Tag: entertainment

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Light the Fire

Bungee jumping, jet skiing and charitable donations planned for Light the Fire familiarisation trips

light the fire

The second annual Light the Fire lifestyle biking event has a non-stop line-up of familiarisation trips which will take a number of VIP guests to the tourism hotspots of the South Coast from Thursday 28 April to Saturday 30 April.

 

“This will be a forerunner to the main Light the Fire event which runs from 30 April to 1 May,” explained event organiser, Sinethemba Dhlomo of Integrated Concepts. “This will give us an opportunity to showcase the amazing venues, sights and activities on offer in and around the Paradise of the Zulu Kingdom.”

 

Participants of the familiarisation tourism excursions will include the main sponsors – the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development Tourism & Environmental Affairs and Tourism KZN, among others – as well as VIP celebrity bikers, Motorcycle Club (MCC) presidents, media and other invited stakeholders.

 

On Thursday 28 April, visitors will get to experience the Wild Swing at the top of Lehr’s Waterfall where bungee jumping or ziplining 165m over Oribi Gorge will start the weekend with a serious adrenaline rush. This will be followed by a game drive, or horse ride for the adventurous, at Lake Eland Game Reserve and brunch at Leopard Rock overlooking a quintessentially African view. The day will ease off with a sunset boat cruise, snorkelling, jet skiing and shark cage diving at Shelly Beach and sundowners at the upmarket Stages Restaurant & Lounge, promising 270-degree ocean views from Port Shepstone’s beachfront.

 

Day two will have a gentler start with breakfast at Mac Banana, a unique shopping, food and entertainment destination with a fantastic Lifestyle Centre. Here visitors can stroll through the food emporium, participate in paintball, quad biking and adventure golf or peruse the art gallery and animal farm. The day’s highlight will be a mass charity ride to Gamalakhe Sports’ Ground to hand over a cheque to the Gamalakhe Community Development Foundation which assists the local community with uniforms, school shoes, tertiary fees, career training and business opportunities. Ending off the day will be a fantastic rooftop pool party at Hillbillion Estate where guests can enjoy a complimentary three-course dinner, welcome drinks and Top DJ line up to start off the lifestyle entertainment of Light the Fire 2016.

 

The following two days will be a spectacular motoring extravaganza with a motorcycle manufacturer exhibition, custom bikes show and shine, spinning and stunt area, drifting, kids’ action zone, motorcycle club village, novice and advanced riding demonstrations, live stage music and other entertainment all staged at the scenic Dezzi Raceway, Marburg in Port Shepstone. There will also be amazing spinning, wheelies and stunts by Seipei ‘Biker Queen’ Mashugane, Alfred ‘King Donut’ Matamela, Brian Capper and other MCC riders. A much anticipated race is the spectacular showdown of bike vs car with Africa’s fastest brother, Gugu Zulu, behind the wheel of a Backdraft Racing Cobra. There will also be a VIP precinct offering upmarket hospitality for the signature biker lifestyle including cigar and whiskey lounge, photo booth, sushi bar and prize giveaways.

 

During the two-day event there will be a number of cash prizes for winners of the best showcase and/or stunt man/woman in a variety of categories:

 

Motorcycle club with most attendees – R10 000

Best show-and-shine motorbike – R2 500

Best motorbike anthem – R2 500

Best wheelie – 1st place: R5 000; 2nd place: R3 000; 3rd place: R2 000

Best donut – 1st place: R5 000; 2nd place: R3 000; 3rd place: R2 000

 

To enter the best wheelie or best donut, participants must upload a video by 15 April 2016 of their stunt onto our Facebook page; Light The Fire SA with their biker name and name of motorcycle club. Semi-finalists will then be shortlisted to perform the donut or wheelie at the main event.

 

Tickets for Light the Fire at Dezzi Raceway are available at Computicket – R80 for general, R50 for pensioners and children under 12 years and R350 for VIP tickets. Limited VIP weekend passes, which include the Rooftop Pool pre-party at Hillbillion Estate on 29 April 2016, are only available frominfo@thesociallink.net

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Dinner and dancing fun at the 2015 Portuguese Mariners Food, Wine & Family Festival “Shipwreck Party”

Dinner and dancing fun at the 2015 Portuguese Mariners Food, Wine & Family Festival “Shipwreck Party”

Enjoy a traditional Portuguese feast while partying in your best “shipwreck” attire at the opening party of the 2015 Portuguese Mariners Food, Wine & Family Festival on 24 July.

For more than a decade, Port Edward residents have commemorated the lives of the passengers of Portuguese ship, Sao Joao. The ship was wrecked on rocks outside Port Edward in 1552 on its return journey from India when it got caught in the fatal storm, killing 126 passengers, including Princess Leonora de Sousa.

This annual weekend celebration traditionally starts with the “Beach Shipwreck” opening dinner and dance which will be held on Friday, 24 July at TO Strand.

“This Sao Joao shipwreck is the first recorded time Europeans landed in South Africa so it has amazing historial significance for both the Portuguese and South Africans,” explained Gillian Habib, chairman of the Portuguese Mariners Food, Wine & Family Festival committee. “The Beach Shipwreck dinner is a fun way to celebrate the lives of the survivors and victims in a fun, relaxed environment.”

Party guests are invited to wear what they would have been wearing “when the ship went down”. This means that anything from ballgowns and tuxedos to pyjamas and overalls are welcome so get creative and raid your wardrobe for a fun outfit.

The R150 ticket entitles party-goers to a fantastic meal which includes a starter of peri-peri chicken liver on toasted rye followed by a delicious Portuguese roasted chicken cooked on an open flame. This is accompanied by roasted seasonal vegetables, Portuguese-style sauteed potatoes with rosemary and thyme, salada de Aba cate com Tomotes and freshly baked bread rolls, garlic loaves with kalamata olive tapenade. Dinner will be finished off with a delicious Mariner’s pudding.

When not eating, guests can relax on hay bales around beachside fires, sipping on sangria, gluhwein or katembas while enjoying the melodic sound of accoustic guitar in the background.

Children are also welcome to attend at a special price of R35 which includes a burger, chips and softdrink.

Justin Mackrory, Chief Executive Officer of UGU Tourism South Coast, said the Shipwreck Party, and festival overall, was hugely significant for the area.

“It’s a really great chance for people to experience the Portuguese culture mixed with the warm hospitality of the South Coast,” said Mackrory. “It’s an important historical celebration and a really fun family event.”

Make sure you get to The Portuguese Mariners Food, Wine & Family Festival’s Shipwreck Party on 24 July which will kick-start an action-packed weekend of family fun.

 

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Jay Steenkamp in the barrel at St. Mikes

Jay Steenkamp in the barrel at St. Mikes (August 2014)

“Repost from August 2014: As we move into the south coast winter conditions we have all been waiting for here is some motivation to get onto the press ups and sit ups routines. Jay Steenkamp proving that it does actually barrell at Saints, sometimes…looking forward to Jay’s GoPro antics again this year…”

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Now this is how you take a selfie pal! (c) Jay Steenkamp

GoPro cameras have certainly changed the way we view surfing. Jay Steenkamp has mastered the tricky take-off to holding the camera behind out behind him as he negotiates some solid pits at Saints this winter.

A sand dredging tuberide view from the inside...
A sand dredging tuberide view from the inside…(c) Jay Steenkamp

And then while sitting around in the line up, if you have a GoPro, you can film the gamefish hammering baitfish around your legs…like this profile shot of what seems to be a Greater Barracuda…yeah, the ones with TEETH! Toes up Jay!

What could it be?
What could it be? (c) Jay Steenkamp

Thanks for the photos Jay, keep ’em coming!

Jay is also our sardine spotter in the air as he works for the Natal Sharks Board…who fly a plane up and down the coast in the sardine season, reporting on the action. Unfortunately, there is still nothing to report, it looks to be another bleak run for our sorely missed sardines.

You can keep up to date with the marine life and activity by visiting our Sightings section…an interactive map with markers reflecting the positions of marine animals, like whales, sardines and dolphins.

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River Cruising on the weekend…

River cruising on the weekend…

The Umzimkulu was out yesterday with some of the original river pirates enjoying some river cruising – John Collinson and Lawrence Wurznip…brought a fishing rod along to test out some new lures…and a cooler box for the fish…?

Port
John Collinson, Johan Papenfuss, John Fever and Lawrence Wurznip.
Starboard
Sadie Papenfuss, Alison Winroe, Megan and Dave Candy…

Although we did try really hard in the crystal clear incoming tide, throwing dropshots and flash lures – we never got a hit. John says it’s far too clean in the river for fishing and Lawrence agreed, both speculating also that the mouth will most likely close in the next week or two. It’s bad news for the skiboaters, but for the estuarine anglers, its fantastic news. The fish generally get more and more active, the longer the mouth is close. And the garrick run usually starts at about the same time the mouth starts closing. We will start targeting garrick shortly…book your spot here.

There is a rumour circulating Port Shepstone, of a 30 kg kob taken off the wall just on the inside of the river mouth…last week?! Our investigative instincts have kicked in and we will surely have some more about this phantom fish shortly. We have a name.

In the meantime, it’s the weekend so you can catch us down on the river, at Spiller’s Wharf…river cruising from lunch time ’til dark…

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Portuguese party at Bela’s

Portuguese party at Bela’s

In keeping with this weekend’s theme, Bela’s Restaurant at Spiller’s Wharf are hosting a Portuguese party with Portuguese food, drinks and attractions, including… boat rides,  fishing lessons, music…

belas-portuguese-party
Spiller’s Wharf in the sunset light…river cruises start up at 10am and run into the evening…bring your drinks and snacks…and fishing rods…call John on +27 81 266 0345 for more info…

River cruises start at 11am and sail each hour on the hour,  R50 a ticket. Kids under 10 go FREE! With an adult of course!

Bela will be cooking up her blend of Portuguese and Mozambican flavours – espetadas, squid heads, fresh fish (maybe even grilled sardines!) peri-peri chicken and other flamed delights…

Call Bela to book a table, stage a party or cook up a storm on +27 78 538 9913

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