Blogs from Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 9

Our BA flight is out of this world ....... read more

Signing off with images of Nelson Mandela Square by night... read more

After writing off Saturday (bad barbecue effects) we decide to go on a tour of Johannesburg and Soweto. Eschewing the hotel recommended tour guides we take a recommendation from a friend and procure ourselves a local outfit - after some delay Charles turns up and we start our own personalised tour. Johannesburg is a huge, sprawling conurbation merging into Pretoria and with satellite cities around it. Even on a Sunday it takes time to get around it. First stop is the house where Mandela lived until his recent death. It's in an affluent jacaranda tree lined road in Haughton - it's quiet with no one else there when we arrive. A single car on the drive signifies family members are at home. On the verge are small flower beds with painted stones giving best wishes to ... read more

You can't come to Johannesburg and not go to Soweto. You can't go to Soweto and not do the politics. It's a place that confirms your knowledge (yes it's a township with huts, dirt tracks, shared taps and illegally tapped electricity) and it also confounds your perceptions (it's affluent in parts, very middle class in parts, there is wealth and its on show - BMWs on drives of beautiful villas covered in bouganvillea). its refreshing. There are lots of primary and secondary schools and two universities. The importance of education as a way of advancevent for the individual and society is well understood - which is different to ten years ago. There is clearly aspiration - talking to Charles he sets out the ambition of people and he says the juxtaposition of middle class achievement is ... read more

Geo: -26.1538, 28.0389Our initial plans for Johannesburg were very limited- we had heard all of the warnings about Joburg and the downtown area in particular remains something of a war zone. Johannesburg is the second largest city in Africa with over 3 million people calling it home and crime remains one of its biggest challenges.We picked a hotel in the relatively safe Sandton area which even offered an airport pickup service. Unbeknownst to us this pickup service came with the services of a very proud and passionate South African driver who soon convinced us that we had to explore a little bit more of Johannesburg (Joburg to the locals) particularly the famous/infamous Soweto Township which was Ground Zero for many of the bigger Apartheid related struggles.We made arrangements with our new friend, Themba, Themba's passion for ... read more