Enjoy our brilliant advertising!
by CatherineReichardt
Unlikely though it might seem for a developing country, South Africa's advertising is world class and regularly wins international awards.
It's interesting to speculate on the reasons why this might be the case. My personal take is that our advertisers have to be particularly creative because we have such a varied demographic in terms of language (we have 11 official ones), culture and education level. Unusually for a developing nation, we also have a pretty liberal press (although the current ANC government is controversially trying to curb press freedom, much to the protest of the local and international media and civil society). Also the South African sense of humour (if one can generalise on such a scale) is generally heavy on irony, satire and self-deprocation, which probably reflects the British colonial influence.
A company which provides an excellent example of outstanding advertising is the low cost airline Kulula. Their brand is satirical and quirky, as evidenced by these two examples: having suffered indignities one too many times at the hands of airport security, the ad about "Boarding massage. You can feel the stress fall away" cracked me up, and I almost drove off the road the first time I saw it! Similarly, the "Tourists. Awesome to teach Afrikaans swear words to" ad just sums up the playfulness of South African humour.
Kulula's in flight commentary is equally amusing and flippant, and certainly is way more entertaining than their competitors - if you are considering flight options and all other things are equal, this is as good a deciding factor as any! However, safety is the one topic that I don't think airlines should joke about, and when briefing us on emergency procedures I was not best amused to be informed that "if you are travelling with more than one child, decide which one you love most ..." (following a spirited series of exchanges with various levels of management in Kulula, this part of their repertoire was subsequently dropped ...)
Another brand known for their entertaining advertising is the Portuguese-style fast food chicken chain Nando's (which specialises in political satire, and owes more than a little of their inspiration to Spitting Image).
If this topic is of interest, also see my travel tip on Chapman's Peak in Cape Town, which inadvertently provided the venue for one of the most famous comparative advertising campaigns ever (which is still used as a case study in management schools worldwide).
Houghton Golf Course
by cokes
Houghton Golf club is situated in Johannesburg and boasts one of the best courses in the Johannesburg area. The course is home to several tournaments, including the Alfred Dunhill Championship - a championship between Southern Africa and Australasia that is the Southern Hemisphere’s answer to the Ryder cup. Houghton has also hosted the South Africa Open eight times.
This course has gone through some very innovative changes over the past ten years and has been substantially improved and modernized. Holes have been redesigned to incorporate extended water hazards while bunkers have been improved and added to both fairways and greens. Golf Clubs
Oriental Shopping Experience
by cokes about Oriental Plaza
Here you can buy any and everything. These shops are owned by Indian people so you can find lots of materials here , clothing , jewelery almost anything. If you into Indian food then this is right place to be. The prices of the goods is normally good here thats why so many people come here to look for a bargain. You welcome to try bargain with these people here or they might just give you a reduced price to get the sale.
Parking fees for Gautrain stations
by CatherineReichardt
There is parking available at the three Gautrain stations open at present (Sandton, Marlboro and Rhodesfield).
There is a flat fee of R29 for the first 24 hours (or part thereof) at all three stations. The second 24 hours (or part thereof is fixed at R29.50 (no idea why the extra 50c!). Thereafter. the rate increases to R97.50 per day (or part thereof) at Sandton and R58.50 at both Marlboro and Rhodesfield.
These parking rates (especially for the first two days) are very reasonable indeed - so much so that those travelling into Sandton by car might be tempted to masquerade as Gautrain passengers and take advantage of the station's parking. However, those clever people at Gautrain have already thought of this and taken precautions to curb such opportunism. Thus, the GoldCard (Gautrain's smartcard system) picks up whether you actually travelled on the train or not - if not, you are charged the full (much higher) parking rate. Yet one more reason to let the train take the strain!
Monte Casino's seafood extravaganza!
by Jenniflower about Ocean Basket
This is a South African chain of restaurants that specialise in seafood.
We have been to a few in various parts of the country, and they generally have good service.
The last time we went was to the Monte Casino branch...
Service was okay, not as good as usual to be honest, they got the order wrong and we waited too long for one dish, and as we wouldn’t eat till she had got her dish, ours then got cold. So they had to warm them up again.
It is important that dishes for one table are served together, we feel.
Other than that, it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal! And of course we will be back! The food is excellent quality here, but you do pay for it!
Even when we come here when on holiday (sending British Sterling), we feel the prices are too high.
The food is really good though.
We usually have seafood platters, which serve two people. Very well I might add! We always have leftovers.
One always leaves here sated and satisfied!
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Hiking at Melville Koppies
Downtown Johannesburg
Cedar Square
The Space guesthouse, Melville
