I ♥ Hurlingham Because ...

I ♥ Hurlingham

Hi, I’m Trish from Hurlingham House in Hurlingham.

Hurlingham IS BEST KNOWN FOR being a peace­ful and safe sub­urb, yet it's only 3km from the heart of Sandton.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the statue of Nelson Mandela in Mandela Square.

THE BEST archi­tec­tural PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the Sandton CBD.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Zoo Lake.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO sit at our swim­ming pool or in a side­walk cafe.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO go to Sandton City Mall.

I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS spring or sum­mer, BECAUSE the trees in Hurlingham are beau­ti­ful and the weather is good. Continued

I ♥ Chartwell Because ...

I ♥ Chartwell

Hi, I’m Alan from Hoopoe Haven Guest House in Chartwell, in Sandton.

Chartwell IS BEST KNOWN FOR its coun­try atmo­sphere and liv­ing. All plots are from 2.5 to 10 acres in size, so it is very peace­ful. The Lion Park is on the bor­der of Chartwell West 1 km away as the crow flies and just 5 km south is the busy met­ro­polis of four­ways with lots of malls and shops, MonteCasino and plenty of activ­ity like live theatre, ice rink, extra­vag­an­zas, bird park etc. Chartwell is a place where you can relax and just enjoy yourself.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Lion park where you are allowed to touch and play with the lion cubs.
THE BEST hol­i­day PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT bird­park in MonteCasino.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT any of the rid­ing stables in Chartwell or even going for a horse ride at the Rhino and Lion park. Continued

I ♥ Inanda Because ...

I ♥ Inanda

Hi, I’m Paul Oosthuizen from Inanda Club in Inanda, a stone’s throw away from the fin­an­cial busi­ness hub of Sandton, Johannesburg. Inanda, mean­ing ‘beau­ti­ful’ in Zulu, is the only remain­ing green lung in Sandton.

Inanda IS BEST KNOWN FOR beau­ti­ful, up mar­ket res­id­en­tial prop­er­ties and tree-lined streets, the sub­urb is also home to St David’s Marist Inanda, one of hun­dreds of Marist schools, youth insti­tu­tions and uni­ver­sit­ies around the world, which also cel­eb­rates its 70^th Anniversary this year (2011). Being so cent­rally loc­ated, Inanda is in close prox­im­ity to the Sandton Convention Centre, Melrose Arch, Hilton Hotel, Village Walk Shopping Centre, Wanderers Cricket Grounds and Golf Course, SA Tourism’s offices, the Rosebank CBD, Morningside and Rosebank Clinics, Hyde Park Shopping Centre and Killarney Mall Shopping Centre. Continued

I ♥ Sandhurst Because ...

I ♥ Sandhurst

Hi, I’m Cheryl from Mustard Seed Guest House in Sandhurst.

Sandhurst IS BEST KNOWN FOR its stun­ning homes and beau­ti­ful gardens.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT The Mandela Statue. This statue of a 21^st cen­tury icon will tower above you.

THE BEST scenic PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN FROM the top of the Radisson Blu Hotel.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Mandela Square.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO go for walks through the sub­urb or lie under a tree in the garden with a book.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO visit the Sandton Library or have a cof­fee at the Book Shop. Continued

Liliesleaf Farm — Photographs

On a recent visit to Johannesburg my mom and I decided to spend a morn­ing tak­ing a tour at the Liliesleaf farm in the leafy sub­urb of Rivonia. I had heard of Liliesleaf before but this was a learn­ing and his­tor­ical exper­i­ence unlike any­thing I have exper­i­enced in a while.

Liliesleaf farm was key to the polit­ical and mil­it­ary policies and strategies of the ANC dur­ing Apartheid and the farm has been restored and turned into an inter­act­ive exhibit which has been open to the pub­lic since 2008. We were taken on a tour by an exper­i­enced guide who was both know­ledge­able and happy to answer our bar­rage of ques­tions. She also showed us the places we could come back to visit should we want to find out more — or has she told us this is where you teach your­self. So you are able to take in as little or as much as you would like to from this visit. I strongly urge any­one who is in Rivonia to go and visit this spe­cial place. Learn more about our country's his­tory and exper­i­ence a fant­astic exhibit... Continued

The cutest little Indie Coffee Shop in Africa — Wolves

Wolves Café

Wolves Café in Illovo, Johannesburg, is the brainchild of three friends and cre­at­ives, and is undoubtedly one of the hippest hangouts in the city. One of the tal­en­ted own­ers, Angie Batis, is not only the stel­lar cre­at­ive force behind a pop­u­lar blog as well as the Creative Head of a well-known ad agency; she also bakes the coolest cup­cakes and delect­ables for Wolves. Co-owner and hus­band, Shane Durrant, is the lead singer of pop­u­lar local band, ‘Desmond and the Tutus,’ and together with a friend, they cre­ate the magic that Wolves is known for. Continued

A Freshlyground Christmas

A Freshlyground X-Mas

Yes, it’s true…  Freshlyground is on Nelson Mandela Square’s Christmas list this year and this means that Sandton’s most spec­tac­u­lar annual car­ols event has just become that much better!

So, make sure that you diar­ize Sunday, December 5 at 18h00 and be on Nelson Mandela Square at Sandton City to exper­i­ence an event that is sure to prove unfor­get­table. Continued

The International Stamp Show in Gauteng from 27 to 31 October 2010

International Stamp Show

When I was younger I used to col­lect stamps, I’m not sure if this was because I was try­ing to get another badge to sew onto my uni­form or if I just decided to do this as a hobby. Either way, I spent a fair amount of time col­lect­ing a vari­ety of stamps and put­ting them into my stamp book – which I am sure is col­lect­ing a ser­i­ous pile of dust on my mom’s book­shelf now. Stamp col­lect­ing, or phil­a­tely, is an extremely pop­u­lar hobby world­wide and this October you can visit the International Stamp Show at the Sandton Convention Centre from 27–31 October 2010. Continued

An interlude in Jozi — dinner at Chez Girard

Chez Girard

My home for last week was Johannesburg and being a born and bred Capetonian this was a bit of a shock to the sys­tem. My beau­ti­ful moun­tain and quite streets of the south­ern sub­urbs were traded in for a caco­phony of sounds and big roads and plenty of road works.

While I enjoy Johannesburg, I feel that it is only a place I can visit as I long for the beauty of the moun­tain which juts out from almost every win­dow you glance out of and the quiet peace­ful­ness that Cape Town exudes. Yes we are known as a “laid back” city, but I think there is some­thing to be proud of and hold in high hon­our. Oh boy do I love Cape Town ... Continued

Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival at the Sandton Sun in May

Borne from the vine, dis­tilled to per­fec­tion and crowned by the world, South African brandy has no equal. Celebrating South Africa’s iconic elixir, the Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival is a unique, all-brandy event tak­ing place from 5 to 7 May 2010 at the Sandton Sun.  Now in its third year, the Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival is an ini­ti­at­ive by the South African Brandy Foundation in spon­sor­ship with Standard Bank, provid­ing a soph­ist­ic­ated show­case where vis­it­ors can exper­i­ence the tri­umphs of the country’s dis­til­lers. Continued

Winner Weekend Away for 4 Couples in Sandton

CONGRATULATIONS to Janine Bardin of South Africa who has won a lux­uri­ous week­end away for 4 couples to the 5-star graded Tladi Lodge in Sandton. The prize includes accom­mod­a­tion for 4 couples for 2 con­sec­ut­ive week­end nights (Friday and Saturday nights), one 3-course set menu served in the din­ing room for each adult stay­ing at Tladi lodge on Friday night (a nearby res­taur­ant will be recom­men­ded for Saturday night, but is not included in the prize) and full break­fasts on Saturday and Sunday morn­ings between 8am and 10am. Excludes all bever­ages as well as any other extras.

Janine, your voucher is on its way. Please con­tact Tladi Lodge to redeem the voucher (valid until 15 March 2010). We’re sure you and your friends will all enjoy your stay! Continued

Win a Weekend Away for 4 Couples in Sandton (closed)

WIN a lux­uri­ous week­end away for 4 couples to the 5-star graded Tladi Lodge in Sandton. The sprawl­ing thatched lodge is set on 2 acres of well ten­ded tran­quil gar­dens with a ten­nis court and a swim­ming pool in the Sandton sub­urb of Sandown, which lies between Morningside and the Sandton CBD, a prime pos­i­tion in Johannesburg. Just a stone’s throw away from Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City, this is an ideal loc­a­tion from which to enjoy the mul­ti­tude of activ­it­ies avail­able in Johannesburg.

The prize:

• Accommodation for 4 couples for 2 con­sec­ut­ive week­end nights (Friday and Saturday nights)
• One 3-course set menu served in the din­ing room for each adult stay­ing at Tladi lodge on Friday night (a nearby res­taur­ant will be recom­men­ded for Saturday night, but is not included in the prize)
• A full break­fast will be served on Saturday and Sunday morn­ing between 8am and 10am
• Continued