Johannesburg was my first brush with Africa. I'd been sent out to cover the ING Renualt Formula One team racing in the street. I was half-expecting to see the place I'd watched on TV. I found something quite different.

My employers, with uncharacteristic generosity, put me up in a five-star hotel in Sandton, an upmarket new commercial centre on Johannesburg's northern edge. Arranged along elegant, tree-lined boulevards and wide public squares, it offers all the designer shops and style bars you'd find in any US state capital. You can shop 'till you drop in an atmosphere of rich sophistication. Very nice - but where was Africa?

I decided to break away and visit a side of town not usually mentioned in the brochures: the South Western Townships.

Soweto, as the area is called, houses a third of Jo'burg's population: 900,000 people living in a crazy sprawl of public and private residences. South Africa boasts no fewer than eleven official languages: in Soweto, you know it. Everywhere you look there are people working in small businesses by the roadside, hawking chickens and vegetables or offering ad hoc auto-welding. As it was a Friday I saw goats penned by the roadside ready to be sold for religious feasts the following day. The hubbub was indescribable, and the whole place had a vibrancy and determination that defied belief.

Visitors are made to feel very welcome. I had worried that, in wandering into this dirt-poor, overwhelmingly black area of town, I would be guilty of voyeurism. But chatting to locals over huge fillet steaks and pap (maize flour) at a local restaurant, I was firmly reassured. My companions were proud of Soweto, and saw its burgeoning tourist trade as a way to promote themselves and their country to the wider world. They deserve to: Soweto is the birthplace of some of South Africa's most heroic statesmen, the home of its greatest artists. To understand anything about this country's story, you have to pay a visit. You'll have a good time, too.

living in africa
by Stephen Richards

I used to live in South Africa but never got the chance to visit cape town. I lived in Witbank for three years but at that time i was still in school but loved every moment of it. but now i am married with kids i would love to show them south africa and how wonderful the country is thank you.
Jozi rocks
by Sean Johnson

Capetown, the Garden and wine routes are the typlical destinations for most tourists. I love these places but for the true urban african experieces from African Chic to the vibrancy and uplifting spirits of the urban poor, I believe Johannesburg is definitely worth a visit.

I love Jozi not for its commercial shopping malls, leisure centres and theme parks but for the vibrancy and dynamcy of its people. Dispite the high crime rate people are very friendly and hospitable to one another as well as visitors. This is something you dont find in London where people stay clear of one another.

My favoirite places are the Apartheid Museum, Newtown at night (more alive with theatre, jazz, night clubs, gigs etc), Soweto (must try African food here its the best), zoo lake, Mellville by day and night and Constitution Hill in central Johannesburg.

Joburg is also the gateway to the rest of southern africa and there are some nearby places easily accessible such as Sun City, Pilansburg National Park and Cradle of Human kind (where first signs of life have been found)

The climate is perfect too. Not too hot in summer and warm days in winter with clear blue skies guarenteed.
Compassion
by Dave Ringrow

Whilst waiting at traffic lights on the way to work one chilly morning a lady in the car in front wound down her window, beckoned to a women who was sheltering under a tree with a baby and young child then handed over her car rug.

Such events rarely makes news.
big city
by godfrey muhwati

i really enjoyed being in a big and beautiful city. the night life was very vibrant and i wish i coulkd be there always. a chance to visit again would be greatly appreciated.
Wonderfull country
by Michael Moran

I lived in both Johannesburg and Germiston for a total of ten years before returning home to England. I found the life one of out door living with superb weather and a super cost of living to match. The highway systems are well maintained and can whisk one from the city to the outlying areas quickly and safely. I found the people very approachable and friendly, nothing was too much trouble.
Falling in Love with Jozi
by Elaine Dean

From London to South Africa via Sydney!

The Qantas flight to Johannesburg only goes every other day from Sydney (the only destination in SA) and is around 14 hours of which 90% is over water a long way from civilisation.

Nevertheless the flight was 95% full and Qantas are an excellent airline and with my unputdownable copy of Nelson Mandela’s ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ it wasn’t as bad as I imagined.

The first thing I noticed from the air was the bright red earth of Jozi as the locals call it. The second thing I noticed after leaving the arrivals hall – this is a country with a high crime rate and no-one takes any chances anywhere. I was lucky to be met by family and warned about window up, locked door, bag on the floor, no ostentatious jewellery right from the start.

I was only in Jozi for 24 hours and only briefly saw the ‘parking lot attendants’ who appear anywhere you park the car wanting a tip for ‘finding the free spot’ and ‘minding the car’ and the beggars and street vendors who approach the car everytime you stop at lights or in a traffic jam. I was also shocked by the high level of home security with compound housing areas with razor or electric wire and guards. Every house has metal grills over the windows and you do not leave outside doors open without pulling across the security grille.

Being a Monday the Apartheid Museum & Museum Africa were closed but in the limited time I had I was shown downtown Jozi and the African Craft Market.

Would I go back to Jozi? You bet – and I will, I want to experience more of this remarkable city and do a Kruger Safari and Soweto visit.


And so to OR Tambo International and the 2 hour flight to Cape Town........


Useful websites:

http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/

http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/mandela-museum.htm

http://www.southafrica.info/mandela/mandela-museum.htm

http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/394/144/

http://www.southafrica.info/plan_trip/holid
Heritage sites close to City
by Kirsty Taylor

I visited Johannesburg last year and spent a day out at Maropeng, a new attraction a short drive from the northern suburbs of the city in the area where modern human life is believed to have started. It was a world class attraction, charting the passage of time from creation and very well worth visiting.