Updates

Vredefort Dome been declared South Africa's seventh World Heritage Site. 

The Vredefort Dome is the oldest and largest meteor impact site in the world and is located 110km from Johannesburg. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, minister of environmental affairs and tourism said that R18m is to be taken from the poverty relief program to be put towards creating a tourism centre, hiking trails and the eradication of alien plant life within the Dome's ecosystem.

Rare Birds at Sabi Sabi. 

Towards the end of summer some very rare birds were seen on the property, including Black Coucal and Buffspotted Flufftail. These, among other rare sightings, were a huge highlight, contributing to what has been one of the best bird seasons in the past five years. This has been attributed mainly to the higher than normal rainfall supplying plenty of food for these birds. Some of the summer migrant birds only left towards the end of May - much later than usual.

Oscar-Nomination. 

A South African made film has been nominated for an Oscar.  “Yesterday”, is South Africa’s first Oscar-Nominated film.  It has been produced by Anant Singh and directed by Darrell Roodt.  The film may offer hope of a better tomorrow for those living with Aids. 

US grant boosts South African Tourism. 

Chairman and CEO of American Express Kenneth Chenault announced the establishment of a $100 000 (R645 834) tourism teacher training grant during a function in Johannesburg. The grant, which aims to fast-track the training and development of tourism teachers in high schools, will be funded by a $50 000 (R322 917) grant from American Express and a matching $50 000 (R322 917) from Nedbank. Nedbank Group CEO Tom Boardman said: "Tourism is a key industry for job creation and economic development. For South Africa to be internationally competitive and for tourism to play a pivotal role in our economy, the industry requires skills development at every level."

<< Back to Newsletter