The organizers of the annual Cape Town Pride, a gay pride event in Cape Town ending with a pride parade, have announced that they have won the bid to host the WorldPride 2028 in the Mother City. This is the first time a WorldPride will be held in Africa. Cape Town Pride beat fellow bidder Guadalajara Pride, Mexico, after the bid was presented to members of InterPride, the international organization that brings together 548 Pride organizers from 76 countries across the world, at the 42nd Annual General Meeting & World Conference which was held from 23 to 27 October 2024 in MedellĂn, Colombia.
WorldPride is an international event that features a human rights conference, an arts and culture program, social events, as well as a march to highlight LGBT+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, questioning, intersex, non-binary, asexual, polysexual, genderqueer and gender variant people) realities across the world. It gathers Pride organizers, local and international speakers, artists, activists, politicians and participants across all walks of life.
The next WorldPride takes place from 17 May to 8 June 2025, in Washington DC, USA, followed by WorldPride Amsterdam, in The Netherlands, from 31 July to 8 August 2026.
14 November 2024
Cape Town: Cape Town Pride to host Africa's first WorldPride!
13 November 2024
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve: Swadini Waterfall to get temporarily closed to the public!
The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has announced that the Swadini Waterfall in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga will get temporarily closed. Due to filming that will be taking place the waterfall will be not be accessible to the public from 04 January 2025 to 21 February 2025. The closure does not apply to boats cruise activity, Swadini Forever Resort accommodation and visitor access. Other tourist attractions on the Panorama Route like God's Window, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Three Rondavels, Pinnacle, will not be affected by this closure
The Swadini Waterfall is part of the Swadini section, which is associated with the Swadini Forever Resort. This waterfall cascades down the rugged cliffs and is part of the Blyde River Canyon, the world’s third-largest canyon.
11 November 2024
King Shaka International Airport: One lane of the M65 highway temporarily closed!
The Dube TradePort Corporation and Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) have announced that one lane of the M65 highway heading into King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban is temporarily closed between 08 November 2024 and 04 December 2024. This is due to maintenance work. Travellers using the N2 to access King Shaka International Airport (DUR) must allow for potential delays in your travel time. Alternative access to the airport is available via R102 and Watson Highway (Ushukela).
Zambia: Proflight Zambia launches flights between Livingstone <> Cape Town!
Zambian privately owned regional carrier Proflight Zambia has announced the launch of direct flights between Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport (LVI) in Livingstone and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town. Effective 01 December 2024, flights between Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) in Lusaka and Cape Town will now route via Livingstone with a 30-minute technical stop in Livingstone – all passengers will remain on board during the stopover.
The new route between Livingstone <> Cape Town will initially operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. Flight P0 050 will depart Lusaka at 06:40 and arrive in Cape Town at 11:10, with a 30-minute stopover in Livingstone. Travellers from Livingstone can join this direct service to Cape Town at 08:10, arriving at 11:10. On return, flight P0 051 departs Cape Town at 12:00, reaching Livingstone at 14:50, and continuing to Lusaka, arriving at 16:20. Passengers between Lusaka and Cape Town will remain onboard during the brief Livingstone stopover. Additionally, Proflight Zambia has scheduled an extra Saturday flight for the holiday season, running from 01 December 2024 to 05 January 2025.
Kruger National Park: SANParks released a road maintenance update!
South African National Parks (SANParks) has released the Kruger National Park (KNP) 100 days road maintenance report. According to SANParks, most roads in the south of Olifants River (Marula Region of Kruger National Park) were bladed between July and October 2024 and are constantly being monitored to ensure they remain in good condition. The repairs and maintenance included roads leading to many of the bush camps in the south of the national park.
Repairs are ongoing with focus now directed at the northern side of the Olifants River (Nxanatseni Region of Kruger National Park) where considerable progress has been made.
Road repairs are prioritized based on the extent of usage by park visitors. Therefore, roads which are mostly utilized are given priority attention. We'll keep you posted!
07 November 2024
Durban: Two beaches are currently closed for swimming due to water quality!
The eThekwini Municipality, the local government body responsible for governing and managing Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, has released updated lists of beaches that are currently (as of 04 November 2024) open and safe for swimming, closed for swimming and of swimming pools that are currently open to the public. According to the lists, 21 beaches in Durban are currently open for swimming, while swimming at two beaches is prohibited due to water quality. 33 swimming pools in Durban are currently open to the public.
The following beaches are open for swimming:
- operating hours 06:00 - 18:30 -
- Wedge
- uShaka
- Point Beach
- Addington
- North Beach
- South Beach
- Bay of Plenty
- Battery Beach
- Thekwini Beach
- Laguna Beach
- Country Club
- Westbrook
- mDloti Main
- uMhlanga Main
- Bronze Beach
- Warner Beach
- uMgababa
- Brighton
- Winkelespruit
- Toti Main Beach
- Pipeline Beach
Beach(es) closed for swimming:
- Anstey's Beach
- Reunion
South Africa: Seasonal rainfall & temperature outlook (November 2024 to March 2025)!
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has released the Seasonal Climate Watch for the period November 2024 to March 2025. According to the seasonal outlook, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently still in a neutral state. It is predicted to weaken further and current predictions indicate the development of a weak La Niña state during the start of the summer season. However, there is still significant uncertainty in the predictions. It is advised to monitor the ENSO system during the start of the summer season, as it may change the rainfall outlook for the summer rainfall regions if and when the La Niña materializes.
Current predictions indicate above-normal rainfall for most north-eastern summer rainfall regions
in South Africa during the entire summer period. Some interior regions however still indicate below-normal rainfall during the mid- and late-summer seasons. These predictions may change if the ENSO predictions become more certain towards a La Niña state, and as such continued monitoring of future seasonal climate watches are advised.
Minimum and maximum temperatures in South Africa are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period (November 2024 to March 2025).