Connecting African Culture Through the Seas
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
Johannesburg has never been a must-visit destination. The city has long been an airport gateway to the rest of Africa — an obligatory stop before Cape Town or a Kenyan safari — rather than a highlight on the average tourist’s itinerary. This is due in part to Joburg’s reputation for violent crime, which is rapidly declining, by the way. But bypassing Joburg in favor of South Africa’s more obvious attractions means missing out on one of Africa’s most exciting, dynamic, and cosmopolitan cities.
The city hums with an urban rhythm that is as African as Cape Town is European, and has in recent years experienced an urban and cultural revival as sparkling as the gold Joburg was founded on. Though much of the action is still centered in affluent suburbs such as Sandton and Parkhurst, trendy hipsters, students, artists and creative businesses are moving back to the downtown areas, turning former industrial wastelands into cool hubs of restaurants, bars, night clubs, and art galleries.
For such a big city, Joburg is surprisingly green: it has one of the world’s largest man-made urban forests, with over 10 million trees. Escape the hectic pace of the city in one of its green spaces: there’s the beautiful Botanical Gardens of thousands of rose bushes and indigenous trees next to Emmarentia Dam; Zoo Lake, where you can ride a boat on the lake or catch Carols by Candlelight in December; and Melville Koppies Nature Reserve, a wild piece of nature only a few miles from the heart of the city where you can participate in guided hikes.
Of course Soweto, South Africa’s most famous township, should not be missed. Various tour operators offer half- or full-day tours that take in sights such as the church that provided a safe haven for freedom fighters, as well as the Hector Pieterson Museum, which documents the student uprisings of 1976 through oral history.
For a taste of Joburg’s gold-mining past, visit Gold Reef City, an amusement park with a gold rush town theme, complete with a main street designed to look like the city at the turn of the century. Go on rides such as “The Miner’s Revenge” or take the “Story of Gold” tour, where you’ll descend several stories into an old underground gold mine and try your luck at gold panning back on the surface.
Safety: Johannesburg has a higher crime rate than other South African cities, so you’ll need to be safety aware. Stick to the normal common-sense rules that you’d follow in any big city: lock your valuables in the hotel safe; don’t obviously advertise yourself as a tourist; keep your valuables close to you in crowded areas; and follow locals’ tips as to which areas to avoid. If you’re driving yourself around, make sure you know where you’re going (especially at night).
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
If you thought that Joburg was all about business and had little in the way of history, think again. Here is just a tiny glimpse into a few of the incredible …