South Africa: Cape Town crowned Best City in the World for 2025 by Time Out

Cape Town crowned Best City in the World for 2025 by Time Out

Time Out, the global culture, entertainment, and events magazine, has unveiled its annual ranking of the world's best cities. For the 2025 edition, over 18,500 locals shared their thoughts on their hometowns, rating everything from food and nightlife to safety and overall livability. These local insights were combined with expertise from Time Out’s global network of city editors. After analyzing the data, the magazine revealed its list of the 50 best cities on the planet for 2025.

Topping the list is Cape Town, South Africa, which earned glowing reviews across the board. An impressive 97% of residents said the city makes them happy, 95% praised its vibrant food scene, and 82% celebrated its breathtaking beauty.

"Where else in the world can you hang out with a colony of African penguins, taste some of the world’s finest wines, stroll along Blue Flag beaches, enjoy stunning views from atop one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, and sample some of the most eclectic nightlife and vibes in the world… all in one day? That’s our Cape Town."

Time Out’s 50 best cities in the world 2025:

Cape Town, South Africa

Bangkok, Thailand

New York, USA

Melbourne, Australia

London, UK

New Orleans, USA

Mexico City, Mexico

Porto, Portugal

Shanghai, China

Copenhagen, Denmark

Chicago, USA

Lisbon, Portugal

Edinburgh, UK

Hong Kong

Sydney, Australia

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Barcelona, Spain

Seville, Spain

Paris, France

Medellín, Columbia

Hanoi, Vietnam

Madrid, Spain

Berlin, Germany

Dubai, UAE

Singapore

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Beijing, China

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Jakarta, Indonesia

Vienna, Austria

Tokyo, Japan

Marrakech, Morocco

Perth, Australia

Brighton, UK

Prague, Czech Republic

Glasgow, UK

Brisbane, Australia

Marseille, France

Budapest, Hungary

Los Angeles, USA

Lagos, Nigeria

Seoul, South Korea

Valencia, Spain

Montreal, Canada

Bilbao, Spain

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Belfast, UK

Bristol, UK

Mumbai, India

Warsaw, Poland

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Namibia: Namibia Maritime Museum in Lüderitz is temporarily closed

Namibia: The new Namibia Maritime Museum (NMM) in Lüderitz is temporarily closed

The new Namibia Maritime Museum in Lüderitz, Namibia, has informed the public that it is temporarily closed due to ongoing construction work from 16 January 2025 until 26 January 2025. The museum will be open again from Monday, 27 January 2025, at 09:30.

The new museum in Lüderitz, which opened its doors to the public on 01 November 2024, is first ever maritime museum in Namibia and one of Africa's largest maritime museums. It is located in the historic Lüderitz Old Power Station (LOPS) from 1911. The museum covers 2,000m² and features ancient watercraft, fossils, maps, a library, and a treasure trove of thousands of antiques, art displays, and skeletal remains of sharks.

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Namibia: Etosha National Park: Condition of roads is being addressed

Etosha National Park: Condition of roads is being addressed

The Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on 29 October 2024 that the condition of roads in the Etosha National Park is being addressed as matter of urgency. According to the Ministry, the deterioration of the road between Okaukuejo and Namutoni, for instance, is impacted by large traffic volumes. This leads to loss of gravel, severe corrugations, potholes and drainage problems. As an immediate remedy, three graders have been deployed to blade the roads between Halali and Namutoni, Okaukuejo and Halali as well as between Namutoni and King Nehale Gate. The Ministry anticipates that this intervention will improve the road condition in the specified sections within a period of two weeks. Furthermore, the roads from Okaukuejo, Halali, Namutoni to King Nehale Gate will soon be upgraded from gravel to low-seal volume (tarred road).

While the road situation in Etosha National Park is being addressed, the Ministry encourages visitors to consider alternative routes from Okaukuejo to Halali via Gemsbokvlagte, Olifantsbad and Aus for a better travel experience.

Since 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has successfully rehabilitated the western section of the tourist road between Okaukuejo and Galton Gate, completing over 200 kilometers of road upgrade by March 2024.

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South Africa: Le Victor, Martha, Suffolk & Flatdog shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown wreck in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 24:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1782: Le Victor, this wooden sailing corvette wrecked in a north-westerly gale at the Salt River mouth in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Records indicate that ‘nearly’ all aboard were saved, but the exact number of casualties is unknown. The wreck now lies beneath reclaimed land.

1826: Martha, this wooden sailing brig wrecked on the eponymous Martha Reef at Martha Point northeast of Arniston/Waenhuiskrans in the Western Cape.

1900: Suffolk, this four-masted steel steam-powered ship wrecked west of Cape St Francis near Tsitsikamma Point in the Eastern Cape after striking a reef and its holds flooding. A smaller steamer, the Lake Erie, was passing nearby and rescued all that were on board. However, the 900 horses that were being transported were left on board the ship, which disappeared below the waves later in the day. Wreckage washed up as far west as the Great Brak River and later investigations by the authorities found that many of the farm houses had used timber from the wreck that had washed up as there was a Troop letter stamped into the timber used for the horse stalls which made identification quite easy.

1996: Flatdog, this South African yacht collided with a fishing vessel in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape and whilst being towed back for repairs, it foundered.

2009: A SA Airlink British Aerospace Jetstream 41 (registration no. ZS-NRM) suffered an engine failure shortly after taking from Durban International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal and crash landed about 1.6 km from its takeoff runway in the Merebank residential area, skidding through an electrical pole, over a road, and eventually coming to rest against a concrete palisade. The two pilots and one flight attendant on board were seriously injured, with the one pilot succumbing to his injuries on the 7th of October. The wing of the airplane also clipped a member of the public who was seriously injured.

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South Africa: Norfolk, Osprey, Wild Rose & Julia Luckenbach shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown ship in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 23:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1850: Norfolk, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked on Seal Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape.

1865: Osprey, this sailing schooner wrecked on the East Bank of the Buffalo River in East London in the Eastern Cape.

1872: Wild Rose, this wooden sailing barque wrecked in a south-easterly gale on Orient Beach in East London in the Eastern Cape.

1943: Julia Luckenbach, this steam-powered ship collided with the British Resolution on this day and foundered, south of Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Lucy Johnson, SAS Sekhukhuni & Zinder shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown shipwreck in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 22:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1862: Lucy Johnson, this American sailing barque wrecked on Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape after its cables parted shortly after dark.

1972: A United Air Volpar Turboliner II (registration no. ZS-PRA) had refuelled at Jan Smuts Airport in Gauteng and shortly after take-off requested to land again. This was granted and then radio contact was lost. The plane then nosedived into the ground, at a 45-degree angle, and disintegrated upon impact. The two pilots and 1 passenger lost their lives as well as two people on the ground.

2004: The SA Navy scuttled two vessels on this day, off Cape Point in the Western Cape at Pandora:

• SAS Sekhukhuni, a Navy strike craft; and

• Zinder, a South African fishing vessel.

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Bad service - avoid The Dome Hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia

Bad service - avoid The Dome Hotel in Swakopmund, Namibia

The hotel tried to overcharge when we made a boking request in December 2024.

When we pointed out obvious overcharging and showed them their own rates they've just stopped all communication. Typical mediocre service.

#TheDome #AvoidDome #SwakopmundBadService #Namibia #Mediocre #DomeHotel

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South Africa: Susan, Eliza and Alice, Eugenie S Embericos, Strathclyde & Eugeni Livanos shiwprecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown vessel in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 21:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1862: Susan, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked on Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1870: Eliza and Alice, this barque wrecked just off Mostert's Hoek in Cape St. Francis in the Eastern Cape. 

1917: Eugenie S Embericos, this steel steam-powered freighter ran aground on this day east of Great Fish Point in the Eastern Cape after presumably a strong inset current, thick fog, and navigational error as the only chart on board of the South African coast was found to be from 1865. Over the next two years, attempts were made to try and refloat the freighter, but by October of 1919 these were abandoned.

1933: Strathclyde, this iron sailing schooner was scuttled about 8 km off the coast of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.

1971: Eugeni Livanos, this tanker was badly holed after striking Aliwal Shoal in KwaZulu-Natal and was scrapped in Durban harbour. Our records are incomplete on whether the scrapping occurred on this day or whether the impact with Aliwal Shoal occurred on this day.

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South Africa: Benjamin, Royal William, St. Mungo, Charlotte & Piscataqua shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown ship in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 20:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1800: Benjamin, this wooden sailing sloop wrecked in Gordon's Bay in False Bay in the Western Cape with the loss of all hands.

1837: Royal William, this wooden sailing schooner wrecked off Green Point in Table Bay in the Western Cape whilst trying to enter Table Bay at night.

1844: St. Mungo, this wooden sailing barque wrecked on the eponymous St. Mungo Point near Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape. Of the 17 strong crew, ten were lost.

1854: Charlotte, this 3-masted wooden sailing troopship wrecked on the rocks near Jetty Street in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. They attempted to enter Table Bay for provisions but due to adverse winds sailed into Algoa Bay and anchored there on the 19th of September. The cables parted in a south-easterly gale at night and although at first it seemed that they would manage to sail out the storm, more of its cables parted and after striking the rocks just below Jetty Street, the entire vessel started breaking up and sinking. The heavy seas inhibited most assistance from the shore and although some lines reached the troopship, owing to the Manby mortar, nobody noticed the wrecking event at first because of the dark. Those that survived managed to cling to the floating wreckage long enough to reach shore. Of the 227 that were on board, 117 lives were lost that day, 18 crewmen, 62 soldiers of the 27th Regiment, 11 women, and all 26 children. The wreck now lies beneath reclaimed land.

1865: Piscataqua, this wooden sailing vessel wrecked in Granger Bay in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

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South Africa: Catherine Jamieson, Amersham, England, Fingoe, Forres, Major von Safft, Meg Merrilies, Sea Snake, St Croix & Amul shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Unknown ship in Walvis Bay, Namibia

September 19:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1840: Catherine Jamieson, this wooden sailing barque wrecked at Mouille Point in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1869: Amersham, this sailing barque wrecked in a south-easterly gale off Struis Point in the Western Cape.

1869: The strong south-easterly gale that had struck Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape the evening of the 18th raged on, now with wind speeds over 120 kmph being recorded. The following vessels were lost along with the, Sarah Birch (1869), which had wrecked on the night of the 18th, as well several lighters and other small vessels:

• Duke of Buccleuch, deliberately beached in the hopes of refloating the vessel but it was lost;

• England, a barque which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Fingoe, a barque which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Flash, a brigantine which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Forres, a barque which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Gustav, a Swedish brig, deliberately beached in the hopes of refloating the vessel but was also lost;

• Jeanna, a French barque which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Major von Safft, a German barque which was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Meg Merrilies, a vessel which was anchored in the bay and had already been condemned was driven ashore and wrecked;

• Sea Snake, a Swedish barque which was driven ashore and wrecked. Only 8 of the crew of seventeen made it safely to shore, with one member succumbing to his injuries in hospital. One of the rescuers also perished, and when his body was later recovered, the surviving crew carried him to his grave as a mark of honour;

• St Croix, the only steam-powered tug in the port was deliberately beached in the hopes that it could be refloated, but this was not the case and it was also lost;

1972: SAS Natal, this frigate (converted to a Navy survey vessel) was scuttled south of Cape Point on the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape.

2007: Amul, this Indian bulk carrier foundered over 100 km offshore after springing a leak in heavy weather off the Eastern Cape.

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