Tag Archives: Japan

South Africa voted Best Holiday Destination in the World by The Telegraph Readers 2023

South Africa has been voted as the Best Holiday Destination in the world in 2023 by The Telegraph readers. Our country has moved up the ladder gradually, having made third rank in 2017, second place in 2018, and now top of the pops in 2023.

The Top 5 ranked Holiday Destinations in 2023 are the following:

1. South Africa

2. New Zealand

3. Maldives

4. Japan

5. Australia.

Italy, Kenya, India, and Costa Rica follow in the footsteps of the Top 5.

It is evident from the motivation for South Africa’s number one ranking that it is Cape Town and the Cape which largely contributes to our country’s holiday destination attractiveness, with the mention of Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Garden Route, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.

‘Your reward for 12 hours in the air is a place of true beauty – Cape Town is the super model at the foot of Table Mountain, the Garden Route a ribbon of road-trip nirvana, the wineries of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch crafting fine vintages ….’

Johannesburg, the Drakensberg range, Motlatse Canyon, and Kruger National Park, all located in other parts of our country, are also mentioned in the motivation.

Overall the availability of direct flights between the UK and Cape Town and Johannesburg in almost identical time zones means that visitors do not experience jet lag when travelling to our country. Whilst not mentioned, the favourable exchange rate of the Rand to the Pound must be an added incentive for UK holiday makers.

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog

Tel +27 082 55 11 323

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Rare Grill hosts Woodview Wagyu Beef Tasting, paired with Boekenhoutskloof wines!

 

On Thursday I attended a Woodview Wagyu Beef Tasting at Rare Grill, invited by its owner Chef Greg Bax, accompanied by my friend Gary Peterson. The different Wagyu meat cuts were paired with a number of Boekenhoutskloof wines. Continue reading →

Restaurant Mosaic in Pretoria ranked in 2020 Top 200 Restaurant La Liste, top ranked SA restaurant!

Chef Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient outside Pretoria Facebooked her good news of making the 2020 Top 200 in the La Liste ranking of the 1000 top-mentioned restaurants in the world. Her restaurant was ranked around number 110 on this list, the joint highest ranked South African restaurant with The Yest Kitchen with a score of 94%. Four top restaurants, two of them from Tokyo, shared the number one ranking this year.  Continue reading →

The Eat and Meat of a Michelin Restaurant Inspector! A star job, eating out 275 times a year?

The local JHP Gourmet Guide once again tried to link itself to the Michelin star rating of our local restaurants, by awarding top local restaurants one, two, and three plate accolades, as if they are equivalent to Michelin one, two, and three stars. I have been critical of this exaggerated and dishonest link by Jenny Handley and her Gourmet Guide Awards, especially as I know how the restaurant visits are done by her. (See the Blogpost link at the end of this article). A recent Forbes article ‘The Secret Life of an Anonymous Michelin Restaurant Inspector’ therefore attracted my attention, and I summarise it below, so that I could double check my view on this. Continue reading →