new movie: "Africa United" (2010)

Africa United is a road movie about five children who travel 4800km (3000 miles) to reach the FIFA Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Their backgrounds are as diverse as the continent - Fabrice, a middle-class football protégé; Dudu, a Rwandan Aids orphan with a true sense of determination; Beatrice, his God-loving and gentle little sister; Celeste, a proud teenage sex worker; and Foreman George, a traumatised former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



On the way to the vital selection trial, disaster strikes when Fabrice, Dudu and Beatrice board the wrong bus and cross into the Congo. Without papers, money or a believable story, they are escorted to a children's refugee camp. But with considerable ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), our pint-sized heroes escape the camp and set off in pursuit of their dream, picking up along the way a “dream team” of displaced kids, who help them negotiate a series of thrilling and hilarious adventures.

The movie gonna hit the cinemas in the UK from 22 Oct 2010. I couldn't find any other release dates... not even on imdb.com.

HostelBookers Travel Survey 2010 – Win a Round-the-World Trip worth £3000!

Fancy winning a round-the-world trip for two? Well, by answering a few simple questions, this £3000 prize (plus a bonus £1000 spending money) could be yours!
In 2009, an amazing 10,000 people took part in the HostelBookers Travel Survey. This year, HostelBookers want those numbers to increase even more!
Taking part is easy – all you have to do is complete a short survey about your personal travel experiences. We want to know where you’ve been, where you want to go, how many countries you’ve visited, who you’ve gone with, your best budget travel tips…and if you’ve ever gotten frisky in a hostel dorm room.
Click here to take part in the survey. The Promotional Period is 15/09/2010 to 31/10/2010. Prize draw entry will close at midnight on 31/10/2010. Pls also see the T&C.

Namibia: Summer time starts on 05 September

On Sunday, 5 September 2010, Namibian time changes from winter time (UTC+1) to summer time  UTC +2. The time will change officially at 02:00am.

• 04 September 2010 > sunrise 05:59am > sunset 17:42pm
• 05 September 2010 > sunrise 06:58am > sunset 18:42pm

The time will not change in the Caprivi, as this area is not subject to summer and winter time changes. The time will change back to winter time on 3 April 2011 (first Sunday in April).

Namibia country guide >>

accommodation in Namibia >>

South Africa's top restaurants - digimags

One of the leading South African online & printed restaurant guides eatout.co.za is regularly publishing so-called digimags (online digital publications), in which they list and describe the country's top restaurants based on the website users and magazine reader's votes:

• Eat Out Best Of Pizza and Pasta
• Eat Out Best Of Steak & Burgers
• Eat Out Best of Local Kos
• Eat Out Best Of Seafood

Supermarket prices in South Africa >>
recipes from Southern Africa >>
tours & accommodation booking >>

Mango to offer in-flight Internet

According to recent newspaper reports South African budget carrier "Mango" will be the first airlone in the country to introduce in-flight internet using wi-fi. With a positive response from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Mango will start the service later on this year. Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said in an interview the service would cost less than R1 per megabyte. He also pointed out that potentially offensive content will be blocked on board, as laptop screens can easily be viewed on by other passengers.

online flight booking on TravelComments.com >>
(budget) accommodation close to OR Tambo >>

New tourism route in South Africa - The Diamond Route

The brandnew "Diamond Route", which was recently opened for business, links nine sites across South Africa in a tourism route. The new route is a partnership in environmental conservation and tourism and includes insight into South Africa's cultural, historical, and diamond-mining features. The complete tourism route is made up of property owned by both De Beers and the Oppenheimer family.

View The Diamond Route in a larger map

The nine sites are:

• Benfontein Nature Reserve (Kimberley)
• Brenthurst Gardens (Johannesburg)
• Dronfield Nature Reserve (Kimberley)
• Ezemvelo Nature Reserve (Johannesburg/Pretoria)
• Kimberley Big Hole (Kimberley)
• Namaqualand Diamond Coast (Kleinzee)
• Rooipoort Nature Reserve (Kimberley)
• Tswalu Kalahari Reserve (Kuruman)
• Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (Musina)

South Africa country guide >>
online car hire >>
online accommodation booking >>
self drive tours in Southern Africa >>

Lonely Planet - Best-value destinations for 2010

Lonely Planet has just recently published their book "Best in Travel 2010" presenting the top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit in 2010. Well, one of the Top 10 lists in the book is the best-value destinations in 2010 list:

• Iceland
  holidays on Iceland with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation on Iceland
  
• Thailand
  holidays in Thailand with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in Thailand
  
• London
  holidays in the UK with responsibletravel.com
  budget accommodation in London
  
• South Africa
  all about travelling in South Africa on TravelComments.com
  budget accommodation in South Africa
  
• Malaysia
  holidays in Malaysia with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in Malaysia
  
• Mexico
  holidays in Mexico with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in Mexico
  
• India
  holidays in India with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in India
  
• Bulgaria
  holidays in Bulgaria with responsibletravel.com
  budget accommodation in Bulgaria
  
• Kenya
  holidays in Kenya with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in Kenya
  
• Las Vegas
  holidays in the US with responsibletravel.com & GAP Adventures
  budget accommodation in Las Vegas
  

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2010 - 850 Trends, Destinations, Journeys and Experiences for the Upcoming Year

The new compact format Lonely Planet's Best In Travel 2010 presents the top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit in 2010. Drawing on the knowledge, passion and miles travelled by Lonely Planet's staff and authors, you've got a year's worth of travel inspiration to take you out of the ordinary and into some unforgettable experiences.

• The best places to go and things to do all around the world right now!
• 2010’s Best Value destinations: Iceland | Thailand | London | South Africa | Malaysia | Mexico | India | Bulgaria | Kenya | Las Vegas
  
• 2010 travel planner - Over 30 adventures mapped out month-by-month.
• Contains the best travel experiences for the year ahead, from wildlifewatching in South Africa to catching a space flight launched from the Mojave Desert.

sounds like the perfect christmas gift for any travelmad friend to me... ;-)

get the book in the TravelComments.com eShop >>
order the book from the Lonely Planet Shop & get the book "Best in Travel 2009" for free >>