Johannesburg and Soweto

View of Johannesburg's skyline from the hop on-hop off bus

After a few posts on this year's travel I thought I'd go back to a trip from last year, when I spent a few days in Johannesburg prior to a (photo) safari in Namibia. I'd been to South Africa twice before on work trips to Cape Town and the observatory in Sutherland, and had worked, stayed and toured with my Capetonian friends and colleagues. Johannesburg seemed like a good spot to visit, with lots to do and easy access from outside South Africa and easy access to the safari start point. I'd kicked around going to Durban (which remains on my list) but Jozi (one of several nicknames for Johannesburg) won out. Another friend, who'd taken sabbatical in South Africa, suggested I stay in hipper Melville rather than the more sterile Sandton area. I made my plans and off I went.

The iconic Orlando Towers in Soweto
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Power_Station)

Johannesburg is big and energetic. If one isn't used to cities, it's intimidating. There are obviously areas that are more dangerous than others, and I'd be crazy to claim I had any real sense of the city after only a few days. I can't say that I ever felt threatened, though one noob mistake on my part while calling an Uber did lead me into the outskirts of an area the guidebooks warn against. The signs of an ongoing...contest (for lack of a better word) between people trying to protect their belongings and property and those trying to get at them were everywhere, though. Houses secured with high walls, streets with guardhouses at either end, super heavily armed guards standing by mall ATMs. I'll note, of course, that these same signs are present in Cape Town, and even in Windhoek.  One of my friends in Cape Town texted me regularly, wondering if I was still alive and dismayed that I chose to spend time in Johannesburg at all, though I attribute that to the general Cape Town vs. Joburg rivalry.  The Uber drivers I spoke to in Jozi were all happy to be there, and wouldn't give up the energy and opportunity the city provides (though the Zimbabwean drivers I met were all eager for Mugabe to kick off).

The Melville vs. Sandton comparison was indeed apt. Sandton could have been anywhere, save for the aforementioned ATM guards and the big statue of what was supposed to be Nelson Mandela but didn't really look like him. Mellville had much more of a neighborhood vibe and a fun bar/restaurant scene, but also bartenders who advised me against the 15 minute walk back to the B&B and suggested I take Uber back...

Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, with some
tourist blocking most of the view

A tuk-tuk on the streets of Melville. I had one tuk-tuk ride.

As far as sights, I ended up buying tickets for the hop on-hop off bus and doing (much of) its circuit. It had two main transfer locations--Gold Reef City (a casino/theme park) and the main train station downtown. The Apartheid Museum is on the route, and was absolutely a stunner. I knew the rough outlines of apartheid in South Africa, and followed its final decade vaguely from afar. But I had no idea about the day to day details.

Entrance to the Apartheid Museum, which made its point.
No photos were allowed inside.

My ticket included a guided tour of Soweto, which was the other main item on my agenda. The township today looks like a working-class neighborhood in suburban Jozi,  though it is surrounded by the ubiquitous shantytowns (not alone among cities in this regard) and it retains monuments to its turbulent and historic past. There was a lot to take in, and I'm certain I only got a small fraction. I would certainly return.

The exterior to the Gold Reef City casino

Indeed, I'd return to Johannesburg and try to catch some of the sights I missed. I didn't get to do anything but drive past Constitution Hill on the bus, and I'd be interested to see the nearby Cradle of Humankind and Pretoria.  I've had mixed experience with the Johannesburg airport, I suppose it's not impossible my next visit will be part of a missed connection. ;)

Cafe at Apartheid Museum. I was pleased to see the heroes of the
anti-apartheid movement were joined by President Obama

One of the shanty towns near Soweto.
Millions still live in crushing poverty across, well, the world.

The bedroom in Nelson Mandela's pre-imprisonment home.
He returned here briefly upon his release in 1990 but quickly moved due to privacy concerns.