Sights, sounds and smells of Jozi
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The World Cup has exposed hordes of visitors to cities they might otherwise not have seen; Rustenburg and Polokwane, for instance. We’re taking a look at some of the unique sights and experiences each of these cities has to offer, starting with Johannesburg.
Melville has gained a reputation as Jo’burg’s bohemian hub. It boasts an eclectic mix of business and hippie chic. Close to the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand, it’s frequented by students and young professionals looking for a place to kick back and relax after a hard day hitting the books and forging new careers.
Filled with art galleries, antique dealers, second-hand bookshops and quirky boutiques it’s a shopper’s paradise. And when all the consumerism gets too much there are scores of bars, pubs, award winning restaurants, coffee shops and pavement cafés to tickle everyone’s taste buds.
Of particular importance at this time of the year is the area’s proximity to two of the country’s major soccer stadiums: Coca Cola Park and Soccer City.
Melville also boasts the Melville Koppies Nature Reserve, a surprising nature retreat in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world. Melville Koppies, as its known, is not only a national monument, but is also a World Heritage Site. The geology of the area stretches back three billion years and there are remnants of Stone Age technology that date back 500 000 years. It’s also the site of one of the few remaining Iron Age furnaces and contains some of the oldest rock to be found on the planet.
Beyond its historical significance, Melville Koppies boasts over 200 types of birds, diverse indigenous vegetation and animal life, including mongooses, tortoises, snakes, hares, civets and shrews. Guided tours and walks are available and visitors can even bring along their socialised dogs.
Gold Reef City is South Africa’s oldest and most well-known theme park, but it offers so much more than thrilling rides. The park has a gold rush theme as the city has been built on an old gold mine. Staff wear period costumes of the era and tours are available for visitors to see a gold ore-vein and how gold is poured into barrels.
Gold Reef City contains some of the largest roller coasters in the world. The Anaconda holds the record for the fastest and tallest inverted roller coaster in Africa. The Tower of Terror (Shaft of Terror) is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Africa and comprises of a vertical 47m drop and reaches 6.3Gs.
Also on offer are live shows (Idols South Africa), a children’s science museum, 4D movie theatre, conference and casino facilities and the Apartheid Museum.
The Apartheid Museum is, by all accounts, a deeply affecting emotional experience that brings to life all the atrocities, cruelty and terror of the apartheid era. Curators, film-makers, historians and even the building’s designers have worked to create an accurate and evocative representation of the struggle with film footage, photographs, audio clips, text panels and artefacts.
Interestingly, the museum came about as a social responsibility project resulting from a casino bid. The bidding consortium invested R80m in the museum’s construction and is also committed to funding the running costs of the museum for a limited period of time.
The apartheid experience starts as soon as visitors receive their “White” or “Non-white” tickets and continues across 22 exhibition areas spread across seven hectares. Exhibitions such as the history of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the role of Helen Suzman in South African history are added to continually as events progress and new stories come to light.
At the end of the journey there is a glass case containing a copy of South Africa’s Constitution and pebbles on the floor, to which visitors are able to contribute. It marks the peace and hope with which the new South Africa was forged and which still imbues its citizens today.
Soccer City has given Soweto more clout as a tourist destination, and it was already high on the list of places to see. It’s been described as melting pot of South African cultures and is the one place that can truly be said to embody the spirit of the country. In addition to the shebeens, traditional African restaurants and BnBs and the sub-cultures created by the youth, Soweto offers visitors a glimpse of South Africa’s living history.
Nelson Mandela’s first house is now a museum run by his ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. The homes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and struggle icons Walter and Albertina Sisulu are also on view, as is the Hector Pieterson memorial museum, devoted to the youth rebellion against the apartheid government, which led to the Soweto Student Uprising on 16 June 1976.
Soweto is a contrast of fortunes; mansions are built alongside shacks, rubbish crowds one street while in the other neat pavements and well-maintained gardens dominate. But for all its duality, Soweto has gained a reputation as one of the best places tourists can go to party. The people are friendly and despite what some may have heard, it’s no more dangerous than anywhere else in the country.
As a major metropolis, Johannesburg holds its own against the likes of London, Paris and New York, and with the success of District 9, it’s even appears on Hollywood’s map.
Filed Under: Travel Guides
