Cell C, in partnership with Facebook, has announced its first public access WiFi hotspot at the University of Western Cape (UWC). In a press release, the company revealed that the initiative is being supported by Facebook Express Wi-Fi, a division of Facebook that provides countries access to connectivity. "The Facebook Express Wi-Fi platform will help Cell C bring fast, affordable and reliable internet access to the South African public and the partnership with UWC marks Cell C’s first steps to rolling out WiFi hotspots across the country," the company stated. The hotspot is free for students on UWC's campus, and Cell C...
Just two months ahead of the 2019 National Elections, the EFF will table a motion in Parliament to change the name of Cape Town International Airport to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela International Airport. In the release posted to Twitter, the party suggests that the renaming will honour the "struggle veteran and fearless fighter for the liberation of the people of South Africa". It also noted that the renaming will ensure that the memory of Winnie Mandela's "gallant war against Apartheid are not deleted". https://twitter.com/EFFSouthAfrica/status/1102798494723727360 Thanks to a slow political news day, the hashtag #ChooseWinnieMandela began trending on Monday morning after EFF big wigs tweeted the...
Last week, during the hustle and bustle of MWC 2019, we penned an article noting that Rain's 5G network will initially roll out in Johannesburg using Huawei's infrastructure. But it's not the whole story. Last Thursday, Nokia's networking operations announced at MWC 2019 that it will be launching a 5G network with Rain... in Cape Town. The announcement fits in with Rain's initial testing of its 5G network, which took place in Cape Town using Nokia's infrastructure. Speaking with Rain's chief marketing officer Khaya Dlanga, he explained that both Cape Town and Johannesburg will be the first cities to receive 5G networks...
The darling of Cape Town's skyline Lion's Head recently reopened to the public after a lengthy rehabilitation period. Initially, this six-week rest period beginning November 2018 was to address the mountain's condition and safety infrastructure in place. This period was lengthened after a wildfire swept across the peak in January causing additional damage. But on 1 March, the trail was reopened to the public. "The conservation team have also commenced vegetation rehabilitation in a number of places and the Park requests visitors to assist the team with this process by not stepping off the pathway for any reason," Table Mountain National Park...
Cape Town on Thursday received a new competitor to Uber and Taxify in the form of Russian ride-hailing service inDriver. The company, headquartered in New York and founded in 2013 in Siberia, has some 20-million users globally, across 200 cities and 14 countries. But unlike Uber and Taxify where route rates are fixed and predetermined, inDriver users can set their own fair for a selected route, which adds an element of bargaining. "Nearby drivers are sent the destination and proposed fare, which they have the ability to accept or the option to bargain for more money," the company clarifies in a press...
After last year's SONA delay, courtesy of the change in the Presidency, 2019's State of the Nation Address will start on time, and on the initially proposed date. That date is today! President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver his second address at the helm of the country, which will begin at 7pm tonight (that is, if the EFF doesn't disrupt proceedings as suggested). But, if you can't quite get out of the Cape Town CBD before then, find yourself stuck without a television, or want to covertly watch the address from abroad, you can do that from the Parliament YouTube channel's...
Uber Eats is now available 60km northeast of Cape Town in the Winelands town of Paarl, the company announced on Thursday. It's the third location in the Western Cape after Cape Town and Stellenbosch, and the seventh town in South Africa to receive the service. "We are always excited to expand to a new city not only because we are bringing eaters an innovative way to order their meals but because it affords us the opportunity to give delivery-partners an additional earning opportunity as well as enabling local restaurants to connect with more customers to grow their business," said...
The grand reopening of Lion's Head's popular hiking trail frequented by selfie-seekers has been postponed following the wildfire which ravaged the peak on Sunday. The blaze, which burned for much of the day and through into Monday, is now largely under control. However, South African National Parks board (SANParks) today tweeted that it caused damaged to the peak's infrastructure. https://twitter.com/SANParks/status/1089832593376329729 "Infrastructure on Lion's Head has been damaged and this will delay the reopening of Lion's Head," the national parks board tweeted on Monday. "The reopening was originally scheduled for the 15th of February 2019. As yet the park is unable to determine a...
After South Africa was crowned as the fifth most Instagrammable country in the world earlier this month by Big Seven Travel, a long list of places that put it on the map has now been published. The travel firm on Wednesday revealed "the destinations that sparked conversation between judges and were most mentioned by our readers in their SA votes". There are 50 in total, and surprisingly, not all are in Cape Town. What is in Cape Town is the front runner. Bloubergstrand -- a beach north of the city that affords views of Table Mountain -- tops the list. Sabi Sands...
South Africa is the world's fifth most Instagrammable country according to travel publication Big Seven Travel. Ranking 192 countries based on hashtags, geolocations, reader input, and votes by "a panel of experts", South Africa was bested only by Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and Indonesia. But unlike losing in the quarter final of a sporting competition, South Africa can draw encouragement from the notable travel destinations it has outranked. This includes the Maldives (6th), Thailand (14th), Japan (15th) and Spain (18th). While Big Seven only lists Cape Town's most Instagrammable landmarks (I mean, for good reason), what about South Africa's other large cities and...
As of 10 December 2018, Cape Town's dams are 69.5% full, declining by 0.9% over the previous week. This may seem like a substantial loss, but digging a bit deeper into the City of Cape Town's latest dam report (pdf), you'll find that it's not all doom and gloom. As Level 3 water restrictions are in place -- since the beginning of December -- the overall daily water consumption of the city remains below 550-million litres per day. The City's current consumption target for agriculture and urban use is 650-million. The knock-on effect is positive. According to the City's dam storage vs....
If you're heading to one of Cape Town's beaches this weekend, you may find that much of the fluffy white sand is actually covered in jellyfish. Over the past few weeks, a vast number of the sea creatures have washed up on some of the city's beaches. The Two Oceans Aquarium on Thursday detailed the phenomenon in a blog post, which has been recorded at Milnerton Beach, Lagoon Beach, Melkbosstrand, Bloubergstrand, as well as some beaches along False Bay. The cause is not yet understood. View this post on Instagram 🐙🌊🐙🌊🐙 #qualle#kapstadt#bloubergstrand#südafrika#strand#sommer#sonne#urlaub A post shared by San Dy (@x_san_dy_x) on Dec 4, 2018 at...
It might be December, but parts of the Western Cape had a particularly wet week according to rainfall figures released by the South African Weather Service on Friday. From Wednesday through to Friday morning, certain high-lying areas of the Cape received notable precipitation. Between 8am on Thursday and 8am Friday, Kirstenbosch, on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, received 46mm of rainfall. On Wednesday, it received an additional 2mm of rain. Further inland, Wellington, Paarl, Ceres and Langebaan all received more than 10mm between Thursday and Friday morning. 24 hour #rainfall measured at 8:00 this morning. @ReenvalSA pic.twitter.com/cKbz4zKU7u — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) December...
More people visited Polokwane in 2017 than Cape Town according to a study conducted by Mastercard. The company's Global Destination Cities Index, published on Tuesday, revealed that Johannesburg was once again the continent's most popular city. 4.05-million visitors stayed in the city for one night or more in 2017, which places it top of the African cities which made the list. "On average, international visitors stayed 10.9 nights and spent US$48 per day in Johannesburg, with shopping accounting for more than 50 percent of their total spend," the report added. Notably, Polokwane -- a city north of Johanensburg and the capital of Limpopo...
Cape Town's annual festive lights gathering is supposed to be a joyous occasion for families, but things turned ugly in the late hours after the event. On Monday around 5am, a bicycle shop in Long Street was trashed and looted. The store, known as Rook Cycles, uploaded a CCTV video to Instagram and Facebook documenting the incident. The 46-second long video shows more than 20 looters jump through the store's broken window, snatching bicycles and bags. At one point, a group of trespassers actually fight over a bicycle in the store. "We’re so optimistic about South Africa. We’ve had opportunities to open elsewhere,...
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