010 World Cup, but couldn't - we have a fun series of segments this week.
A few days before the games began, a good friend of mine, travel photographer Austin Mann told me that he was booking a last minute flight to South Africa to ...Hotel staffers sentenced to prison for stealing World Cup souvenirs
Jun 28th, 2010 at 6:00PM: There's the exciting side of sports and there's the crazy side of sports, and sometimes, crazy just goes too far.
According to reports from South Africa, the cleaning staff of an unidentified luxury hotel were sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty for stealing World Cup 2010 souvenirs.
The "souvenirs" included World Cup soccer shirts, a medal and even players' underwear ...Photo of the Day (6.22.10)
Jun 22nd, 2010 at 6:30PM:
No matter how remote your current location, it's a pretty safe bet that you've seen some trace of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa over the past 10 days. This humbling shot comes from travel photographer Austin Mann - taken at the Spain v. Switzerland game at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium is capable of seating nearly 63,000 fans and features a support arch ...
