It’s a tad confusing for locals - so can only imagine how confusing it is for visitors. But there are a few things common about the transport to the games in all the host centres:
* Most of the precincts around the stadiums are pedestrian-only zones - so only accredited and emergency vehicles will be allowed near them - no private cars at all!!
* park & ride facilities offer safe parking with shuttles to and from the stadium
* park & walk facilities offer safe parking with a 2km or less walk to the stadium
NB: Tickets for park & ride/walk facilities MUST be bought beforehand from www.ticketbreak.co.za and www.computicket.com - you won’t be able to get tickets at the facilities!!
* while they are trying to keep these down to a minimum, road closures or restricted access on certain roads will be in effect for the duration of the World Cup - on both match and non-match days
* fans are advised to leave plenty of time to get to the stadiums - especially for the opening game, semis and the final (some are suggesting that you allow four hours to get to the opening game!)
There are so many sites out there offering good info, but there are also quite a few where the info is NOT up-to-date. Scouting around, these are the best/easiest we’ve found:
JOHANNESBURG: 2 Stadiums - Soccer City and CocaCola Park (Ellis Park)
Getting to the games
All the info you need about road closures, park & rides, park & walks, transport hubs, Metrorail, Sandton Metrobus, Rea Vaya BRT, traffic maps and parking tickets
Airport & stadium shuttles, park & ride, city wide services, fan parks with maps
The best mapping & direction site we’ve found so far is definitely google maps: try the local version maps.google.co.za
Click on the ‘Get Directions’ under the logo - you can also save these or email the links to a friend (or yourself). Next best thing to a GPS. And it’s always better on the ‘big screen’.
Hope it helps.
Of course, if you’re not lucky enough to have scored some tickets, the next best place to be is one of the Fan Fest Parks.
If you’re planning to travel to South Africa for the FIFA™ 2010 World Cup, then best you learn to play that B$@## Vuvuzela!
Beautifully crafted Vuvuzelas with beadwork covers in bold South African designs [Photo: Courtesy Vuvuzela.co.za]
Love it … or hate it, the drone of the Vuvuzela is going to be the sound you’ll associate with the 2010 FIFA World Cup - forever!
It’s a proudly South African instrument with a profound and ancient history in tribal lore and music. These humble plastic tubes are fashioned from the original majestic kudu (a type of buck/antelope) horns that were once blown to summon the people to gather for important meetings. (You can still get some plastic kudu-horn shaped vuvu’s - called ‘kuduzelas’, of course).
Blown together in their thousands at stadiums - they sound like a herd of angry bull elephants in mating season. Or like a fleet of furious tugboats blasting their horns in unison. Let’s face it, they’re seriously noisy.
But you’re not going to beat them during this decade. So join them.
It’s like any of those crazes. Yo-yos. Hoola hoops. Bakugan. Rubik’s Cube. They’re highly annoying and irritating items that you scoff at - until you own one. And then, the addiction begins …
The biggest trick about the vuvuzela is how to blow it. The best advice we’ve heard so far is to put your lips to the mouthpiece and make a ‘raspberry’-type sound, similar to playing a trumpet. Relax your cheeks and soften your lips so that they can vibrate. Let the action come from your mouth, rather than your lungs or stomach. Be as melodic as you like (yes, they can play several notes!) and blow as hard or as soft as you like.
The best thing is, the more you blow it, the less you’ll hear all the others around you!
Vuvuzelas are available all over the country - from shops and fashion outlets. They can be priced anywhere from around R20 to R100 (GBP 2 - 10), depending on the colour, cover and detail - some have the team or country colours complete with flags, emblems and badges. Some also have a handy strap so you can sling it over your shoulder on your way to the games.
So go on. You know you want one. Really, you do.
Here’s a quick video link on how to play the vuvuzela
From Saturday May 1 until Sunday October 31, there’s a bunch of stuff happening at the Cableway - with fun activities for the whole family. For every full-paying adult at R160 (return trip only), 2 x U18 kids go free (normally R80 each so you save R160!).
Offer valid over weekends and public holidays - and both the July & September school holidays ie : from June 10 - July 12 & September 24 -October 3 2010.
Over the unusually long July holidays (courtesy of the 2010 FIFA™ World Cup), there’ll be a special programme for kids. This includes loads of fun activities like a Winter Treasure Trail (maps available from the ticket office), spot prizes, magic shows, face painting and craft activities. Children will be entertained and taken on guided walks by the Table Mountain Cableway characters - Ernie the Explorer, Dale the Dassie and the Yeti. There’ll also be story-telling of the Myths and Legends of Table Mountain.
They also have the chance to win their own Table Mountain Cableway beanie and scarf. (Entry forms on back of the Winter Treasure Trail map).
The Table Mountain Café is also joining in the holiday spirit & will be offering a delicious kiddies menu - at reasonable rates.
The Cableway operates all year round - weather permitting. For more info, visit Table Mountain website & also click through to their blog for the latest news. You can also call +27 (0)21 424 8181 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +27 (0)21 424 8181 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Before you double, treble or even quadruple your normal rates for the upcoming 2010 FIFA ™ World Cup, please consider these few points:
* Germany didn’t inflate their prices hectically during the 2006 - especially for accommodation. Many of the visitors would just bus home again after matches so it was never really an issue. Besides, there was never a shortage of accommodation to begin with.
* Host nations experience a boom in tourism in the years immediately after they’ve hosted a FIFA ™ World Cup. This was especially true in Germany in 2007, although tourism slowed down in 2008 with the global economic crisis.
* South Africa - and Cape Town especially - is already perceived by some as ‘overpriced’. While we all know that South Africa is the most beautiful country in the world with the most exceptional, nicest people, potential visitors may easily be swayed by other destinations where they can get top accommodation and great scenery for far less than they’d pay here eg especially destinations like India & Asia. 5-star resorts cost around US$ 400 - 500 whereas a similar 5-star option in Cape Town costs about US$ 700 - 1100 - more than DOUBLE the price?! Surely, a room is a room is a room at that kind of level?
* South Africa is a ‘long haul’ destination - and the largest expense in getting here is the airfare. If people perceive it to be expensive on the ground too, we’re losing the battle!
* South Africans are known as some of the most hospitable people on Earth. Let’s nurture that - rather than become known as the most money-grabbing.
And lastly, please let us not lose sight of what the legacy of tourism can be like AFTER 2010.
The 2010 FIFA ™ World Cup is a once-off, amazing opportunity to give the rest of the world a taste for our rich and diverse smorgasbord of wildlife, scenery, culture, history, adrenalin and adventure.
Let’s do whatever we can to make sure that it makes them hunger for more! Not leave with a bad taste in their mouths …
Enjoy the top sundowner spot in Cape Town - at half the price.
The Aerial Cableway at Table Mountain is running its renowned Summer Sunset Special (until Sunday 28 February 2010).
For four months each year, locals and visitors to the Mother City can travel to the highest sundowner spot in Cape Town after 18h00 and pay just half the normal fare. Just R80 each. U18s pay just R40.
Even if you haven’t got much of a head for heights, there’s a thrill in getting to the top of this iconic Cape Town mountain - 1067 metres above sea level. And the cable cars rotate as you go up. If you’re a phobe, grab onto one of the inside poles and ask the operator if you can sit with them - they’re very helpful.
Once at the top, you can explore the top and enjoy all the various views of Cape Town and the peninsula. You’re bound to come across some inquisitive dassies too (Rock Hyrax) - small, brown fluffy things that are apparently kin to the largest land mammal, the elephant. You can also get up close and personal with some of the magnificent fynbos (flora) that the Cape is famous for.
The best is to bring a picnic, some good friends and a bottle of the Cape’s finest. (Sure helps with the descent if you’re nervous about the trip … or the ascent, too …)
If you’re feeling lazy, or just in the mood for a treat, there is a restarant at the summit - the Table Mountain Café. Enjoy absolutely amazing views of the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean over dinner.
Need a momento? There’s also a gift shop to stock up on some South African souveniers … or just browse through
Sunset Special tickets can be bought from the Cableway’s Ticket Office from 18h00. The last car down is at 21h30.
There’s also a New Year’s Eve special - the last car up leaves at 22h00 and the last car down is at 01h00.
Please note: The Cableway operates only if weather permits.
The Natal’s newspaper, The Mercury, first picked up & published the story that the traveller’s bible, Lonely Planet, has listed Durban as one of the top 10 family beach holiday cities in the world in its latest guide book which has just hit the bookstores in the USA last week.
Other global cities to crack the nod in this prestigious list are: Kauai in Hawaii, Cottlesloe in Australia, Karon Beach in Thailand, Portugal’s Tavira, Mexico’s Sayulita and Bali’s Sanur in the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s“Travel with Children”. Pretty impressive company to keep!
“Durban resembles a gigantic resort holiday paradise, raised for the sole purpose of entertaining families,” the Lonely Planet publication says of the city in its section on South Africa. “Lined with safe beaches watched over by lifeguards, the Golden Mile is great for swimming, snorkelling and water sports.”
Good for Durban. It’s a friendly city with a hot, tropical climate (don’t think Durbanites know what long pants and jerseys are!). It’s pouring money & resources into its new beach-front complex. It’s also going to have one of the best-looking new stadiums for the FIFA 2010 World cup, in my opinion.
I think many tourists bypass Durban in favour of her more famous & beautiful sister, Cape Town, and the loss is definitely theirs.
It’s got an awesome climate - you can enjoy a holiday there at any time of the year. It’s got miles of golden beaches and the sea’s actually WARM to swim in!
Ah-ha. Looks like the rest of the world may be waking up to one of our best kept secrets - and the beach paradise we are blessed with on our eastern shores.
Came across this article on Travel House UK’s blog: http://tinyurl.com/nenjyp about the fate of the magnificent old girl of the seas - the Queen Elizabeth II.
This fabulous vessel was launched by Her Royal Majesty (and namesake) in September 1967 by Cunard, US cruise operators. After an illustrious career that saw her crossing the Atlantic more than 800 times, and carrying over 2 million passengers, the QE2 was the longest-serving ship in the Cunard fleet.
In 2007, Dubai World bought the QE2 from Cunard for an estimated GPB 50 million but has since been at a bit of a loss on what to do with this grand old lady.
Recent rumours are that the Dubai consortium is thinking of berthing her at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and refurbishing her as an upmarket hotel.
I, for one, would love to see that become a reality!
Dunno who the photographer is - just received this by email - but what a stunning pic of Cape Town! So crisp & clear and awesome. For those who aren’t yet lucky enough to have visited this beautiful city, this photo clearly shows the Cape Flats to the left with the Durbanville hills in the background; in the foreground left: the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Waterfront, foreground centre: the magnificent new 2010 Green Point Stadium, with a view of the city centre just above it - and of course, the majestic Table Mountain in the background.
Thank you, photographer!! If you let me have your name, I’ll gladly acknowledge your details & links!
Table Mountain is one of the official nominations in a worldwide “New 7 Wonders of Nature” campaign. The New 7 Wonders Foundation, based in Zurich, Switzerland, recently announced that Table Mountain, along with 261 awesome natural sites from around 222 countries around the world, have made it through to the second round of this global campaign to find the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Some of the competition that Table Mountain is up against, includes other world-famous sites like the Grand Canyon, Loch Ness, the Great Barrier Reef and Niagara Falls. Two canyons that for some reason did not make this list - are both in our portion of the continent: Fish River Canyon & Blyde River Canyon - yet are supposed to be the 2nd & 3rd biggest canyons respectively in the world.
The New 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by public votes. South Africans (or of course, any nationality) can show their support for the Mother City’s majestic mountain by visiting www.new7wonders.com to cast their vote.
The cut-off date for this phase of voting is 7 July 2009 - when the panel will select the 21 worldwide finalists - which coincidentally will be announced on 21 July this year. The final & official selection of the New 7 Wonders of Nature will be announced in 2011.
Voting in the second phase to select the top 77 runs until July 7 this year, when a panel of experts will select the 21 finalists - these will be announced on July 21 when the third and final phase of voting will begin. The official New 7 Wonders of Nature will be revealed in 2011.
Table Mountain has climbed to number five in the New7Wonders of Nature global rankings as from Monday, rocketing 24 places from its previous position of 29 last week. It is now officially ahead of legendary mountains such as Mount Everest, K2 Mountain and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Weird that 2 monuments that depict totally different points of view from totally different epochs are situated on hills overlooking each other at Pretoria. Amazing and wonderful that the new monument will stand as an example of the new Nation’s philosophy of Ubuntu.
Freedom Park, Pretoria, South Africa - photo courtesy of Talk Radio 702
The following definition is by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
“A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
Archbishop Tutu further explained (2008):
“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.
We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”
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For every full-paying adult at R160 (return trip only), 2 x U18 kids go free (normally R80 each so you save R160!).
Cape Town mountain - 1067 metres above sea level. And the cable cars rotate as you go up. If you’re a phobe, grab onto one of the inside poles and ask the operator if you can sit with them - they’re very helpful.
You’re bound to come across some inquisitive dassies too (Rock Hyrax) - small, brown fluffy things that are apparently kin to the largest land mammal, the elephant. You can also get up close and personal with some of the magnificent fynbos (flora) that the Cape is famous for.
