29 January 2010

great book: "Eleven - Making lives better: 11 stories of development through football" by Steve Fleming

Focused on eleven individuals Eleven contains stories of how football can transform the lives of disadvantaged people around the world. Each story focuses on a different social issue from drug and alcohol abuse to HIV, poverty and gang crime, and looks at how the power and popularity of football has inspired people to turn their lives around.
Based on the work of organisations from countries such as India, Uganda, Colombia and the UK, the stories also tell how the Development through Football movement has emerged over the last ten years.
With a foreword by England coach Fabio Capello, who speaks of his own experience of football being used to tackle HIV in Africa. He champions the book's message that football has a role and a duty to do more in promoting social development. The book is co-edited by streetfootballworld, who are partnered with FIFA to run the Football for Hope programme, and who will be promoting the book in the run up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Supported by adidas as part of their ongoing and long-term commitment to Development through Football. [src.]
get the "Eleven" in the
TravelComments.com eShop >>

Namibian border closed to overland tours

Tourismupdate.co.za is reporting that all Namibian border posts are currently closed for overland tours as drivers are not being issued with temporary work permits to travel into the country.
A statement from the Namibian Tourism Authority is expected anytime soon. We'll keep you posted!

UPDATE: borders are open again for overlanders "
Access into and departure from Namibia will be allowed to all foreign guides and drivers with or without valid work visas for the time being."

28 January 2010

11 day Kruger National Park & Okavango Delta Tour

The 11 day Kruger National Park & Okavango Delta tour is starting every Saturday from Johannesburg & Pretoria (and Nelspruit). First highlight along the way is the famous Panoramic Route, where we stop at God's Window, Bourke Luck Potholes and the third largest canyon in the world - the Blyde River Canyon (stop at the famous Three Rondawels view point).


Early next morning we are driving towards the Kruger National Park, where we are spending the next two nights. Our stay in the park is including morning & night drives as well as drives during the day. In the end you spend the majority of the days in the park in our open safari vehicles. Next stops after leaving Kruger National Park are Hartbeesport in South Africa and Nata in Botswana, before we are reaching Maun on the edge of the Okavango Delta on day six of the 11 day tour. The days seven, eight and nine are entirely spend in the Delta, before the tour is heading to Nata on day 10 of the the tour. On the 11th and last day the tour is going back to South Africa. The tour guide will drop all guests at any backpackers hostel, hotel, guest house or the airport in Johannesburg & Pretoria.

Included are:
  • All transport
  • All accommodation
  • Qualified and registered guide
  • All camping and other equipment
  • Meals as specified below
  • Blyde River Canyon (Three Rondawels view point)
  • Bourke Luck Potholes
  • God's Window
  • Entrance & conservation fees to Kruger national park
  • Game drives in Kruger national park (open vehicles)
  • Night drive inside Kruger National Park
  • Entrance & conservation fees to Okavango Delta
  • Open vehicle transfers into & out of Okavango Delta
  • Dug out canoes (mokoros) in the Okavango Delta
  • Local guides in the Okavango Delta
  • Game walks inside the Okavango Delta
Price per person (Valid until 31 December 2010):
Camping: R12 200 | Bedded accommodation & Camping: R 12 950

great book: "A City Imagined: Cape Town and the Meanings of a Place"

If you love Cape Town "A City Imagined: Cape Town and the Meanings of a Place" is one of the books you should read!


Editor Stephen Watson has asked a number of South Africa's writers to produce a piece of writing in which they express their relationship to Cape Town and, above all, their sense of the unique genius or spirit of this city. The range of voices is wide, the angles of vision many, the results always surprising. What emerges from A city imagined is a composite portrait of Cape Town which is infinitely more various, heterogeneous, complex even in its beauty, than that to be found in the standard treatments of the place. [src.]
get the book in the
TravelComments.com eShop >>

27 January 2010

2010 World Cup - Ticket sales updates...

  • after three out of five ticket sales phases, two-thirds of the available tickets have been sold (around two million tickets)
  • 1,206,865 ticket applications were received from 192 countries in the 3rd sales phase
  • 79% of the total applications received (958,381) in the 3rd phase were made by South Africans
  • ticket applications from the US in the 3rd ticket sales phase: 50,217 tickets
  • from the UK 41,529 tickets
  • from Australia 15,523 tickets
  • from Germany 14,647 tickets
  • from Brazil 10,767 tickets
  • South Africa's neighbors are showing some interest in the 2010 World Cup now as well. Football fans from Botswana applied for 2,519 tickets, followed by Mozambique (1,795) and Namibia (1,191)
  • Six matches are currently oversubscribed (in all categories), among them the semi-finals and the final. In total, 55 matches are oversubscribed in at least one category.

26 January 2010

7 day tour to the Okavango Delta in Botswana

The 7 day Okavango Delta tour is starting every Wednesday from Johannesburg and Pretoria to the world famous Okavango Delta. First overnight stop along the way is Nata in Botswana. After a healthy breakfast the tour is getting continued by driving west along the northern border of the Kalahari Desert to Maun, a small town on the edge of the Okavango Delta.



The days three, four and five are entirely spend in the Delta, before the tour is heading to Palapye on day six of the the tour. On the 7th and last day the tour is going back to South Africa. The tour guide will drop all guests at any backpackers hostel, hotel, guest house or the airport in Johannesburg & Pretoria.

Included in the tour:
· All transport
· All accommodation
· Qualified and registered guide
· All camping and other equipment
· Meals as specified below
· Entrance & conservation fees to Okavango Delta
· Open vehicle transfers into & out of Okavango Delta
· Dug out canoes (mokoros) in the Okavango Delta
· Local guides in the Okavango Delta
· Game walks inside the Okavango Delta

Cape Town's "The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre" voted 3rd best hostel in Africa

Hostelworld's 8th annual Hoscar (HOStelworld Customer Annual Ratings) awards ceremony took place at the 26. Jan 2010 to recognize the best hostels in the world, voted for by 1 million Hostelworld.com customers in 2009.
The overall winner of the night was the Travellers House, a backpackers in Lisbon, Portugal.
Cape Town's famous"The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre" was voted the 3rd best hostel/backpackers in Africa by the customers of Hostelword.com.

Top 10 Worldwide Hostels:
1. Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
2. Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
3. Living Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
4. Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
5. Carpe Noctem, Budapest, Hungary
6. The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
7. Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
8. Greg & Tom Hostel, Krakow, Poland
9. The Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel, Riga, Latvia
10. Lisboa Central Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal

Top 3 hostels in Africa:
1. Dahab Dorms, Dahab, Egypt
2. Riad Massine II, Marrakech, Morocco
3. The Backpack & Africa Travel Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

Movies not to be missed: Skin (2008)



Skin
is one of the most moving stories to emerge from apartheid South Africa: Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their ‘white’ little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world - and triumphs against all odds. [src.]

The film got released 2008 in Canada & the US, in 2009 all over Europe and premiered in South Africa at the 22. Jan 2010. The DVD of the movie is already out in the UK and can be bought on amazon.co.uk. Judith Stein's book "When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race" about Sandra Laing's life can be bought from the TravelComments.com eShop.

SANParks: online booking system down for min 24hrs

The SANParks online booking system will be offline from 18:00 (6:00 pm) at the 26 January 2010 for at least 24 hours to allow for maintenance work to be done.

25 January 2010

Kumuka's "Pride of Africa" tour: safe up to 500€

Gorillas in the rainforest, flamingos on a soda lake, an abundance of wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater, maybe a migration through the Masai Mara and wildlife galore in the Okavango Delta. This tour offers a huge variety of game viewing and changing landscapes. Add to this the exotic island of Zanzibar, the beaches of Malawi and the phenomenal Victoria Falls.

Start: Nairobi
Finish: Johannesburg
Duration: 49 days
Cost: €3,350 [tours in April, May, June, July 2010 etc from
€2,848!!!]
Countries Visited: Kenya - Uganda - Tanzania - Malawi - Zambia - Zimbabwe - Botswana - South Africa
Maximum Group Size: 20
Age Range: 18-55 years

The very South African official 2010 World Cup fan guide...

You can find this uniquely South African 2010 World Cup fan guide on the government's official World Cup website www.sa2010.gov.za.

The guide is getting described as follows:
"This simple guide is aimed at ensuring that your experience of the 2010 Fifa World Cup is safe, secure and unforgettable. Let’s keep the beautiful game, beautiful." Well, have a look yourself ;-)

2010 World Cup in South Africa Overland Tours

Become a local football fan while exploring all the highlights of this exhilarating country. Grab a Vuvusela and make some local friends at World Cup events, screening areas and fan parks. Experience Football World Cup fever in South Africa's major Cities. This diverse travelling experience stretches from coastal towns with beaches, whales and water sports, to mountainous terrains with forests and hiking trails and National Parks that are home to the Big 5 and other wildlife.

Pretoria to Cape Town World Cup Overland
Pretoria to Cape Town in 24 days
Duration: 15 June - 08 July 2010
Day 1-2 Pretoria
Match: 16 June 2010 20:30 South Africa vs. Uruguay
Day 3-4 Nelspruit Area/Kruger National Park
Day 5-6 Kingdom of Swaziland/Zululand
Day 7-8 Durban
Match: 22 June 2010 20:30 Nigeria vs. Korea Republic
Day 9-10 Drakensberg
Day 11-12 Bloemfontein
Match: 25 June 2010 20:30 Switzerland vs. Honduras
Day 13-14 Mountain Zebra National Park/Addo Elephant National Park
Day 15-16 Port Elizabeth
Day 17-18 Tsisikamma National Park
Day 19-21 Mossel Bay/Hermanus
Day 22-24 Cape Town
Match: 06 July 2010 20:30 Semi final 1

The Pretoria to Cape Town World Cup Overland tour combines our Pretoria to Durban World Cup Overland (8 days, 15 June - 22 June 2010), Durban to Port Elizabeth World Cup Overland (8 days, 23 June - 30 June 2010) and Port Elizabeth to Cape Town World Cup Overland (8 days, 01 July - 08 July 2010). All three tours can be booked separately!

UK residents: Win an amazing five star trip to South Africa with telegraph.co.uk

The UK daily "The Daily Telegraph" is giving away a trip to South Africa including:
- Return flights to Cape Town
- Car hire
- Two nights accommodation in Cape Town
- Two nights accommodation at the Grand Roche, including the Feast at Bosemans
- Two nights at Sanbona Game Reserve

All you need to do is to visit telegraph.co.uk/mysouthafricanfeast and to click on "Win a trip to South Africa". Fill in the form & you are in! All entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The prize draw is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland aged 18 years or over.

Garden Route National Park: Temporary closure of Island Lake

The Island Lake at the Wilderness Section of the Garden Route National Park (GRNP) will be temporarily closed as from the 01 Feb till 31 March 2010 due to the extension of current ablution facilities and construction of undercover picnic and braai areas.


View Untitled in a larger map

All picnic areas will be inaccessible during the construction. The first section will be open to those who wish to access the lake for boating purposes. [src.: sanparks.com]

21 January 2010

Namibia: "The Namib Desert Coast" (2009)

"The Namib Desert Coast" is a documentary film of 25 minutes about the Namibian coast produced for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism - Namibian Coast Conservation and Management (NACOMA) project by Francois Odendaal Productions (2009).



The film was cut in 3 parts:
Part 1: Introduction to the Namibian coastal areas
Part 2: Coastal natural processes and biodiversity
Part 3: Activities, threats and potentials on the Namibian coast and way forward.

Zanzibar: all Tuesday flights between March and April 2010 have been cancelled.

Zanzibar's international Kisauni Airport (ZNZ) is undergoing some maintainance work and therefore the airport's runway will be closed every Tuesday between March and April 2010.


View Larger Map

Zanzibar Airport will be closed from 07h00 to 19h00 on these days.
The airport is currently served from all major East African airports (such as Kilimanjaro Airport, Nairobi Airport, Arusha Airport, Mombasa airport and Dar es Salaam Airport), from South Africa's OR Tambo International Airport and from some European airports.

Backpackers in South Africa: Purple Palms Flashpackers and Travel Lodge in Johannesburg

Purple Palms Flashpackers and Travel Lodge offers free airport transport to and from O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, free internet use and is your best value for money budget lodge. We are a self catering Backpackers lodge just 10 minutes from the airport. Your free airport pick up is arranged door to door.
Lay back and relax after that long haul flight in our exquisite rooms or our lush green garden. Our place is spotlessly clean and well equipped.
Enjoy our en-suite private rooms, the cozy dorm, and the ample ground around the gardens or sit on our veranda.
Rooms have safe boxes, bedding and towels are provided. Our private rooms consist of double en suite, twin en suite family and friend en suites and a 3 bed dorm room. Single rates are available. Most rooms have TV's lots of packing space and have Safe boxes and heaters.
We have a laundry service on request.



The Facilities
In doors we have a TV room and DVD player, SAT TV and a fully equipped kitchen. Public phone incase you have left your mobile behind.
There is FREE internet in our recreational room and place to play board games. We have travel info there and even more on our sister site www.TravelComments.com.
Out doors chill by the thatched bar, play a game of pool, listen to music, read a book or splash around or drink a cold beer in our pool.
We have an outside fire at night and a bit of a laugh as well.
Ample secure parking for your airport car hires.
The Lodge is very clean and is always kept in a high state of good maintenance.
We are a Baz Bus stop.
We drop off to airport for small fee.
Our location is perfect for the jet hopper.
Tour companies use us as a pick up and drop off point.
There is a pub across the road for those intrepid explorers who favor a local chat and a beer. Shops are only 200 meters away and a mall1km.
We offer transport to and from places of interest for a small fee.
The area is safe for walk about.

Tours
We offer a wide range of tours, overlanders and safaris, car hire and day tours at recommended prices. We can give special agent discounts. Please see www.TravelComments.com for more info or enquire with us.
Please see Hostel conditions when booking for more info.

We always try our best to help clients, so please do not hesitate to ask about anything you may have on your mind. Please help us with a good Hostel review. I can assure you the staff will be delighted.
Have a great stay and enjoy your holidays!

20 January 2010

domestic flights in South Africa: stricter hand luggage restrictions

ACSA (Airports Company South Africa) just announced that from today stricter hand luggage restrictions are coming into effect at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport.

Economy class passengers:
one bag only (plus one laptop)
max. size: 56cm by 36cm by 23cm
weight: max 7kg

Business class passengers:
two bags (plus one laptop)
max. size: 56cm by 36cm by 23cm
weight: max 7kg/item

Cape Town International Airport and Durban International Airport will implement the stricter regulations from 06 Feb 2010.

19 January 2010

SANParks: Road closure for Nature's Valley visitors during January - May 2010

There will be a road closure of the R102, eastern approach towards Garden Route National Park’s (GRNP’s) Nature’s Valley from 13 Jan 2010 to 31 May 2010.

The road will be closed at two locations (click here for a map):
  • Between the Tsitsikamma Camp site/Car park and the Groot River Bridge (appr. co-ordinates S 33 58.140 E 23 33.599).
  • At the viewing point 3.5km from Nature’s Valley at the top of the eastern side of the Groot River Pass (appr. co-ordinates S33 57.610 E 23 33.881).
  • Temporary road signs will erected at R 102 turn-off from the Toll gate at the N2 and at the bottom by Nature’s Valley turn-off of the R102.

website selling special 2010 World Cup protection vests...

While reading today's news headlines I came across the website protektorvest.com - an online shop for protection vests specially made to be used during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.


Priced at $69 you can design your own vest - you can place a badge of the flag of your team right in middle of the vest. Great, isn't it. You can alternatively add a "free hugs" or "Olè" badge to it. Even better, hey.
Well, I first thought that the website is kinda joke and everyone is taking it too serious, but havin a facebook fanpage and a twitter account (tweets look like serious ones...) it doesn't seem to be one. Anyway, I am not too sure about it. I still hope its a joke.



UPDATE: The website is actually no joke. See buanews.gov.za article "2010 stab-proof vests 'opportunistic business'".

18 January 2010

2010 World Cup: base camps of the teams

Not all of the 32 national teams qualified for the 2010 World Cup confirmed their headquarters so far, but some of the countries have already decided where they are going to stay: (list complete now - click here!)

"A Game Apart: The Real Story Behind the World Cup in South Africa" by Neal Collins

Browsing through the internet I just came across Neal Collins' 2010 World Cup inspired book "A Game Apart". The author is a London based sports journalist who grew up in South Africa. The fictional book is based on what he witnessed as a student, footballer and very junior sports journalist in South Africa from 1979 to 1985. The description of the book on amazon sounds really interesting to me.

"The greatest football tournament on earth will take place in Africa for the first time next year, with the World Cup kicking off in Johannesburg on June 11. A GAME APART tries to explain just how miraculous that simple fact is.
Based largely on what I witnessed myself as a student, footballer and sports journalist, this is an honest - but fictional - account of what it was like to play football in South Africa before democracy came rolling in with Nelson Mandela in 1993.There was trouble on the pitch, trouble on the streets, trouble on the beaches. Apartheid and trouble went hand in hand. A lot of the publicity surrounding the upcoming World Cup has been negative, with the focus on crime and corruption. My perception is very different. I believe the country has changed massively for the better in 16 short years. I've waited all that time to let my memories loose, and the World Cup seems an appropriate time to write a novel that, I hope, will help people to remember exactly what the Rainbow Nation has been through. This novel will annoy some, please others. All I ask is that the reader recognizes this is how a young Englishman might have viewed the South Africa I grew up in. A strange but beautiful country riven by cruelty and mistrust and headed for a bloody revolution . . . until the release of Mandela in 1990. For those who visit the country, for those who view it on a television screen, for those who read about it in the newspapers, I hope to offer some perspective. Apartheid should never be forgotten. Otherwise somebody will repeat the process. And that must never be allowed to happen." (Product Description from amazon.com)

17 January 2010

K'Naan's "Wavin Flag" is the official anthem of Coca-Cola's 2010 FIFA World Cup program.

The track "Wavin' Flag: The Celebration Mix" is a remixed version of "Wavin' Flag", which appeared on K'Naan's album "Troubadour". The Song will be used as the main music element throughout the entire 2010 World Cup golbal campaign of Coca Cola.
The official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem will be recorded and performed by R&B artist Akon, who will, according to him, also be the "musical director" of the whole World Cup...


for a "live" version of the song click here!

btw - both artists, K'Naan & Akon, are acutally Africans. K'Naan was born in Somalia and Akon in Senegal, but both migrated to the US and Canada as they were kids.

15 January 2010

Durban's new airport will be known as "King Shaka International Airport"

The South African Geographical Names Council announced the new name for Durban's brand new airport in La Mercy yesterday. Its only needing the approval of the Minister of Arts and Culture and from than on the airport will be known as "King Shaka International Airport".
Durban Intenational Airport will get closed at the 30 April 2010 and King Shaka International Aiport will take over the following day and should be fully operational during May 2010. The 2010 World Cup air traffic is planed to be managed by the new airport alone with the old one being used in case of an emergency and possibly to park aircraft should it be required.

13 January 2010

The Landmine-Sniffing Rats of Mozambique

The brutal 16-year civil war in Mozambique is over since 1992, but the country is still covered with landmines affecting the everyday life of many Mozambicans. Some of the minefields were already planted decades ago by the Portuguese colonial army. Later on, during the actual civil war, the fields were set by the forces of the Frelimo government as well as by their South African-backed opponents.



Once placed in the ground, it is really difficult to get rid of landmines. Therefore many innovations have been made - one of them & probably one of the most effective is to train the African Giant Pouched rat or 'Cricetomys gambianus' for the mine detection task. APOPO, a charity registred in Belgium and headquartered in Tanzania, is running a demining project in Mozambique utilizing the local resource. In 2009 roughly 310,000 square meters of land was cleared of landmines by the sniffing rats of Mozambique brining it to more than one million square meters in total.

12 January 2010

2010 World Cup - Ticket sales updates...

  • fewer than one in ten tickets sold so far was purchased by African football fans
  • fewer than 100,000 tickets have been sold to fans of the six African countries in the 2010 World Cup final round from the 11 June to the 11 July 2010
  • more South Africans have bought tickets to watch the English team than Bafana Bafana
  • South Africa is not in the top 10 best supported sides (according to ticket sales)
  • first time in World Cup history that the host nation are not topping the ticket sales list
  • more than one million tickets have been sold or requested worldwide so far
  • the current 3rd ticket sales phase is ending at the 22 Jan 2010...

Zanzibar: power on the island only back around end of February?

UPDATE (08 Mar 2010): Electricity is back in Zanzibar! (thx to quango (LP Thorn Tree))

The island of Zanzibar is without power since 10 Dec 2009 due to a breakdown affecting the 30-year-old undersea cable providing electricity from the Tanzanian mainland. Now the acting Energy Minister of Zanzibar told the media in a press conference that the power outage will last for a minimum of another 6 weeks (20 Feb 2010). He assured that the government of the semi-autonomous island is working 24/7 on the problem.
The opposition party (elections on Zanzibar are scheduled for later this year) is planning
a mass protest in Stone Town for Sunday (17 Jan 2010).

09 January 2010

BBC documentaries podcast: Africa Kicks - The History of African Football

Africa Kicks - Part One
Fri, 8 Jan 10
Duration: 24 mins
As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup, Farayi Mungazi, the voice of African Sport on BBC World Service’s Fast Track, crosses the continent to explore the history of African Football and tells a story that is by turns epic and unexpected.

Africa Kicks - Part Two
Fri, 15 Jan 10
Duration: 24 mins
As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup, Farayi Mungazi, the voice of African Sport on BBC World Serviceâ??s Fast Track, crosses the continent to explore the history of African Football and tells a story that is by turns epic and unexpected.

Africa Kicks - Part Three

Fri, 22 Jan 10
Duration: 24 mins
Adebayor, Droga and Essien are African football superstars who have found fame and wealth in Europe, but as Farayi Mungazi tells us, there are many who have failed in the quest for glory.

Africa Kicks - Part Four
Fri, 29 Jan 10
Duration: 23 mins
Farayi Mungazi looks ahead to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and explores how racial politics have affected football's development in that country.

08 January 2010

Hostelword: $5 off your next booking!

Book min. 2 nights via hostelworld in one of the great destinations listed below and get $5 off your next booking with hostelworld! The promotion is starting at 9am GMT on January 12th 2010.

Melbourne, Prague, Edinburgh, Venice, Florence, Buenos Aires, Stockholm, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vienna, Milan, Brussels, Budapest, Singapore, Munich, Auckland, Miami, Lisbon, Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janeiro, Galway, Krakow, Seville, Kyoto, Brisbane, San Francisco, Santiago, Beijing, Puerto Iguazu, Frankfurt, Ho Chi Minh, Bruges, Los Angeles, Christchurch, Perth, Istanbul, Granada, Manchester or Marrakech.

When you book 2 nights or more in any of the cities listed above, you will be rewarded with $5 off your next booking! $5 credit valid for 30 days from your original booking.
Promotion is subject to availability and terms & conditions.

Namibia Wildlife Resorts: Special offers & discounts

For international travellers:
With every three consecutive nights booked at one of our Camps countrywide, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) will give you a fourth night absolutely free.
  • For as little as R1 950 per person you can enjoy a 4 night stay inside the world renowned Etosha National Park, at Halali or Okaukuejo ...
  • From as little as R3 000 per person you can spend the perfect 8 day getaway holiday at the magnificent/Ai-/Ais Hot Springs Spa.
  • The Namib Desert also beckons for exploration with an 8 day stay at Sesriem Campsite at R750 per person – stay 8 days, pay for 6.
These breathtaking packaged offers are endless and the more nights you book the more free nights you qualify for to turn your dreams into reality. This offer is valid as of 1st December 2009 until 31st July 2010. For more info click here (pdf).

For SADC travellers:
Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) is offering all citizens and permanent residents as well as diplomats based in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states a 25% discount on all its facilities in Namibia. SADC pensioners qualify for a 35% discount. The offer is valid till 31 July 2010!

07 January 2010

Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off

I recently came across this really interesting & inspiring video footage of Stefan Sagmeister talking about "The power of time off". Every seven years, the designer closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh his creative outlook. In the video below he explains the often overlooked value of time off and shows the innovative projects inspired by his time in Bali where he spend his last year off..

After his first sabbatical, he found that:
  • His job became his calling again
  • Over the long term it was financially successful
  • And everything his shop designed in the seven years following the first sabbatical was originated in that year.
Reason enough (and by watching the 18min video you'll understand why) to do a sabbatical every seven years.



TED is a global set of conferences devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED). See their website for more info.

South Africa: up to 40% discount on accommodation bookings!

Hostelbookers slashed their prices lower than ever before, and with travel dates from the 7th January - 31st March 2010, you can start the year with a travel adventure. All promotional prices are valid for bookings made from 7th January 2010 until 28th February 2010!
online flight booking >>
rental car booking >>
tours & activities in Southern Africa >>

Terms and Conditions

1. All promotional prices are valid for bookings made from 7th January 2010 until 28th February 2010 and are valid for accommodation dates for the period of 7th January 2010 to 31st March 2010 inclusive.
2. Not every Hostel accepts same day bookings.
3. Offer subject to availability, while stocks last. Purchases must be complete before 00.00 on 28th February 2010
4. The Sale only applies to bookings made through HostelBookers.
5. Offer valid for new purchases only and not for existing bookings.
6. Prices are not guaranteed until purchased.
7. Normal HostelBookers terms and conditions of sale apply.
8. The sale prices do not apply to bookings made via the group bookings form.