Ganzer Tag in Johannesburg

Johannesburg (Joburg to the locals) is a troubled city, but don’t let that stop you from taking this tour. In fact, it’s part of the reason to take the tour. First, with the help of our hotel it was very easy to book the tour the night before. We were leaving South Africa later in the day after the tour and at the end of the tour they even dropped us of at the airport promptly at the time we requested. Mining and minerals, with the wealth that followed led to Johannesburg becoming the financial capital of South Africa. However, in the 1980’s and 1990’s conditions deteriorated for several reasons including high crime rates. I mention this brief history because the tour really is about Past, Present and Future. The past is about the development that made Johannesburg a great city, then deteriorated. Our guide, Norman, was incredible. He started the tour giving the history in much more detail and accuracy than what I have presented. He took us through the city including downtown. The dystopian hulk of the now abandoned, but once grand Carlton hotel is a good symbol of what has happened to the city. There are many other examples you will see including many architecturally important, but dilapidated buildings. The other part of the past is apartheid. Johannesburg and Soweto are crucial to understanding the history of apartheid. In downtown we visited the constitutional court. It was built on the site where apartheid era prisoners were held and tried. The court is a symbol of the new era of justice brought about by the end of apartheid. The most impactful part of the trip was the visit to Soweto. It is still home to some of the poorest of the poor and the tour took us through those areas. It was also ground zero for many of the events that led to the end of apartheid. The visit to the Hector Pieterson (who I had never heard of) museum was so moving that I will never forget it. After visiting the museum there was a nice buffet lunch near the Nelson Mandela house, followed by a visit to the house where he lived much of the time when he wasn’t in jail. We were told by Norman and you will frequently read that the street was home to two Nobel prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. You have to understand the past to understand the present and I can’t give our guide Norman enough credit for the job he did with his presentation. Everything was detailed, precise and extremely interesting. And what about the future? Norman had an unwavering belief in a bright future for Johannesburg and the country of South Africa. It is an attitude I frequently encountered during our trip to South Africa. He made it a tour never to be forgotten. Highly recommended!

Nhlalala Travel packed in a full day's itinerary with many interesting places to see in Johannesburg and Soweto and topped it off with a fascinating tour of the Apartheid Museum. Most memorable was the drive through Soweto where the guide explained the living situations of the three different classes of residents. This included a brief and safe walking tour of a shanty town where the most destitute of South Africa reside. The guide was very prompt, punctual, professional and conveyed a great deal of information about the sites visited. I will contact this company again when I return.

I arranged this tour for visiting cousins from South America. Norman collected them right on time and their feedback after the tour was exceptionally good with Norman leaving them delighted with his knowledge, passion for history and culture, and his all-round good-nature and kindness. With English not being their first language, Norman made sure they understood and was patient in understanding their broken English. They rated him a great driver and felt extremely safe with him, returning home full of smiles and eager to share facts they had discovered through Norman. Being seasoned travellers, they rated Norman as a great guide and ambassador for South Africa and its history.