inhabitat

South Africa

Silhouette of baobab trees at sunrise

Some of the oldest and largest baobab trees are dying

A new survey of baobab trees throughout southern Africa has shown that most of the two dozen largest and oldest...

stork, Croatia, South Africa, stork migration, storks in love, Malena and Klepetan, Malena, Klepetan, animals, animal mating, stork mating, Stjepan Vokic

For 16 years, this stork has flown 8,700 miles to return to his one true love

Just when you thought the world was one raging garbage fire, along comes this amazing stork to brighten the day....

Cullinan Mine, South Africa, mine South Africa, Cullinan Mine in South Africa

Rare “super-deep” diamond and mineral found in South African mine

Scientists just uncovered a rare “super-deep” diamond in South Africa that's wrapped in calcium silicate perovskite...

Miami, Miami water issues, Miami water shortage

One in four of world’s largest cities under water stress

Cape Town, South Africa is rapidly approaching what has been called "Day Zero," the moment when the diverse metropolitan...

Cape Town, National Disaster, Cape Town National Disaster, Cape Town Drought, South Africa, South Africa drought, South Africa National Disaster, South Africa water issues, Cape Town Day Zero, Cape Town running out of water, South Africa declares national disaster, climate change, climate change drought, water issues

South Africa declares national disaster amid water crisis

South Africa's has declared a national disaster over the country's devastating drought. Although Cape Town has...

Cape Town, Table Mountain, South Africa, Africa, coast, coastal city, city

Cape Town’s water pipes could run dry by April

Cape Town in South Africa is battling its worst drought in a century - and the city's water supply is in trouble....

Google Maps, South Africa, National Parks, Nature Reserves, Conservation, Exploration, Hiking, Nature, Outdoors,

You can now explore all 19 of South Africa’s National Parks on Google Maps

Have you ever wanted to walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, track cheetahs on foot, or stroll with elephants...

Rhino Horn Auction, John Hume, rhino, rhinos, rhino horn, rhino horns, South Africa, auction, online auction, animal, animals, sustainable utilization, conservation, poaching

Rhino horn auction website says legal sales “best way to save the rhino”

Could legal rhino horn sales actually save the endangered species? The world's biggest rhino breeder, John Hume,...

iThemba Tower by r1, iThemba Tower Spaza Art Garden, iThemba Tower Troyeville, recycled plastic bottle art, recycled bottle tower, Spaza Art Garden, Troyeville recycled materials, LED recycled art, eco art in South Africa, recycled materials into art South Africa, r1 South African artist

Thousands of plastic bottles transformed into an inspiring tower of hope in South Africa

A million plastic bottles are purchased worldwide every minute, with annual consumption set to top half a trillion...

Architecture For a Change, Re-Mining Johannesburg, Re-Mining Johannesburg by Architecture For a Change, Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa, mine, mining, gold mining, gold, acid mine drainage, pollution, landscape, architecture, design, environment, dam, infrastructure, treatment plant, purification plant

Water-purifying tower could heal landscapes scarred by acid mine drainage in South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa was built on mining. The gold mining industry began there in the late 1800s, and the...

National English Literary Museum by Intsika Architects, Green Star library, five star Green star building, Green Star architecture South Africa, Grahamstown library, National English Literary Museum, National English Literary Museum South Africa

South Africa’s first Green Star museum is an eco-friendly literary treasure

One of South Africa’s literary treasures has transformed into an eco-friendly gem. Designed by Intsika Architects,...

House Paarman by Malan Vorster, Malan Vorster treehouse, forest inspired buildings, tree inspired architecture, tree house in Cape Town, House Paarman tree house, South Africa tree house,

Incredible luxury tree house is hidden away in a Cape Town forest

Not all tree houses are rustic backyard projects—some, like the stunning House Paarman in Cape Town, take the...

Greystoke Mahale, chimpanzees, safari, Tanzania

7 eco-friendly and conservation-minded safari lodges across Africa

Gallivanting across Africa in search of majestic and fascinating wild animals is at the top of many people’s...

Cliff House, Cliff House by Architecture For a Change, Architecture For a Change, A4AC, South Africa, Johannesburg, shipping container, shipping containers, upcycled materials, recycled materials, sustainable, sustainability, sustainable architecture, sustainable construction, sustainable building, architecture, design, affordable, off-grid, solar power, solar energy

Modern recycled container house in South Africa operates 100% off grid

Sustainable design has taken longer to get off the ground in South Africa largely due to expensive construction...

Midrand Waterfall Development, Schneider Electric office building, Aevitas Group, LEED Gold certification, South Africa, green architecture, atrium, natural light, skylights, high-performance facade, aluminium, waste management, HVAC systems, water consumption

Star-shaped Schneider Electric building in South Africa aims for LEED Gold certification

The Midrand Waterfall Development in South Africa will soon receive a couple of world-class, energy-efficient additions...

rhino poaching, The Grand Rhino Launch Tour, rhino sculptures cape town, cape town rhinos, CowParade, the rhinos are coming thundafund, TRAC, rhino conservation art project, art project to save rhinos, colorful rhino sculptures, life-sized rhino sculptures, Janice Ashby South Africa

100 life-sized rhino sculptures are coming to Cape Town to save real ones

The Rhinos Are Coming (TRAC) project entails several phases. The first phase involves raising funds to create 10...

Rooiels Beach House, Elphick Proome Architects, seaside house, Cape Town, vacation house, South Africa, hydraulic shutters, hydraulic power, glass facade, timber shutters, hardwood, steel-framed building, natural light, green architecture

Cape Town beach home controls natural light with powerful hydraulic shutters

The house comprises a minimalist steel-framed glass box with a hull-shaped hardwood roof and glass walls that run...

south africa, drought, Kiara Kirghin, Google, Google Science Fair, inventions, super absorbent polymers, polymers, oranges, orange peel, avocado

16-year-old South African girl invents drought-fighting super material from orange peels

In the midst of South Africa’s worst drought in recorded history, one Johannesburg schoolgirl has created a super...

turtles, south africa, fossils, biology, paleontology, research, denver museum of nature and science, reptiles, lizards, Eunotosaurus africanus

8-year-old’s fossil discovery reveals how turtles got their shells

If you ask most people to guess why turtles first developed shells, you'll usually get one answer: the hard shells...

SunFire, SunFire solutions, parabolic solar cookers, energy poverty, solar cookers Africa, Africa energy poverty, fighting energy poverty, Sunfire South Africa, South African solar cookers, rocket stove, insulating SunBags

SunFire fights energy poverty in Africa with parabolic solar kits

The main element of the new Clean Energy Kits is the SunFire12 parabolic cooker. Measuring nearly four feet wide,...

blue rock village, south africa, cape town, green village, luxury development, apartments, sustainable development, car-free living, eco-friendly development

This solar-powered Green Village in South Africa will be completely car-free

Architecture firm Swisatec just announced plans to build a self-contained "Green Village" in Cape Town, South Africa...

babylonstoren, south africa, cape dutch, farm, vineyard, wineries, restaurants, spa retreats, heated swimming pool, sauna, ozonated pools

Historic Dutch farm in South Africa renovated for ultimate bliss and relaxation

The farm at Babylonstoren, where more than eight acres of fruits and vegetables are grown, dates back to 1692....

beautiful brick power station, adaptive reuse South Africa, power station converted into boutique hotel, Turbine Hotel, Garden Route South Africa, hotels along the garden route, boutique turbine hotel, 5-star turbine hotel, South African power station conversion, Thesen Islands, hotel incorporates original industrial equipment

Beautiful brick power station incorporates original industrial equipment in 5-star hotel adaptation

Located along the Garden Route, arguably one of the most scenic drives in the world, the Turbine Hotel is part...

Galiläi, Raymond Alexander Architect, Rotating Homes, Dome Home, South Africa, Spanish Farm, Somerset Home, Harald Scheppig, rotating house in South Africa, sculptural dome house

Rotating dome house swivels 348 degrees to escape wind and sun

The adventurous German businessman Harald Scheppig and his wife built the home out of curiosity more than anything...

ivory, poaching, elephants, rhinos, ivory trade, ivory burn, burning ivory, kenya, south africa, african wildlife foundation, anti-poaching efforts, wildlife protection

Kenya will destroy $100M of elephant ivory this weekend in history’s largest burn

The Kenyan government plans to burn 105 tons of confiscated elephant ivory and around 1 ton of rhino horn on April...

Stand 47, Monaghan Farm, farmhouse, Johannesburg, green farmhouse, South Africa, low carbon footprint, Gavin Rooke, Karlien Thomashoff, vernacular architecture, green property, affordable house, flexible design

Stand 47 farmhouse in Johannesburg marries high-end engineering with vernacular design

Rooke built the house on Monaghan Farm just north of Lanseria Airport, Johannesburg. Nestled amid green and amber...

Hobbit hotel, hobbit boutique hotel, birthplace of Tolkien, the town where Tolkien was born, where was Tolkien born, Bloemfontein hobbit hotel, hobbit house, hobbit hotel Bloemfontein, Lord of the Rings, LOTR, Lord of the Rings characters, South Africa, Tafline Laylin

Tour the Tolkien-themed Hobbit Boutique Hotel in the author’s South African birthplace

Celeste van der Westhuizen now runs the hotel with her brother in Bloemfontein's Westdene neighborhood. She bought...

south africa, rhino horn, rhino horns, rhino farm, rhino ranch, john hume, illegal rhino horn trade, rhino horn powder, rhino poaching

Largest rhino farm in the world harvests horns to protect the species

Nearly half of South Africa’s rhinos were killed by poachers last year, and a private army is working hard to...

south africa, gmo crops, gmo foods, gmo imports, south africa to relax gmo import regulations, gmo corn maize, food supply, food production, crop production

South Africa is relaxing restrictions on GMOs to fight drought-related food crisis

Food supplies have grown so unstable in South Africa that the government may soon allow imports of some genetically...

Virgin Holidays, Virgin Holidays luxury treehouse in London, South Bank treehouse, treehouse, South Africa treehouse, Petrus Madutlela, Virgin Holidays Wonderlist, Hubert Zandberg, South Africa, London, River Thames, installation, treehouse installation, luxury treehouse, Lion Sands Game Reserve, Lion Sands Game Reserve treehouse

Safari treehouse offers a taste of South Africa on London’s South Bank

Inspired by the Lion Sands Game Reserve’s treehouse in South Africa, Virgin Holidays’ weeklong installation...

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