Cape Town

WHERE TO FIND BILTONG In Cape Town: Joubert & Monty Famous Biltong, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront; 011-27-021-535-1717, http://www.joubertandmonty.co.za. This company has 15 stores in and around Cape Town, including two in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (one in the Clock Tower section), selling biltong made from 100% Grade A South African beef and even chicken. Beluga, the Foundry, Prestwich Street, Greenpoint, Cape Town; 011-27-021-418-2948, http://www.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A South African art gallery that displayed a controversial painting showing the country's president with his genitals exposed announced Tuesday that it was closing its doors temporarily because of threats. The decision came after vandals defaced the artwork earlier in the day. Lara Koseff, spokeswoman for the Goodman Gallery, said there had been numerous threats made against the gallery after its display of "The Spear," by Cape Town artist Brett Murray.

It's springtime in South Africa. If you want to make the most of your visit to Cape Town, you could hire Shirley Stoltzman to show you the highlights of the city and the surrounding wine country. Shirley Stoltzman tours, 011-27-2143-92075, flytor@worldonline.co.za . Tours for up to three people, $288, including car. Gary Bowne, Santa Ana

The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa sounds religious but it's not. The upscale resort near Cape Town, South Africa, derives its name from the nearby mountain range. The mountains stand on one side of the resort; the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Guests can watch whales and dolphins in the ocean and hike the surrounding wilderness trails of Table Mountain National Park. The deal: Cape Town Chic is a well-priced package from Lion World Tours that includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, a day in Cape Town on your own and four nights at the Twelve Apostles to enjoy the setting and the spa. Spend a little more and you can add on sightseeing excursions.

The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa sounds religious but it's not. The upscale resort near Cape Town, South Africa, derives its name from the nearby mountain range. The mountains stand on one side of the resort; the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Guests can watch whales and dolphins in the ocean and hike the surrounding wilderness trails of Table Mountain National Park. The deal: Cape Town Chic is a well-priced package from Lion World Tours that includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, a day in Cape Town on your own and four nights at the Twelve Apostles to enjoy the setting and the spa. Spend a little more and you can add on sightseeing excursions.

Long Beach may not be the only city with a queen in residence. The Queen Elizabeth 2 may end up as a floating hotel off South Africa. The 40-year-old ship, purchased from Cunard Lines in 2007 by Dubai World, was expected to be docked in Dubai, but now its cash-strapped owners are saying they've been investigating opening QE2 as a stationary hotel at an alternative port.

South Africa's new, multiracial National Assembly, elected last week in the country's first all-race polls, will convene Friday in the former whites-only Parliament building in Cape Town. As its first official act, the 400 members are expected to choose Nelson Mandela as president of a government of national unity, based on the overwhelming election victory of his African National Congress. The current president, Frederik W.

South African President Nelson Mandela marks the fifth anniversary of his release from jail with a reunion on Robben Island, where he spent 18 years imprisoned by the former apartheid government. Organizers say about 1,200 former prisoners will join Mandela on the island on Friday. Mandela will then make a speech in nearby Cape Town on Saturday, the anniversary of his release in 1990.

South African riot police charged into a crowd and broke up an anti-apartheid candlelight protest by 600 white and mixed-race demonstrators in a white suburb of Cape Town, officials said. Two whites and a mixed-raced man were arrested, but no injuries were immediately reported.

More than 20,000 mourners, many chanting "power to the people," attended peaceful funerals in black and mixed-race townships here Saturday for people killed in clashes with the police. Later in the day, strife broke out among several racial groups. Anticipating violent protest in the aftermath of Friday's execution of African National Congress member Benjamin Moloisi, 31, the police in Crossroads, a sprawling squatter camp outside Cape Town, had set up roadblocks and sealed off the area.

The Bay Atlantic Guest House is a little gem, with gorgeous sea views, away from the madding (tourist) crowd in a suburb about 2 miles from Cape Town. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and the rates are reasonable. Rooms from about $43 per person. Bay Atlantic Guest House, 3 Berkley Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town, 011-27-21-438-4341, http://www.thebayatlantic.com Jane Cozzo San Gabriel

Sybil Jason, 83, a former child actress signed by the Warner Brothers Studio to rival Twentieth Century Fox star Shirley Temple, died Aug. 23 at her home in Northridge, her family announced. She had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 23, 1927, Jason began singing and dancing as a toddler. Her uncle Harry Jacobson, a pianist who accompanied stage performers in London, found her parts in British vaudeville productions, where she was discovered by studio head Jack Warner.

Reporting from Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia Griddle-hot deserts, time-forsaken ghost towns, prismatic canyons and endless ribbons of lonely highway: There's nothing quite like a road trip across the Southwest to get the gasoline pumping in an American's wanderlust-ful heart. But what's perfect for America's bottom-left corner works even better here in Africa's. Welcome to Namibia, on Africa's western coast between South Africa and Angola, where the deserts are hotter, the roads are emptier and America - at least when Brangelina aren't visiting - couldn't be farther away.

My wife and I spent 10 days at 15 Welgemeend St., a small bed-and-breakfast in Cape Town, South Africa. It has two guest rooms with patios. The hosts, Trevor and Liz, are lifelong residents and offer local knowledge and help. They lend guests a cellphone, and Liz has even been known to babysit. Their home is in a safe, quiet area that's close to museums, downtown and even the V&A Waterfront, if you're walkers. 15 Welgemeend St., Cape Town; 011-27-21-424-6625, http://welgemeend.blogspot.com . Rates from about $140 a night.

Lion World Tours' eight-day "South Africa on Sale" tour begins in Cape Town, visiting surrounding attractions such as the Winelands and Table Mountain. Then it goes to Pilanesberg National Park, where participants take two game drives. Itinerary: New York City or Washington, D.C., to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cape Peninsula, the Winelands area, Table Mountain, Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa, and back to New York City or Washington, D.C. Dates: Departures through May 16. Price: Starting at $2,499, double occupancy (single supplement $450)

It's springtime in South Africa. If you want to make the most of your visit to Cape Town, you could hire Shirley Stoltzman to show you the highlights of the city and the surrounding wine country. Shirley Stoltzman tours, 011-27-2143-92075, flytor@worldonline.co.za . Tours for up to three people, $288, including car. Gary Bowne, Santa Ana

A bomb exploded at lunchtime outside police headquarters in downtown Cape Town, injuring 11 people. Eight of the injured were hospitalized. The blast, which struck near the offices of President Nelson Mandela, was the latest in a series of violent acts threatening South Africa's stability just months before national elections. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb, which was hidden in a garbage can.

Using their sweeping powers under the state of emergency imposed on the Cape Town area last week, South African police officials Monday banned all meetings of 102 anti-apartheid groups in one of the biggest crackdowns on the government's opposition. In other regulations, which have the force of law and carry penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment, the police ordered all schoolchildren to be in class or at home during school hours and prohibited any activities by school organizations.

Arnold, a 12-pound white poodle, prances around Provincetown like he owns it. He kind of does. Like many of the canines here, Arnold has his own following. The town, which lies at the tip of Cape Cod, is known for its love of dogs, and the numbers prove it: About one out of every five residents has one. "They've made a pretty concerted effort there to be the ultimate canine resort," said Ernie Slone, the editor of Dog Fancy magazine, which recently voted Provincetown "DogTown USA. " The locale beat out 94 other entries in the annual competition, which evaluates cities based on the number of dog-friendly open spaces and dog parks, events celebrating dogs and their owners, available veterinary care and laws that support pets.

Washing that gray right out of your hair (to borrow from the famous song) is no longer a mandatory part of getting older. So asserts a growing cadre of American women who are embracing their naturally silver hair tones. Letting tresses go gray (or white or salt-and-pepper) may not be the Hollywood way, but it's become a hot topic for real women all over the country. Seeds of a colossal shift in thinking — away from the arcane preconception that going gray means "letting yourself go" — have already taken root.