Gabrielle Union recently returned to South Africa and had an incredible time exploring new parts of the country.
She shared her experiences on Instagram, showing off the beautiful landscapes, vibrant culture, and amazing food she enjoyed under the caption “everything I loved about South Africa.”
The Being Mary Jane star first visited South Africa with her husband, Dwyane Wade, and their daughter, Kaavia, in 2022. During this trip, she explored Cape Town and Johannesburg, celebrated her 50th birthday and hosted a local launch event for her Flawless haircare line at Clicks.
One of the highlights of her most recent trip, however, was a surprise karaoke performance at Nkula Cocktail & Wine Boutique, where she joined a local woman (Beauty Mangali) in singing “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey. The woman shared the video she had filmed and said she had no idea Gabrielle was in the shot until she got home and watched it, then posted it the next day.
Union recorded a video for the business, hailing it for its “grown and sexy” vibe with “beautiful food and beautiful wines” after some concern that she was out of place after noting all the young people filling the other establishments in Cape Town’s popular Long Street.
@nkula.cpt From Cape Town to the world, our tables have always been a place where stories meet, cultures connect, and strangers become family
Thank you, @Gab Union for spending time with us and for becoming part of the Nkula community. Our doors and our hearts are always open
#Nkula #BlackOwnedWine #CapeTown #gabrielleunion
That’s not the only place she visited. Klein Goederust winery in Franschhoek was first on her list, posted on her own Instagram account. She said the owners, Paul Siguqa and his wife Makhosazana (Khosi) have become like friends to her.
Union, who appears to have been filming a project alongside Michael Ealy in the Western Cape, said she also fell in love with the beaches and sunsets.
While in the country, Union also visited the AKJP Studio, a fashion concept store featuring 40 South African designers, including its own fashion label.
“I have a problem, I was just going to grab one to two things, but they have a little bit of everything,” she can be heard saying in the video, which shows a store assistant checking out the pile of items she picked up during her impromptu shopping spree.
The famous African penguin colony at Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town also received an honorary mention.
But it was Thebe Magugu’s Mount Nelson Suite and Concept store, previously featured on The Citizen, that received an honourable mention.
The two-storey sanctuary tucked along the hotel’s iconic Palm Avenue is Magugu’s debut in luxury hospitality design.
Two years in the making, the project marks a natural evolution of the designer’s relationship with the hotel. What began as a fashion showcase through the annual CONFECTIONS x COLLECTIONS Pan-African initiative has now taken a lasting physical form as fashion extends beyond the body into architecture, atmosphere, and ritual.
