WandaLUSTLeverage. Ubuntu. Sustainability. Transitions.

Blow them? Ban them? Love them? Loath them?

On and off the field and across the world the hammering drone of the vuvuzela is raising more intense emotions — and a greater range of them — than when ones favorite team gets knocked out of the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
Now Durban interior designer Liesl Heath is doing something about it.
Since last week she has been taking the guts out of the vuvuzela’s discordance and turning it into a whisper with her cleverly branded ‘Shu-Shu Zela’ earplugs.
The idea for the earplugs …

Experiencing the political change of South Africa rates as the second preference of most foreign visitors after a visit to a game park. Until recently, there was a lack of tourism facilities in KwaZulu-Natal with a strong liberation theme.
By Wanda Hennig

The heart of Inanda, the sprawling township that is part of the greater Durban municipality, known as eThekweni (Zulu for “where the earth and the ocean meet”), is called Freedom Valley for good reason. It is a fountainhead of South Africa’s rich liberation history; a source of legendary — and contemporary — people, places and events that have shaped and continue to shape the “new” South Africa.

Are you going to South Africa for the 2010 world cup soccer tournament. If not, why not? The good news is, if you haven’t made your travel plans, it’s not too late. If you’re not sure where to start, help is at hand.
By Wanda Hennig
South Africa right now is a great big fabulous party waiting to happen.

No, I’m not blind to some of the more controversial news stories of the past weeks. But for heavens sake, look at the news from the rest of the world (including the United …

What South Africa, Clint Eastward’s movie and Morgan Freeman’s Mandela moment can teach the USA. Ten reasons to see the Oscar-nominated film (with Freeman nominated for Best Actor and Matt Damon for Best Supporting Actor).

By Wanda Hennig

Invictus is the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted and won by South Africa. The movie is a tribute to Nelson Mandela’s vision and leadership — and a lot more. Go see it and be inspired. Perhaps it will give you new thoughts and insights on Washington politics and the US health care debate. The Top 10 list starts with rugby

Story by Daryl Balfour
Guest Contributor
Photos by Daryl and Sharna Balfour

I spent two hours in a tiger’s den this week, watching her nurse five hours-old newborn cubs — including the first white cub born in the wild in more than 50 years.

By guest Africa correspondent Graham Linscott

Photos by Wayne Matthews

TEMBE Elephant Park, a wilderness in the remote north-east of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, offers visitors the opportunity to step back 200 years into unspoiled pre-colonial Africa.

It also offers the opportunity to spot southern Africa’s largest tusker, a giant bull elephant named Isilo who is about 65 years old …

Vicki Gutgesell loves animals and she loves to travel. She goes to see wildlife, birdlife and marine life au natural wherever she can. On a recent trip she went to cuddle cheetah cubs. Sweet, yes. But it was also about species survival.
Story Wanda Hennig
Photos Vicki Gutgesell

Vicki Gutgesell was doing a volunteer shift at the Oakland Zoo in California when a notice pinned to the info board caught her attention. On it she read that someone near Cape Town, South Africa, was looking for volunteers to help hand-raise cheetah cubs. …

What is it like to return to your roots, your soil, for the first time after you’ve emigrated and made a new life in Australia?
By special correspondent Lois Nicholls
Editor of JournoNews

Alive! The word pops into my head as we enter Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo Airport. Ironic really, isn’t it, for a country with one of the highest crime rates in the world. Yet I feel it. Sense it. Am reminded of a friend who says he comes alive every time he returns – feels boring, bland and disconnected for weeks …

When does the 2010 Fifa World Cup begin and how long will it last?
The first game kicks off at Soccer City stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa, on 11 June 2010 and the tournament runs through 11 July 2010. (The final will also be held at Soccer City, Johannesburg).
Is the world interested?
The 2006 World Cup in Germany was the most extensively viewed event in television history. The Fifa Football World Cup is the world’s biggest single-code sporting event in terms of television audience, bigger than the Olympic Games.

When and where will the …

Story and photos by Wanda Hennig
First published in Sunday Life Magazine, South Africa
“I ENVY you. That’s just the sort of holiday I need. Somewhere to relax, space out and unwind.”

The comment comes from a colleague. We’re in the newsroom of the Sunday paper we’re both working on