Tag Archives: Uganda

UK removes South Africa from its Red List, with 46 other countries, opens the door to SA Tourism

 

The best news in 18 months of the Corona Lockdown broke today, with the UK announcing that it will remove South Africa and 46 other countries from its Red List as of Monday 11 October. Only seven countries will remain on the UK Red List on Monday: Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Vaccinated Visitors may enter the UK on the same conditions as those of UK residents, but may not have travelled in a Red List country in the ten days before arriving in the UK.  South Africa has been on the Red List since December 2020.

A further positive step is that South Africans’ proof of vaccination will be accepted by the UK.   South African travellers will have to show the results of a Covid Test. No hotel quarantine will be required from Monday onwards, a costly affair for travellers to the UK, having to stay in  prescribed quarantine hotels at a cost of close to R50000.

Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 30 April

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   A new internationally recognised independent beer tasting competition for our country has been announced, organised by the same team that runs The South African Wine Tasting Championships.  The South African National Beer Trophy will be awarded to winners in various categories, brands to be entered by breweries, micro-breweries, and home brewers. No ciders or meads can be entered.  Entered beers will be blind tasted by a panel in July. Entries open on 1 June. (received via media release from the SA National Beer Trophy)

*   In a joint bid by various bodies in Cape Town and Uganda, the World Conference on Tobacco or Health will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in March 2018, with an expected attendance of 3000 Continue reading →

Fantastic Fantinel Italian wines now in SA, good pairing with Mondiall menu!

Fabtinel branding Whale CottageYesterday we went Italian at worldly Mondiall, enjoying nine very fine and fantastic Fantinel wines, with a broad spectrum of Prosecco, light white wines, and rich earthy red wines, introduced by Dr Marco Fantinel, President of Gruppo Vinicolo Fantinel. The company is adding South Africa to its list of elite distribution points.Fantinel DR Marco Fantinel Whale Cottage

We were served a glass of Fantinel Prosecco Extra Dry as the welcome drink, and served canapés of ceviche on sesame crisps, as well as pork belly.  The pork belly canapés appeared just as we were going upstairs for the tasting, and were finished before I could photograph them!

Dr Fantinel traced the development of the company back to his grandfather Mario Fantinel, a hotelier and retaurateur in Fruili, in Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 11 February

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   While Africa has 15% of the world’s population, it only receives 3% of the world’s tourists, says a report of the inaugural African Tourism Monitor, prepared by the African Development Bank, Africa Travel Association, and Africa House at NYU.  The report found a weakness in transport infrastructure on the continent, requiring better airline connections and better roads and railways required, as well as open borders, and more marketing to adventure and eco travellers.

*   The District Six Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a year-long program, reports The Cape Towner, which includes the annual memorial walk.

*   Flights between OR Thambo, Cape Town, and Plettenberg Bay will take off from 28 March onwards, operated by CemAir and flying on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

*   Graham Beck is a proud MCC sponsor of Cape Town hosting the World Design Capital 2014, saying it will add ‘sparkle to the international design community and to Cape Town itself’.  Its sponsorship Continue reading →