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Madame Zingara’s: The best night out in Johannesburg
2344 days
They came from Russia, the Ukraine and Khayelitsha. Acrobats, drag queens and skipping skeletons. Whether you’re looking for some risqué humour or jaw-dropping acrobatics, Madame Zingara’s has it all.
Started in Cape Town in 2001, Madame Zingara’s was a whimsical restaurant that firmly established itself as a local favourite. Tragically, the restaurant burnt down 5 years later and, in 2007, re-launched as a Madame Zingara’s Theatre of Dreams. Hosted in the very first Spiegel tent to hit African shores, and propped up by 1000 bevelled mirrors, Madame Zingara’s is pulling in hundreds of people each night – 420 to be exact – to eat, drink and be merry.
We joined the excited guests on Friday night, after having had to book two months in advance. My partner Davina had no idea what she was in for and my impression of what the evening would hold swung somewhere between Cirque du Soleil and a dinner cabaret show. We’d heard that dressing up for Madame Zingara’s was de rigeur, so I’d dutifully visited China Mall and topped up on beads, boas and basher hats (sparkly, of course).
- Madame Zingara’s whimsical world
Our visual senses were overwhelmed at every turn – flashing hearts, swinging tea-cups, giant lollypops and gilded carriages greeted us as we entered the lobby. Inside the tent, we were shown to our table and offered complimentary vodka, mint and lime cocktails. With a full house booked, thankfully the service worked like clockwork and in a flash our Mediterranean-inspired mezze platter and espresso-cup starter of butternut soup was served to warm us up.
The El Milagro show opened with a compere who welcomed “old faces, new faces and old faces with new faces”, setting the tone for an evening of humour. A pair of acrobats set the tone, swinging from the tent’s centerpiece chandelier with nary a safety harness in sight. In between the Russian gymnasts, the Ukrainian chair balancer and South Africa’s biggest Dream Girls trio, we feasted on butternut ravioli (heart-shaped, natch), a lamb shank that literally melted in my mouth and a trio of granadilla (passion-fruit) pannacotta, chocolate mousse and raspberry sponge.
- Left: The Mediterranean mezze. Right Top: Butternut ravioli. Right bottom: A trio of desserts
The glittering MC of the evening came close to stealing the show. Cathy Specific is South Africa’s “First Lady of Flight” and, with her two Trolley Dollies (Molly and Holly) kept the audience in stiches for most of the night. Sadly, there was a table behind us who couldn’t appreciate a “cock in a frock” and Cathy’s tale of reporting a “bumper lashing” at the local police station flew over many people’s heads (“Only the gay audience members got that”, observed Cathy).
- The leading ladies at the Theatre of Dreams. Top: Dream Girls. Bottom: Cathy Specific (centre) with her Trolly Dollies, Molly (left) & Holly (right).
The evening ended with a wonderful display by talented local artists. There was the gymnast who had us gasping as she rolled down from the roof of the tent, stopped from falling by only two broad ribbons and the skipping skeletons, three local lads from a Cape Town township who knew their way around skipping ropes like no-one we’d ever seen before. The stage was then cleared for the audience to take to the floor and dance the night away, which we did with much enthusiasm.
- Scenes from the show (taken very clandestinely)
If you’re still debating whether or not to treat yourself to a night with the Madame (with ticket prices from R410 – R495 you may be thinking twice about booking) let me give you three words of advice – just do it. But you’d better be quick. At the end of August the Madame packs up her mirror tent and heads back to Cape Town, so phone them now and you might just get to party with the cast in August.
World Cup weather: packing for South Africa
11105 days
South Africa: the land of endless sunshine, warm weather and dry, blue sky days.
This is what many World Cup visitors to South Africa will be expecting when they descend on our shores before the kick-off on 11th June. What many visitors might not take into consideration is the fact that it’s actually going to be the middle of our winter here (we are in the Southern Hemisphere after all).
So it’s going to be a little chilly. And, if you’re going to Cape Town, it’s going to be a little wet.
For our tourists hoping to make the best of the 2010 World Cup, here’s a brief weather and packing guide to make your holiday that much more enjoyable. Games are schedule for kick-off at 13:30, 16:00 and 20:30 – so you’ll need different layers of clothing for different times of the day.
Johannesburg (Soccer City & Ellis Park Stadiums)
Two major stadiums are situated in Johannesburg and between them will host key matches including the opening ceremony and the final. Johannesburg is often a beautiful city in winter, commonly with clear blue skies during the day and bright warm sunshine. In the middle of a good day, as you experience temperatures of up to 20°C for the 13:30 games, you might even need to slap on a little sunscreen and wear your supporters cap.
In the early mornings and evenings though, it’s a different story altogether. Temperatures can often drop to zero or just below zero at night and if an icy wind is blowing during the day (even if the sky is blue and the sun is shining) a day-time maximum of 10°C is possible. As soon as the sun drops low in the sky, the temperature plummets so take an extra layer of warmth to the stadiums with you for the 16:00 games. Prepare for early morning temperatures of 0 – 5°C.
For the 20:30 games, you’ll need a good few layers – a thick warm jacket, woolly hat and gloves will help you ward off the inevitable winter night chill. Johannesburg is mostly dry during winter, but there is the chance of the occasional winter shower so it’s wise to pack a light-weight rain coat.
Essentials: Heavy jacket, gloves, warm socks, scarf, thermal underwear, sunscreen
Pretoria (Loftus Versfeld)
Pretoria’s weather is very similar to Johannesburg’s, with the only difference being a 1 – 2°C higher temperature during the day and the mornings. So, dress as per the guidance for Johannesburg – sunscreen during the day with a jacket and cold weather gear for the evenings.
Essentials: Heavy jacket, gloves, warm socks, scarf, sunscreen
Rustenburg (Royal Bafokeng Stadium)
Host of many first round games (including England vs USA) and a round of 16 game, Rustenburg is normally relatively warm on a winters day, with temperatures a few degrees higher than you would expect in Johannesburg. The 13:30 games in Rustenburg will be relatively pleasant from a temperature perspective, but come 16:00 when the sun starts dropping, the same weathers rules as Johannesburg will apply.
20:30 games will be very cold, so pack the warm jackets, woolly hats and gloves to keep you warm during the games.
Essentials: Heavy jacket, gloves, warm socks, scarf, thermal underwear, sunscreen
Polokwane and Nelspruit (Peter Mokaba and Mbombela Stadiums)
These two cities host a number of group games and will have some of the most moderate temperatures for the 13:30 games – approximately 20 – 23°C during the day. Dry conditions prevail here and you can expect early morning temperatures of 4 – 6°C. Consider taking a warm sweat-shirt and light jacket for the 16:00 and 20:30 kick-off games.
Essentials: Light jacket, sweatshirt, sunscreen
Bloemfontein (Free State Stadium)
Bloemfontein hosts a number of first round games and one round of 16 game and, whilst middle of the day temperatures can be relatively warm (17°C) and conditions dry (very dry), the temperature plummets drastically overnight. Early morning temperatures of approximately -2°C are relatively common and for the 20:30 games, you’ll definitely need a very warm jacket and your ski gloves. No raincoat required!
Essentials: Heavy jacket, gloves, warm socks, scarf, thermal underwear, sunscreen
Durban (Moses Mabhida Stadium)
This iconic new stadium in Durban is host to some first round games, a round of 16 game and a semi-final and will, thankfully, provide some of the most moderate weather for the fans. Winter weather in Durban is wonderful and, despite temperatures not soaring higher than 23°C in June/July, the real joy comes in the moderate evening and early morning temperatures of approximately 11°C. Expect sunshine during the day, but you’ll need a sweat-shirt or jacket in the evenings.
Essentials: Light jacket, sweatshirt, sunscreen
Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Stadium)
This is where the fun begins, for Port Elizabeth is known as the “Windy City”. Combine this with the typically wet weather conditions that can be expected in Port Elizabeth in winter and brace yourself, fans. Temperatures will not drop exceptionally low in Port Elizabeth in the evenings and early mornings (when compared to Bloemfontein and Johannesburg), but the rain and wind may make the average minimum temperature of 10°C seem colder.
Day-time temperatures can reach up to 20°C so for the group games that start at 13:30 you’ll need a light jacket but almost certainly a raincoat. For the 16:00 and 20:30 games consider adding a heavier jacket to you bag, in addition to your raincoat.
Essentials: Raincoat, warm jacket, warm socks, gloves
Cape Town (Green Point Stadium)
Cape Town is known for its beautiful scenery – the mountain, the beaches, the forests. The problem is, in winter you can’t see any of it thanks to the persistent, driving rain. So, for World Cup fans attending football games in Cape Town, a rain coat is a must. In fact, maybe you should pack your wellington boots too.
Winter in Cape Town is very similar to winter in England – wet and miserable. Temperatures are moderate, so to speak, but often the daily maximum temperature is only 2 – 3°C higher than the minimum, so you can spend the entire day feeling cold and damp. Expect minimum temperatures of approximately 5 – 7°C and maximum temperatures of 15°C. Oh, and some rain.
Essentials: Raincoat, warm jacket, warm socks, gloves
See you at a game!
Advanced traffic technology in South Africa
11107 days
South Africa is a diverse nation – caught between the east and the west, you can find influences from all hemispheres. You’ll also find traces of bipolarity as you try to figure out whether we’re a first world country or a third world country.
Or both.
In many cases we’re a third world country. We run on “Africa time” – and, as a visitor this will, in all likelihood, drive you crazy. Our currency isn’t particularly strong. Unemployment is “officially” at 25%. Many South Africans live in shanty-towns (or ghettos) with no running water or electricity. Our Gross National Income (per capita) is $2,751 per person.
In other instances, we’re a first world country. We have running (drinkable) water and electricity and, contrary to popular belief there are no lions, elephants or tigers (remember, tigers are NOT native to Africa) roaming the streets. We have broadband internet, albeit a little slow. Our national road structure is well established (mind the potholes), we have some first-class universities and our technology is pretty impressive.
But what really makes South Africa a technologically advanced country?
It’s our secret traffic controlling weapon. We have robots. Not even Japan has robots controlling their traffic, but we do.
If you’re visiting South Africa for the first time (particularly during the 2010 Fifa World Cup) and a local gives you directions involving “robots” – i.e. “turn left at the first robot” – we at Earth Travel Unlimited want to make sure you know what you’re looking for.
Here it is, a South African robot:
You might recognise it as a traffic light. But, just to confuse you, we call them robots.
It’s just one of the things that makes South Africa unique.
Roadside entrepreneurs: window ting-ting
11114 days
There are some things that are uniquely South African. So much so that we believe they warrant their own blog section “Only in South Africa”.
Roadside entrepreneurs (and their creative spelling) are just one of those things that make South Africa so unique.
First-time visitors to our fair country may be surprised at the range and diversity of products that they can buy at a set of traffic lights (or robots) – coat hangers, garbage bags, car licence disk-holders, world maps, Coca-cola, bags of crisps. We often joke that it’s only a matter of time before we won’t need shops anymore; we will be able to do all our shopping at major intersections.
In addition to the traffic light entrepreneurs, innovative South Africans often set up shop at the side of the road, particularly along the sides of busy urban and regional roads. Here you can find anything from hub caps, tyres, bean bag couches, wicker furniture, bird-food, garden plants, car air-conditioner re-gassing and window ting-ting.
Yes, you heard us right.
Window ting-ting.
Window ting-ting is a popular modification to cars in South Africa. A good application of ting-ting to your car windows will serve a number of purposes – it adds some much needed protection from the blazing sunshine; it means the traffic police can’t see you talking on your mobile phone whilst driving and it limits harassment from other traffic-light entrepreneurs. Of course if you’re a (in-)famous C-list South African celebrity, you’ll want to go for the super-dark shading of ting-ting.
So we highly recommend that if you don’t already have your windows ting-tinged, head on over to our favourite window ting-ting specialist in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, and get your windows ting-tinged…..er, tinted, today.
Friendly faces in parking lots
41124 days
South Africa is a friendly country.
So friendly in fact that when you park your car on a street, or in a parking lot – well, just about anywhere really – you’ll find a friendly face beaming at you as you pull into the parking space, twisting and turning your steering wheel to the whistles and directional hand signals of the friendly face. You get out of your car and the friendly face will beam even more widely, revealing a (frequently) toothless grin (especially if you’re in Cape Town, but more on that later) and you will be greeted by a gushing “Hello” and a wave of the hand.
Off you go, to do your shopping, watch your movie or drink your coffee and on your return, the same friendly face will be there, saying “Goodbye” and watching you intently as you get into your car. You’ll even get some whistling and hand signals to help you navigate your way out of your parking space [I find these hand signals particularly useful when I’ve reversed into the parking space and all I’m now doing is pulling straight out in a forward direction].
What could be friendlier than that?
But, it’s not all as straight-forward as it seems.
These are South Africa’s “Car guards” – an employment initiative introduced years ago in an effort to lower unemployment. Now, car guards are everywhere and their chief job is to “look after your car for you”. This means making sure that nobody crashes into your car, breaks into or damages your car or worse still – steals your car.
The question of course remains as to what a car guard will actually do when it comes to the crunch – would they put themselves in the line of fire to protect your car? The jury’s still out on this one. Some car guards have official uniforms, some have fluorescent bibs and some….well, let’s just say they could be any man off the street.
In return for their watchful eyes, they expect a tip of between R2 – R5. For most of us, that’s not too much. The annoyance starts to mount though when you’ve only been out of your car for a few minutes or [my personal favourite], the car guard doesn’t actually know which car is yours and is just saying “Hello” to you as you walk past on the off-chance that he’s guessed correctly. But, if you’re visiting South Africa, humour the poor fellows and give them a tip. Just don’t expect them to actually prevent anything happening to your car.
Disclaimer: This post was written before the Twitter #TNI discussion on friendly cities. Just so you know!
