Mr Gay South Africa 2011

Lance Weyer from East London (centre above and right below) is our new Mr Gay South Africa 2011. Lance is flanked by 1st runner-up Alexander Steyn (right above) from Johannesburg and 2nd runner-up Casper Bosman from Bloemfontein (left above). Lance (24) is a DA Councillor in the Buffalo City Municipality and also won the BoneWear Model of the Year title and Best Charity Work title at the glittering pageant which took place recently. The finalists also visited Durban View Guesthouse before embarking on a cruise to Mocambique in the run-up to the finals.



Mr Gay South Africa 2011 - Lance Weyer



Mr Gay South Africa 2011 - finalists sail away



Mr Gay Sa 2011 Finalists at Durban View Guesthouse

Barman Ian and fiends meet the Mr Gay SA finalists

Llewellyn (Durban View Guesthouse co-owner) with Gavin Deale

Durban View Guesthouse co-owner Dave (left) with Rainbow Cruise organiser Leon Nel (centre) and former Mr Gay SA Finalist Gavin Deale (right)

Coenie Kukkuk, organiser of the Mr Gay South Africa pageant with his Finalists

The November Rainbow Cruise which sails from Durban to Mocambique is the most festive with the finalists of the Mr Gay South Africa competition on board. The sail-away party at Durban View Guesthouse gives us a chance to meet the finalists and the other rainbow passengers the night before the ship sails.

Hot November in SA

November is the month to be visiting South Africa this year... it's the COP 17 Climate Change Conference taking place in our warm east coast city of Durban. It's the largest conference Durban will ever have hosted and (not to generalise) environmental affairs have a huge gay following.. so it's gonna be good.

City boy

Keeping this side of the fence is our hot city boy..

Gay in SA

Always great to be gay in SA, since 2006 with our new Civil Union Act, gay marriage is legal.. and we're very gay-friendly.. so if you're in South Africa over Easter, or coming here soon, we look forward to welcoming you.

Visiting South Africa this year?

Here are some travel tips for those who would like to visit South Africa this year. For more gay information, also visit our Gay Durban, Gay Johannesburg and Gay Cape Town blogs.





The big 5 animals of South Africa









Durban beachfront on the warm east coast of South Africa







Table Mountain Cape Town



I was asked some advice for a tourist to South Africa, so I thought I would write a blog post and extend it to a wider audience.

Most tourists imagine that they can drive around the country in 2-3 weeks and see it all. This would not be adviseable as South Africa is a big country. If you did want to see parts to the north, south, east and west, you would need to fly to some and drive between other parts as I will recommend. An itinerary also depends on how much time you have and your budget.

TIME OF YEAR

April is the best time of year to visit South Africa. This is because the weather is generally the best... the heat of summer is over and winter is not yet upon us. Peak season would be summer when the schools are on holiday, but I personally prefer it off-peak when the crowds have thinned out and it is not so hot. Durban is best all year as our winters are never less than 15c and no rain. Cape Town is worst in winter as it is cold, windy and rainy.. best for Cape Town would be October/November and March/April. Cape Town is on the Atlantic Ocean so swimming is generally out, whereas Durban is on the warm east coast so August to end of April is good with best swimming/beaches December to March.

AIRLINE ROUTES

Emirates fly to Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg via Dubai, so best would be to fly in to one city and fly back out of another city, travelling between cities by car, train or bus. Most of the other airlines fly in to either Johannesburg or Cape Town, which means a stop in Durban and the east coast means additional flights or travel. I would even avoid Johannesburg completely and fly into Durban and then out of Cape Town home. My favourite Airline to Africa is SAA of course, but their routes are not the best and sometimes the prices are over the top. Check them out and compare.

WHAT TO SEE

Your routing may depend on what you want to see. The Kruger National Park a few hours drive from Johannesburg is probably the best but requires getting to Johannesburg and a few hours drive each way. I personally would avoid that as there are many excellent game parks around South Africa. If you have loads of time you could include the Kruger Park.

So suggestions could be... fly to Johannesburg, hire a car and drive to the Kruger Park. Stay 3 - 4 nights and drive back to Johannesburg to return the car. Fly to Durban and stay for 3 - 5 nights. Fly to Port Elizabeth (2/3rds of the way to Cape Town), hire a car and drive along the coastal Garden route to Cape Town stopping off en-route for 2- 3 nights. Spend 5 nights in Cape Town and fly home direct.



The Drakensberg Amphitheatre

 

Beach sculptures in Durban



Alternatively fly direct to Durban and stay 3- 4 nights. Drive up to the Hluhluwe Game reserve and stay 3 nights. Drive back to Durban and fly to Port Elizabeth following the same suggestion above ie cut out Jhb and the Kruger park.

As an extension to either route, you could drive to the Amphitheatre in the Drakensburg Mountains which are half-way between Durban and Johannesburg (2 1/2 hours drive), or you could drive from Jhb to Durban intead of flying. Another option is the train from Johannesburg to Durban which I believe is good.

Wine lovers would love Cape Town as the Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franshoek wine routes are within 40 mins drive of the city. I personally love Stellenbosch where my son goes to University at the moment, so I can visit him and drink loads of wine. There must be at least 200 wine farms in a few kilometres radius.

If you have a shorter or longer visit planned and want to come at an odd time of year or have any other queries, feel free to email me at durbanstadiumview@gmail.com and I will try and help out with my recommendations. Enjoy!

South Africa clinches 2nd Mr Gay World title tonight!!

Congratulations to Francois Nel have been pouring in.

The new Mr Gay World 2011 chosen tonight in Manila, Philipines, is South Africa's Francois Nel seen right above with Mr Gay South Africa organiser Coenie Kukkuk.

This makes it second in a row for South Africa as Charl van den Berg (left in picture right) handed over his reign as Mr Gay World 2010 to Francois. Charl is pictured in Durban with Durban View Gay Guesthouse co-owner Dave Mc Naught.

We are so proud of both you guys holding up the flag for South Africa at such a prestigeous competition.

The 1st runner-up was USA, 2nd runner-up Spain, 3rd runner-up Australia and 4th runner-up New Zealand.

Gay Directory South Africa updated

The Facebook group Gay Directory South Africa is the largest gay Facebook group with over 4 200 members and has just been re-vamped. Created by Dave Mc Naught of Durban the directory has been steadily growing and gives an easy link to nationwide gay interest groups, accommodation in the various provinces and more...

Check out the Gay Directory South Africa here.

Here we come

If you're thinking of making a trip to South Africa, April must be the best time of the year to visit. Fabulous weather, hot guys! Come visit us on the east coast, where the beaches never end and the ocean is warm and the boys even hotter.

Legality of same-sex sex and Marriage in South Africa

The legal age for sex in South Africa has changed over the years and on the 1st January 2008 we achieved gender equality.

Same-sex legality was previously 19 and for hetero-sexuals was 16 but all provisions that discriminate have been formally repealed  - including an equalised age of consent now 16 regardless of sexual orientation, and all sexual offences are now defined in gender-neutral terms.

South Africa was also the fifth country in the world, the first in Africa, the second outside Europe and the first republic to legalise same-sex marriage with the coming into effect on the 30th November 2006 of the Civil Union Act allowing same-sex partners to choose between a marriage or civil union, both with identical implications. A copy of the Act can also be downloaded - see our side blog and civil union or pre-marriage agreements are also available. Tel 083-7033329 if you need more help. - Dave

Summer in South Africa

I know how cold it is in the northern hemisphere, but here in South Africa it's a sizzling summer and the beaches are hot... especially on our east coast where surfers are king.

Happy New Year

So here's to an awesome 2011. 2010 saw our Mr Gay South Africa, Charl van den Berg take the title of Mr Gay World so we're on the right track. Come visit gay South Africa this year and you will be pleasantly surprised... mmm