Cold fronts may be rolling through South Africa but this week’s good news brought plenty of warmth… from an extraordinary 4,000km journey to a hungry dog who found herself a police family.
South Africa (15 August 2026) – There’s a strange point in the South African year where the calendar tells us one thing, the weather tells us another and our energy levels are telling us to please stop asking questions.
We’re halfway through August, Joburg (and many parts of South Africa) has just been walloped by another icy cold front, Spring is technically somewhere on the horizon and, if history is anything to go by, we’ll probably have another two or three cold snaps before suddenly skipping three days of Spring and landing directly in Summer. But this time of year isn’t only about the weather. After 11 years of Good Things Guy, I’ve noticed something that happens almost every year. Around August and September, South Africans start getting tired. Properly tired. By September, the fresh-start, clean-out-the-cupboards, Spring-in-your-step feeling we’re promised doesn’t always arrive. Instead, September through November can become the stretch where we’re all digging a little deeper just to get to December.
Our moeg is moeg.
We see it in our readership and in the comments on our social media. People are tired, frustrated, emotional and sometimes just “gatvol” (I love Afrikaans, it’s so descriptive). And perhaps that makes sense. South Africans work incredibly hard, while also carrying things nobody else can see. Family stuff. Money stuff. Work stuff. Life stuff. By this point in the year, many of our tanks are running on empty… and the petrol we need is far too expensive anyway. And actual petrol too.
So maybe, over the next few months, we can give each other a little more grace. Kindness still needs boundaries and nobody has to accept being treated badly but we also never really know what happened in somebody’s day before they crossed our path. And we should probably extend that same kindness to ourselves.
“Find the little good things. Put your phone down. Sit in the sun when it eventually comes back. Have the coffee. Take the walk. Play with the pups. Phone your mom, your dad or your person. Spend time with people who fill your cup and give the ones who constantly empty it the boot. Laugh at stupid things. Rest when you can. And please stop feeling guilty about doing things that make you happy.”
We still have a few months to go, friends. We’re going to need each other.
And wherever you can, whenever you get the opportunity, make space for good things.
Speaking of good things… our Good Things Guy newsletter has been part of this journey for 11 years now. Every Friday, we send it to 100,000 subscribers with 15 of our favourite stories from the week. The newsletter is essentially a little window into everything happening across Good Things Guy… and this Saturday Wrap Up is your little window into that window. Inception vibes.
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8 Years, 82 Babies, and One Special Walk with a Community That Keeps Showing Up4,000 Kilometres and One Very Important Conversation
Former Absa CEO Arrie Rautenbach is currently cycling roughly 4,000 kilometres across Europe, from northern Italy all the way to the North Cape of Norway. That would already be an extraordinary undertaking, but Arrie is doing it while living with Parkinson’s disease.
His NorthCape4000 journey is the first major awareness initiative for the newly established Arrie Rautenbach Parkinson’s Foundation, which hopes to educate South Africans about Parkinson’s, encourage earlier diagnosis and change the way we think about what life after a diagnosis can look like.
“For many people, Parkinson’s represents the end of the life they imagined. I want people to know it doesn’t have to be the end of purpose, contribution or hope. This ride isn’t about proving how strong I am. It’s about showing what is still possible.”
You can read that full story here.
A South African Company Makes TIME’s Top 100
Teach Me 2 has earned a place on TIME’s World’s Top EdTech Companies 2026 list, putting the homegrown company alongside leading education technology businesses from around the globe.
Founder Nick Miller started Teach Me 2 to provide high-quality tutoring to South Africans, from Grade 1 all the way through university. Years of investing in technology and building online tutoring capabilities eventually allowed the company to expand into more than 50 countries.
And Nick has an important reminder for South Africans who perhaps underestimate just how good we are.
“The biggest lesson is not to mistake pedigree for capability, or confidence for competence.”
His experience in Silicon Valley has reinforced something worth remembering: South African talent absolutely belongs on the global stage. Teach Me 2 is proving exactly that and you can get the full article here.
The Nanny Named Fran is Loving South Africa
She had style! She had flair! She was there! And now Fran Drescher is here.
The woman millions of us grew up watching as Fran Fine in “The Nanny” is back in South Africa, exploring the magnificent Kruger National Park and taking her millions of social media followers along for the adventure. And she is calling it the “best vacay ever”.
This isn’t Fran’s first South African adventure either. Her connection with the country stretches back more than two decades through previous holidays and humanitarian work but this time the bushveld is getting top billing.
SPAR Hero of the Week: Goodluck’s Incredible Full-Circle Journey
Back in 2009, seven-year-old Goodluck Mvelase arrived at Funda Nenja with his family dog, Puppy, ready to learn. Seventeen years later, he is helping teach the next generation. Goodluck went from attending weekly dog training classes to joining Funda Nenja’s demo team, becoming an instructor and eventually stepping into his current role as an Intern Animal Welfare Education Officer.
Today, he helps children in Mpophomeni develop healthy, loving relationships with their animals, sharing everything he learned through the organisation that first welcomed him as a little South African.
Kids’ Storybook: The Day Three Officers Became Snake Heroes
Officers Nathi Ndaba, Thulani Blose and Kumaran Marimuthu discovered an enormous African Rock Python near homes and businesses beside an informal settlement. Instead of responding with fear or harming the animal, the officers carefully captured it and contacted experts from Ndlondlo Snake Park in Ballito.
The python was safely removed and given another chance at life away from the busy community.
We turned the incredible rescue into this week’s Good Things Guy Kids’ Storybook because there is such an important lesson hidden inside it: bravery isn’t always about fighting something that scares us. It can also mean understanding it, respecting it and choosing to protect it.
OnePlan Pawsitive Story: Meisie Finds Her Police Family
Meisie arrived at the Philippi Police Station looking for food. She ended up finding a family.
The hungry dog had been wandering around the base begging for scraps when local SAPS officers decided she was going to become one of their own. They started feeding her, arranged for her to be sterilised, vaccinated and microchipped through the Animal Welfare Society of SA, and made sure she had somewhere safe to stay.
And Meisie has returned the favour. At night, she stays alert, barking at unfamiliar movements and suspicious sounds, becoming both a beloved companion and an unofficial extra set of eyes and ears around the station.
AfriPaw has now helped arrange a custom-built kennel, shelter and mattress for her too.
Yes, we might be tired. The year might feel long. Spring might still be negotiating its arrival and December may feel approximately 700 years away.
But there are still people cycling thousands of kilometres to help others. South African businesses taking their place among the world’s best. International stars reminding millions of people how magnificent our country is. Young men giving back to the organisations that helped raise them. Police officers protecting giant snakes instead of harming them. And hungry dogs finding families in the most unexpected places.
There are good things happening everywhere. Our job is to keep finding them, sharing them and reminding you that they’re there. And your job… make a little space for them.
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