This city in South Africa was named the world's 2nd best city for food 2024!

Time Out, a global culture, entertainment and events magazine, recently asked thousands of locals all about eating out in their cities to rank the world’s culinary capitals in 2024. The city-dwellers were quizzed on their city’s must-visit restaurants, must-eat dishes and best-value bites and were also asked to rate their city’s food scene on both its quality and affordability. To create and rank the final list, Time Out narrowed down the selection by excluding cities with lower overall scores, and including only the highest-scoring city for each country. In a next step, Time Out asked its global network of writers and editors to for the lowdown on what makes their city an exciting dining destination in 2024, and to recommend their favourite places to eat right now. According to the magazine's list of "The world’s 20 best cities for food right now", Johannesburg in South Africa is currently the second best city for food in the world. Here is what Time Out writes about Joburg: "[...] From Ethiopian cafes in Little Addis to Nigerian and West African eats in the south of the city, you can eat your way across the continent here – though the majority of locals we surveyed recommended the city’s traditional South African delicacies, like the Sowetan kota sandwich, bunny chow and mala mogodu. [...]" [src.]

South African food writer Thando Moleketi-Williams, a local from Johannesburg, recommends the following foodie spots:

• Mamakashaka & Friends
  5 De Beer Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2000
• ARTIVIST
  7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001
• UntitledBasement
  7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001

The 20 world’s best cities for food 2024:

1. Naples, Italy
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Lima, Peru
4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
5. Beijing, China
6. Bangkok, Thailand
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Mumbai, India
9. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
10. Portland, Oregon, USA
11. Liverpool, England, UK
12. Medellin, Colombia
13. Seville, Spain
14. Porto, Portugal
15. Marrakech, Marocco
16. Lyon, France
17. Sydney, Austrlia
18. Montreal, Canada
19. Osaka, Japan
20. Copenhagen, Denmark

Chef picks

• Los Angeles, California, USA
  Picked by chef Tim Cushman of Ms. Clucks Deluxe at Time Out Market Boston
• Seoul, South Korea
  Picked by Chef Reif Othman of REIF at Time Out Market Dubai
• Madrid, Spain
  Picked by Chef Michael Ayoub of Fornino at Time Out Market New York

Kruger National Park: Two Rest Camps currently have no power suppy from Eskom! [update #2]

update (06 June 2024): SANParks just announced that Eskom power has been fully restored at Lower Sabie Rest Camp. Power was disrupted due to the storm that took down several power lines. The water shortage issue has since been resolved too, and the pumps are fully operational with Eskom power. 

update (05 June 2024): SANParks just announced that Eskom power has been restored at Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp. Lower Sabie Rest Camp is still relying on generators for power supply.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that the Lower Sabie Rest Camp and the Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp in Kruger National Park currently have no power supply from Eskom* since last night (03 June 2024). These two camps’ power supply was affected by the storm from last night. The issue was escalated to Eskom as of this morning. Eskom indicated that they are currently inundated since the whole area was hard hit by the storm. SANParks is currently using its own generators, but they cannot power up the whole camp at one go. We'll keep you posted!

*Eskom is a South African state owned electricity public utility.

Germany: Discover Airlines launches a new service to Namibia!

German leisure airline Discover Airlines, owned by the Lufthansa Group, is set to launch a new service to Namibia. The airline will introduce a new year-round service between Munich Airport (MUC) in Munich, Germany, and Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek next year. Namibia's capital will be served three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flights will commence on 01 April 2025. Discover Airlines' new service will be the only direct connection between Munich and Windhoek.

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Garden Route National Park: Hiking trails in the Wilderness section temporarily closed!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has informed the public that five hiking trails in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park in the Western Cape are temporarily closed. This is due to heavy rains the National Park is currently experiencing.
The following hiking trails are temporarily closed:

• Half Collared Trail
• Brown Hooded Kingfisher Trail
• Woodville Big Tree Trails
• Goudveld Trails
• Groeneweide Trails 

The Wilderness section of Garden Route National Park is located around the seaside town of Wilderness, Western Cape between the larger towns of George, Sedgefield and Knysna, in the Western Cape. It stretches from the Touw River mouth to the Swartvlei estuary and beyond, where it links with the Goukamma Nature Reserve.

South Africa: Seasonal rainfall & temperature outlook (June 2024 - October 2024)!

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has released the Seasonal Climate Watch for the period June 2024 to October 2024. According to the seasonal outlook, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently still in a El Niño state, but weakening and predicted to rapidly decline into a neutral state by mid to end winter. As the summer has ended, SAWS expects minimal influence from the current El Niño event that is still in effect.
South Africa is now at the start of the winter season, and as such weather systems occurring during this season are notoriously difficult to predict at a seasonal timescale. These systems typical have the largest impact along the southern to southeastern coastal areas.
The SAWS multi-model rainfall forecast indicates mostly below-normal rainfall over most of South Africa during June and October 2024. Minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period (June 2024 to October 2024).

Zambia: Proflight Zambia increases flights between Lusaka <> Kasama!

Zambian privately owned regional carrier Proflight Zambia is set to increase domestic flights between Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) in Lusaka and Kasama Airport (KAA) in Kasama in the Northern Province ahead of the Ukusefya Pa Ng’wena festival in August 2024.
The expanded schedule includes direct flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, with flights departing Lusaka at 07:45 and arriving in Kasama at 09:20. Return flights depart from Kasama at 09:50, arriving in Lusaka at 11:25. Connections from Ndola are offered each morning departing Ndola 06:30 and arriving Kasama at 09:20, return flights depart Kasama at 09:50hrs arriving in Ndola at 12:45.

The Ukusefya Pa Ng’wena festival is an annual traditional ceremony of the Bemba people. Held in August, the festival celebrates the rich heritage of the Bemba people at Ng’wena village. Visitors can look forward to experiencing traditional dance performances, captivating storytelling, and authentic Bemba cuisine.

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Australia: Qantas is planning to resume flights between Perth <> Johannesburg!

Qantas, the flag carrier airline of Australia, is planing to resume scheduled flights between Perth and Johannesburg. The airline and Perth Airport (PER), the international airport serving Perth in Western Australia, have recently signed a commercial agreement which will stimulate a multi-billion-dollar wave of investment and deliver new international and domestic flights. As part of the agreement, Perth Airport (PER) will invest in upgrades to Terminals 3 and 4, which will enable Qantas to add services and more destinations from Perth, including Auckland Airport (AKL) in Auckland, New Zealand, and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa, from mid-2025, subject to meeting border agency requirements. We'll keep you posted!

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