'Macaroni and cheese' helps microbiologist (25) win a car on Wheel of Fortune SA

Siphokazi Ngalo, a 25-year-old microbiologist from Johannesburg South, is the first car winner on Wheel of Fortune South Africa, driving off with a flaming-red Suzuki Grand Vitara Hybrid.

Although the local version of the legendary game show only hit our shores at the beginning of April with Monday-to-Friday screenings on S3 (formerly SABC 3), this means two contestants have already bagged the biggest prizes on the show – the R100 000 in cash, won by Neil Horne from Gugulethu, and now the car worth more than R500 000.

Still, future contestants need not be concerned about the size of upcoming Wheel of Fortune South Africa prizes. A Suzuki Jimny has already been parked on set, waiting for its owner, while there will also always be R100 000 inside one of the 24 mystery envelopes in the show’s Bonus Round.

Winning the vehicle on Wheel of Fortune South Africa was a dream come true for Siphokazi. Instead of relying on public transport and e-hailing services, she can now drive to work herself and zip around town.

“I kept telling everyone how much I needed my own wheels, and that’s why one of my friends nudged me to enter Wheel of Fortune South Africa. But once I stepped onto the set and started playing the game, it was so much fun that I completely forgot about the car right until the end.”

- Siphokazi Ngalo, Wheel of Fortune SA winner

Siphokazi, who describes herself as a “Scrabble goddess”, has always been fascinated by the magic of words and phrases– their structure, origin, meaning and how they are used in different contexts.

In primary school, she was a “serial spelling bee contender”, and over the years, her passion for words and curious, sociable personality has stood her in good stead. After all, not many 25-year-olds can boast that they can speak all eleven of our official languages!

Learning all these languages was an organic process for Siphokazi. 

“Living in Jozi exposed me to people speaking different languages, and whenever I couldn’t understand what they were saying in their mother tongue, I simply asked them to fill me in.”

- Siphokazi Ngalo, Wheel of Fortune SA winner

Siphokazi encountered many of these “free teachers” whilst enjoying her favourite hobby – rollerblading.

No stranger to speed, Siphokazi whizzed through Wheel of Fortune South Africa’s first round. After solving the Cell C Toss-up word puzzle in a flash, which allowed her to spin the show’s carnival wheel before her co-contestants, actor and poet Brandon Marneville and Siphosihle Ntloko, a customer service agent, Siphokazi won the round,

In the second round, Brandon’s fast fingers in the Cell C Toss Up temporarily slowed her down, but she quickly caught up and nailed the puzzle again.

Rolling through these word quizzes, the multi-lingual microbiologist again received a headstart with the Cell C Toss Up in the third round, but then she landed on the dreaded Wheel of Fortune Bankrupt wedge,  nearly ending her winning spree.

Still, it was a hat-trick for Siphokazi, and when the money the contestants accumulated during all the rounds was tallied, she proceeded to the Bonus Round, where she had to pick one of 24 envelopes containing mystery prizes.

In the end, solving “Macaroni and cheese” spelt out victory for Siphokazi, not knowing yet that she picked the envelope with the prize, prompting her to be part of the show. 

“It was euphoric,” Siphokazi describes the moment Wheel of Fortune South Africa host Rorisang Thandekiso opened the envelope. “I love game shows, but I never thought one episode of a game show would change my life so dramatically.”

Wheel of Fortune South Africa airs on S3 (formerly SABC) Mondays to Fridays at 19:30. There are daily rebroadcasts on SABC 2 the following day at 09:30 and an omnibus on S3 on Saturdays from 10:30 to 13:00. 

If you want to win big by spinning the wheel and solving word puzzles, you’ll find the application form on the show’s website: wheeloffortunesa.tv.