MISS EARTH SOUTH AFRICA 2009

After a 2-day delay, I see that the Miss Earth SA website has finally announced the names of the 18 contestants who will vie for the title this year. Whilst I don't see any world-beaters in the group, I am impressed with the overall quality of contestants this year. Having said that, I do think that ZOO Magazine is the closest that 2 or 3 of the contestants will get to anything environmental.

Since I have given up on predicting who the winner of any pageant in South Africa will be for a number of reasons unrelated to physical beauty, I will list the names of my Top 6 favourites below. I have not seen any other photographs or video clips, nor have I seen their "tree-planting in stiletto" skills, and my selection is based purely on first impression of initial photographs. Whether they actually do win or place in the actual competition is totally irrelevant, but the winner and runners-up would come from this group if it were up to me.

So, without further ado, my Top 6 for the title Miss Earth South Africa 2009, in alphabetical order, are:

* Bianca da Silva
* Chanel Grantham
* Laura Daniels
* Mahlatse Mkhawana
* Michelle Cory
* Natasha Kashimoto