Tag Archives: House of Mandela

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12/13 April

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Forbes has published a wonderful article by Fathom travel website about Cape Town and the Winelands, describing it as a ‘mix of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Napa Valley – with a little Bilbao thrown in‘.  It recommends Table Mountain, penguins at ‘Boulder Bay’ (sic) ‘Beach‘, ‘design-centric’ shopping at Cape Quarter, Lion’s Head, Robben Island, ‘Victoria and Albert (sic) Waterfront‘, a township tour, Simonstown, Surf Shack in Muizenberg, Delaire Graff Restaurant, and Babylonstoren.  For shopping O.live, Nap, Merchants on Long, Monkey Biz, and African Nova are recommended.  Restaurant recommendations include Harbour House, Live Bait, Grand Café on the Beach, Bungalow, Bistro Sixteen82, The Greenhouse, The Test Kitchen, and The Round House.

*   Henco J (his surname is not revealed) from Pretoria is one of three winners of the Jameson First Shot awards, an annual opportunity to have a short film produced given to a resident of South Africa, Russia, and the USA by Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey.  The three winners will have their film produced in Los Angeles later this year, with actress Uma Thurman in the lead role in each.  Henco’s script is called ‘The Mundane Goddess’, and tells the story of Hera, the queen of Greek gods.

*   Palm Beach Illustrated writes with praise about South African wines, in an article entitled ‘South Africa Rising: Wine and Vineyard Renaissance’, and how these combine old-world tradition with cutting-edge techniques.  The article features Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 20 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Comair has placed an order for 8 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, to the value of $830 million, and the first such order from an African airline.

*   The City of Cape Town has launched a large scale Substance Abuse campaign, to address one of the City’s most severe problems, and to communicate that Drugs are every Capetonian’s problem.  Radio, tabloids, and billboards/bus stops are to be used for the campaign.  It affects family lives, and can lead to crime and gangsterism. The Anti-Drug advertising campaign uses spokespersons Ian Bredenkamp of Kfm, former rugby player Chester Williams, dancer Mamela Nyamza, and Mayor Patricia de Lille.  Each of the campaign endorsers says in the advertisements: ‘My name is …… and I have a drug problem. I don’t use them, but they still affect me. If you have a drug problem or know someone that needs help, call now: 24HR helpline: 0800 435748’.

*   Camps Bay is the 24th most popular beach in the world, according to TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2014, with Clifton, Boulder’s Beach in Simonstown, Blouberg, Grotto Beach in Hermanus, Buffalo Bay in Knysna, and Brenton-on-Sea in Knysna also performing well on the top Africa beach list.

*   The House of Mandela, established by the late Nelson Mandela’s daughter Makwizi and granddaughter  Tukwini, has launched its Thembu Collection of wines in The Netherlands, using that country as a springboard into the European market.  Their winemaker is Erlank Erasmus, and they only use grapes from Fairtrade certified wine estates.

*   Grande Provence is introducing the Gourmand Food & Wine Experience in its wine cellar, an 8 course meal prepared for 8 guests Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Traveling should be easier, and barriers to entry by tourists should be reduced.  E-passports have been proposed for 2020, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said when he addressed the e-Tourism Africa Summit in Cape Town earlier this week.  ‘We need to address the present outdated system of always having to go to Embassies, filling in forms and standing in queues. In a few years times this will be non-existent’, Van Schalkwyk said.  He also highlighted that industry taxes should be regulated, to make travel more viable and accessible.

*   Cape Town blogger Kamini Pather wins MasterChef SA Season 2, against tight competition from Leandri van der Wat !

*   Travel by young persons has decreased dramatically in the past six years, from 75% in 2007 to 47% currently, to focus on improving their CVs, a study by the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation has found.

*   Col’Cacchio has introduced a Mobi-friendly Loyalty program, offering R20 Continue reading →