SA, come over to the dark side

The World Wildlife Fund SA has several quirky ideas on how South Africans can have fun in the dark during Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an annual environmental awareness campaign in which people all over the world switch their lights off for an hour.

The World Wildlife Fund has launched its "Things To Do in the Dark" initiative ahead of the event.

These include candlelit dinners, moonlight yoga sessions, treasure hunts by moonlight, stargazing picnics and musicians performing "unplugged".

Earth Hour starts on Saturday at 8.30pm.

World Wildlife Fund CEO Morné du Plessis said Cape Town will switch off the lights at municipal buildings and Table Mountain. Other municipalities that have pledged their support for Earth Hour include Durban, Mossel Bay and Knysna.

Du Plessis said comedian and actor Charles Tertiens, rugby player Bryan Habana, radio personality Saskia Falken and musicians Mario Ogle, Chad Saaiman and Keeno-Lee Hector had also come onboard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, seven years ago when 2million people switched off their lights.

More than 7000 cities and towns in 152 countries took part last year.