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Hero types
Godfrey Mokoena, Olympic long-jumper
Known as Africa’s most famous jumper, Godfrey Khotso Mokoena has been taking the athletics world by storm in the past decade, culminating with a silver medal for the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But the Mokoena Magic still continues, and Godfrey has his sights set on new records all the time.
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Francois le Vaillant: 18th Century explorer
On his extensive travels through the wilds of 18th Century South Africa, the dashing explorer Francois le Vaillant collected trophies, fell in love, dined on exotic dishes, hunted big game, named a number of new bird species, kept a tame baboon called Kees and maintained a sense of humour throughout.
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo
By mixing the rhythms and vocal harmonies of traditional South African music with the sounds of gospel, pop and soul, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have created a distinctive sound that has kept them in business for 40 years and won them fans from across the globe.
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Thomas Bain
The multi-talented Thomas Bain was 1 of the shining stars of Victorian-era South Africa. Not only did he supervise the building of a score of Cape mountain passes, but his passions spread to botany, archaeology, art, water research, administering the law and raising a large, happy family.
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Nelson Mandela
South Africa's world icon Nelson Mandela has been described by greats as generous, a selfless altruist and the most forgiving person on earth. And let us not forget his most famous trademarks - the Madiba-jive and the loose-fitting Madiba shirts.
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James Kitching: fossil hunter of the Karoo
Not only did James Kitching find thousands of important pre-dinosaur fossils from more than 250-million years ago, but he also helped prove the theory of continental drift: that southern Africa was once part of a much larger land mass that included Antarctica, parts of the Americas and Australia.
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Esther Mahlangu
When BMW asked Esther Mahlangu to decorate a so called BMW "art car" in traditional Ndebele design in 1999, she stepped into the league of Andy Warhol and David Hockney (world-renowned artists who created previous art cars for the company). She was the first woman artist to have been honoured as such.
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Dance Festivals in South Africa
Dance festivals in South Africa express with wonderful exuberance the varying dance traditions in South Africa. These wide-ranging styles are often grouped together at one of the many dance festivals regularly held across the country, where visiting audiences can expect a post-modernistic stomp second to none.
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F.W. de Klerk
Humanitarian hero F.W. de Klerk played an important role in bringing an end to South Africa's notorious apartheid regime. He worked closely with Nelson Mandela in drafting a constitution that would benefit all South African citizens, and in 1993 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela.
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Makhaya Ntini
From the day he was plucked out of rural Eastern Cape village life and plunged into the competitive national cricketing system, pace bowler Makhaya Ntini – the first black South African to play cricket for his country - responded with good cheer, fantastic team spirit – and 390 glorious Test wickets.
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Kwa Mashu Performance Arts
Durban’s oldest township, Kwa Mashu, was created during the apartheid era to accommodate the mass resettlement of Africans from the Indian township of Cato Manor in 1958. It is the largest of 3 townships in the area, and home to well over 500 000 people. It also has a robust arts scene.
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Dick King
Riding on horseback for 10 days through hostile territory from Port Natal to British forces in Grahamstown to bring word of pending Boer attacks on his home garrison, Dick King’s epic journey through hostile territory nearly killed the frontiersman and his Zulu companion, who rode with him for part of the way.
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Icons of the Arts
South Africa has produced icons of the arts from an array of disciplines. Celebrated at home and abroad, these visual artists, writers, dancers, musicians and performers represent the country's diversity as well as its creative potential. They are all heroes of the arts.
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Topsi Venter
Topsi Venter, like Alice in Wonderland tumbling down the rabbit hole, just 'fell' into food. Her culinary adventures are equally fantastical: a creative mélange of cooking, teaching, food art and, finally, a quirky bistro in Franschhoek - and modern South African cuisine is all the richer for it.
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South African culinary heroes
South African culinary heroes are among our nation’s best storytellers, using the language of food. Their stories are not just about good food, but about doing South African food justice by keeping food traditions alive and according the gastronomic contributions of all communities their rightful place in our culinary history.
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