Category Archives: South Africa

Contributor Street Signs #4: Allow Us to Eat You- S.Africa

Contributor, Ridiculous Street Signs, South Africa
a sign on a pole

I was happy to receive an e-mail from travel blogger Elena. She wanted to share a photo of a sign which she found to be very funny since she had just came back from a safari. Having been on quite a few safaris (spread out over two trips to Africa), I could definitely see the humor in her sign.

Elena blogs about ways to earn miles and her travels around the U.S. at Giddy For Points which is part of the new travel blog aggregate site First2Board.
After receiving the sign photo from Elena, I sent her some questions.

Here they are:

MW: What country & city was the sign seen in?
Elena: I spotted the sign near Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg, South Africa.

MW: When did you spot it?
Elena: We were on the way to dinner, looking for a place to eat. 

MW: Where was it?
Elena: The sign was at the entrance to a restaurant.

MW: What was your reaction when you saw the sign?
Elena: When we saw the sign we started giggling which caught the attention of the wait- staff. They tried to cover up the sign but I snapped a pic before they did.

MW: Is there anything else of importance that you would like to add?
Elena: This was my first time out of the county. I was visiting a friend in South Africa that was in the peace corp at the time.

a sign with text on it

Upon further inspection of Elena’s photo, Kim noticed that the “S” was missing. Apparently this restaurant wasn’t looking to eat you, they were really asking to be allowed to seat you.

Look at the difference one letter could make!

Thanks Elena for reaching out and sending in this ridiculous sign!

Have your photo featured on Michael W Travels:
If you have a Ridiculous Street Signs photo that you would like to contribute and have featured on Michael W Travels, feel free to e-mail me at michaelwtravels@gmail.com 
(Not all photos will be featured but thanks in advance for sharing)

Don’t forget to: 

Win Tickets for Two On South African Airways

Cape Town, Contest, Johannesburg, South Africa, South African Airways, Sweepstakes, Win
a logo of a plane

Frequent Business Traveler is giving away two tickets to South Africa in the 
“Fly Me To South Africa Contest” 

(I just found this giveaway- it ends in two days so make sure to enter right away!)

To enter you need to follow three steps:

  1. Identify the flags of five countries that South African Airlines flies to
  2. Subscribe to Frequent Business Traveler Weekly
  3. Hit “Submit”

The Grand Prize: Non-stop flight for two in main cabin from a South African gateway city in the U.S. to the winner’s choice of Johannesburg or Cape Town, South Africa

  • Each passenger will be responsible for taxes/ fuel surcharges of approximately $550 which will be collected by the airline
  • Blackout Periods are July 1- August 15 & December 10-January 15

Open to residents of the 50 United States (including D.C.) and Canada (excluding Quebec)
Must be at least 18 years old at time of entry

Sweepstakes ends September 30, 2012

Enter for a chance to win the prize HERE

Win A Roundtrip Ticket to South Africa

Facebook, Johannesburg, Karrell Travel, South Africa, Sweepstakes
a cloud in the sky
Karell Travel is giving away one roundtrip ticket to South Africa.
To access the entry form you need to “like” Karell on Facebook by July 6, 2012.
a group of elephants in a grassy field
Some details about the prize:
  • One roundtrip economy flight from New York/ Washington D.C. to Johannesburg
  • Travel must be completed by May 31, 2013
  • Not valid for travel between July 1- August 31, 2012 or December 9- January 15, 2013
  • Prize is non- transferable
Sweepstakes open to residents of the United States
You must be at least 18 years old to enter

To access the contest entry page, “Like” Karell Travel HERE

A Stop At A Roadside Gem Shop- Namibia

Gem, Namibia, Road, South Africa
a man and child outside a hut

On my first trip to Africa we travelled overland from South Africa to Namibia. During one of our long drives through Namibia we pulled over to a small structure made from branches and twigs.
Everyone on the tour bus wondered what we could be stopping for.

a group of children playing in the desert

At first there wasn’t a soul around but within seconds two young children ran from their small shack, right over to the stand to invite us to check out their gems. It was a crazy site to see and I couldn’t imagine this being a profitable business as not much traffic came down this dusty road.

a group of people in the desert

As we were checking out their goods, another car was actually driving down the road. You could see it from pretty far away due to all of the dust being kicked up as it got closer. The kids each grabbed a gem, ran to the road and raised their arms to try to show off what they were selling. The people in the car were not interested and kept on driving.

a child standing under a canopy
a man standing in a desert

A short while later, their father showed up and took over sales. He told us how they got all of the gems and stones from a mine not far from where we were.

a group of people sitting under a table with a table full of rocks
a boy and girl sitting under a tree

A few people from our tour bought a gem or two to help the family out.
My wife and I still have our gem displayed with other small mementos purchased from our travels around the world!

a man standing in the desert holding a sign