MarcForrest.com

Category: Proudly KZN

  • Join awesome Durbs startup SAFindit

    The guys at SAFindit, another “straight outta Durbs” startup, have recently launched their new look site. SAFindit is a fantastic service which allows users to the site to search for restaurants, accommodation, plumbers, electricians and and and…well, pretty much anything that offers a service :) To get a better idea of what I mean, check out this listing for Gateway Shopping centre or The Toad in the Village pub in Noordhoek

    The site has some really cool social integrations like geo-location services like Foursquare & Gowalla, as well as showing latest tweets about the venue/service. The listing also shows you where to find it on a Google Map, as well as the streetview of the location. Another really cool feature of the site is their collections, which group together some of the best venues/services in that specific category. So for example, if you want to see a list of recommended places in Ballito, you can check out @TheBallito‘s list here ->http://www.safindit.co.za/collections/the-ballito/. Another recently added addition to the site is their “Specials” section which collates all the daily specials from sites like and other service providers listed on the site.

    This is a really great service, and after chatting to the guys at SAFindit, they really are growing huge, fast. This means that they are also looking for two or three of the best Web developers that we have on the East Coast. A strong background in web development using technologies such as PHP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, MySQL, SQL Server etc is required to join in one of the fastest growing startups in Durbs. There are a whole bunch of projects on the horizon for the team, which sound really exciting. For more info about the job spec & requirements, check out the job spec on Thirst4Work -> http://www.thirst4work.com/candidates/job.php?jobid=53

    I can’t wait to see what they come up with next ! Well done guys, another perfect example why sunny Durbs is the place to be :)

    Enhanced by Zemanta

  • Spud is no small fry!

    As you may know, one of South Africa’s most anticipated movie releases hits the big screen on the 3rd of December, Spud the Movie. I was unfortunately unable to attend the premiere here in Durbs on Friday eve, but my mate, Rich Mclennan, went down to the Pavilion, and gave this sterling review

    It was always going to be a challenge taking the hilarious Spud novel and turning it into a film but Donovan Marsh (Director and Screenplay) certainly didn’t disappoint. The film is clearly no small budget affair and is sure to get international acclaim.

    “Spud” for those of you who haven’t read the book by local author John van de Ruit (shame on you!) is a 13 year old boy who’s real name is John Milton, yes, like the poet… It’s 1990 and young “Spud” is attending the prestigious Michaelhouse School on a full scholarship and this is where the fun begins. Our very unique South African idiosyncrasies and the changing political climate of 1990 only add to the winning formulae that makes this film so relevant to us.

    Throw in 7 crazy dorm mates with nicknames like “Rambo”, “Boggo”, “Fatty”, “Gecko”, “Rainman”, “Mad Dog” and er Simon and you know you are in for absolute mayhem, the boys do not disappoint.

    John Cleese steals the show as young Spud’s English teacher and mentor “The Guv”,  his hilarious profanities will have you in stitches. Young South African born actor Troye Sivan who play “Spud” will be a name to watch in the future, the boy oozes talent and will be nice to know he honed his skills on our sunny shores. Local Durban comedian Aaron Mcilroy adds to the talented cast with his brilliant performance as “Spud’s” eccentric Dad.

    It is hard to fault this film, cinematography is inspiring with the impressive Michaelhouse setting the perfect scene. The soundtrack is full of 80’s classic and the attention to detail on the set, particularly with 80 and 90’s memorabilia is impeccable, right down to original rice crispy boxes and dodgy garden furniture that we all once had.

    If there is just one small fault it is just that there seemed insufficient time to get to know some of the other characters better. Sure, a lot of stuff has been missed but it would have been impossible to cram it into an 80 odd minute film.

    “Spud” get’s a 10/10 and is bound to get excellent international exposure both for our local talent (on and off screen) and beautiful country. We can certainly expect to see the next 2 books making their way to the silver screen in due course, move over Harry Potter and Hogwarts there is a new ‘kid’ on the block and he is sure to keep us spellbound for the next couple of years.

  • Introducing Ballito News Online

    Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know about a new project I have been working on. The site is called Ballito News Online, which is a community based site, of local news & events for Ballito, where I stay.

    The site was built using WordPress & uses the Tribune theme. We will also offer news such as Community news & Neighbourhood watch news, as well as local and upcoming events.

    We also have sections where people can submit news and events using Gravity Forms, which is such an awesome WordPress Plugin.
    Would love to hear your thoughts and comments on the site. You can check it out on http://www.BallitoNews.co.za

  • Gadgets & Gizmos – The Ballito Sept

    My 2nd Gadgets & Gizmos column has just been published in The Ballito magazine. The mag hit the streets of Durbs & Ballito today and covers a whole variety of stuff & events on the KZN North Coast.

    This edition I covered the awesome GirlGuides.co.za site, as well as the Tech4Africa conference I attended last month. I also take a look at the new Samsung Wave, and the must have gadget for the boys for Christmas this year, a gyrocopter.

    You can download a PDF copy of the article here. Would also love to hear your feedback, and see if there is anything you think I should cover.

  • Dead whale on Ballito Beach

    UPDATE: To see what happened to the Whale and how they got rid of it, check out this post

    Yesterday morning, I saw a tweet from Justin saying there was a dead whale on the beach in Ballito. Because I was still in Jozi, my wife went down to have a look and took a couple of pics. I went down earlier today, and I am amazed by the size of the thing !! It is massive.and hectically stinky !!

    According to the Timeslive & IOL websites the whale is still a baby and apparently has been dead for about 4 days. By the sounds of things, it will only be moved tomorrow, where they will attempt to move it back into the sea and let nature takes it’s course.

    The white marks you see on the top of the whale are bite marks from Sharks. Gonna be very interesting to see how they get it back out to sea, it didn’t look it would budge pretty easily.

    Here are a couple of photos taken by my wife yesterday morning.

    Brings a whole new meaning to #FailWhale :P