Johannesburg
Andy and I decided to spend 3 nights in South Africa’s beating heart city, Johannesburg before we departed and flew our separate ways.
Never have I been warned about danger and safety precautions so much before travelling to a new location, by both other tourists who had previously been and by local South Africans we met along the Garden Route. It’s never the best feeling, to enter a new space feeling so on edge and hyper sensitive to everything around you before you’ve had the chance to judge a vibe yourself.
Despite the warnings, I’m going to go out there and say that if you’re in South Africa, and you have the time to spare a day or two, spending a small amount of time in this chaotic city will give you a truly authentic feel for the country and its history. I always think that whilst travelling, it’s not only important but highly necessary to embed yourself in the local culture, engage with local people, listen to their stories and learn about a world different to your own. After all, a huge part of travelling is about exploring connection on a deeper level: visiting landscapes contrasting to your own country, meeting humans surrounded by different upbringing and circumstances to your own, taking small lessons in gratitude along the way for your own story and ability to be able to embark on these epic adventures. All of this is something I personally found more difficult to do in Cape Town.
I had the most wonderful time in the city, but felt I couldn’t break out of the safe bubble of tourism and experience what I’ve is truly like for many South Africans living in Cape Town. In Johannesburg, I had the chance to do exactly this.
I learnt more about South African history and culture in my 2 days there than I had on our 3 week trip around the country so far.
Recommendations
Safe areas to stay: Sandton, Rosebank Stay in a hotel rather than Airbnb to ensure 24h security. We opted for Mint Hotel 84 on Katherine St which was perfect for what we needed as a base.
Soweto Tour
On one of our days in Joburg, we did a tour of Soweto Aka “south western township”, the largest township (slum) in South Africa. We opted for this tour booked via Airbnb experiences, and enjoyed a huge insight into SA culture and history. Our guide explained in detail the country’s journey through the dark history of apartheid, to Mandela’s hand in moving the country forward and creating a more just, fair treatment for his people in SA. You will get the chance to visit his house, eat local street food, but the highlight for us was the tour inside the township village. If you feel comfortable, you can walk with your guide in through the homes, weaving the tightly knit streets full of children playing and dancing. This tour was at once harrowing, informative, upsetting, inspiring and educational. If you’re interested in understanding the other side of South Africa where tourists are often ignorant to witness, this tour is a must do.
Maboneng Food Tour
Maboneng Precinct This hip suburb translates as “place of light” which makes total sense as you wander the streets and soak up the creative juices flowing through the streets. The most insanely talented street art on all corners, music pumping from the streets lined with independent clothes stores oozing with style. We did a food tour round the streets of Maboneng, booked here via Airbnb Experience. The guides were full of life, information, and energy. We stopped at 3 small local food places that you would never find as a tourist, and they showed us a variety of African influence food, starting off with South African BBQ, moving to Ethiopian meat and corn, and ending on Ghanaian rice and barbecued meat. We would recommend this to anyone with a love for food, wanting to be educated in South African cuisine, style, street art, culture and vibe.
Visit the Apartheid Museum
Having learnt about apartheid in school, and ignorantly not thought a huge amount about it since then, this museum is crucial to understand and empathise with a country that has an extremely dark and tortured history. Allow yourself 2-3 hours to fully take in everything this museum is showing. It’s interactive layout and variety of spaces give you the space to be able to read, listen, digest and contemplate the changes this country has faced. A nation who has experienced so much collective trauma, silenced through institutional discrimination and systematic oppression based on race. It’s got lots of little symbolic showcases which really made me contemplate on a deeper level what it must be like to live through this time in a marginalised community.
Where to Eat & Drink
In terms of food and drinks, there are a few guides online that will likely help more than I. We found there to be a lot of large malls, shopping centres etc that felt very lively, safe and had atmosphere… in terms of our usual preferred style of smaller, independent eateries serving local fare, we struggled to find much. It’s easy to eat cheap in Joburg, it’s also easy to nestle yourself among the Joburg elite and eat at expensive restaurants with incredible menus, if that’s how you prefer to travel.
Our few days in Johannesburg was wildly different to our experience travelling in Cape Town + on The Garden Route, but we both felt grateful and glad to have been able to experience time in this huge city.
Steeped in culture, history, and full of stories, I would say it’s an important place to visit for anyone considering spending time in South Africa.
