A look at Johannesburg and Safari in South Africa
Orlando Towers, Soweto, South Africa (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/4, 1/4000 s)
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Johannesburg, South Africa, located in the Gauteng Province, is the largest city in the world not located on a body of water. So why did the people come here? GOLD. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush in 1886 which spurred the city into a massive development campaign.
The reputation of the city when it comes to crime is not sterling, but individual experiences may vary. So long as you use common sense, you should be able to explore and appreciate this city without any trouble. You can find a Google map of the places I will discuss at the end of this post.
And if you’d like to read more about traveling in Africa, check out my posts on Namibia, Morocco, Egypt, and Cape Town (Road Trip Parts 1 and 2 and Wine Tasting).
South Africa (ISO 80, 24 mm, f/8, 1/125 s)
Access to Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria from OR Tambo airport can be found by using the Gautrain. For shopping, you can’t go wrong with a stop off at Sandton. You can also take the bus from Sandton to Montecasino, a nice entertainment complex with a theater, mall, shopping, restaurants, in addition to being a casino.
If you are to go to one place in Johannesburg, it’s the Apartheid Museum. This is crucial to understand the history of apartheid in this country and the effect it had on the most recent of south african generations.
Here you can see literature, media, and relics of that time period. They also have a cell mock-up of Nelson Mandela’s cell from Robben island.
Soweto, South Africa (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/4, 1/1000 s)
Like the Apartheid Museum, the Hector Pieterson Museum is equally as moving. The museum describes the flashpoint between police and school children protesting the use of afrikaans as a language of instruction in schools where Hector was fatally shot.
If you find yourself in Gauteng or even Pretoria (the capital of South Africa) in late spring/early summer, you will see rows and rows of Jacaranda trees in full bloom. You’ll know it’s them due to their distinct purple flowering color. Here is a guide on the best places to see them.
Jacaranda Trees, South Africa (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/4, 1/4000 s)
Somewhere between Johannesburg and Kruger you will find a few great natural features that are worth seeing along the Panorama Route in the Mpumalanga province. One is Blyde River Canyon, is considered the largest ‘green’ canyon in the world. The most recognizable feature of the canyon are the Three Rondavels, the three huge mounds at the top of the canyon that resemble the huts of indigenous tribes. Lisbon Falls are 94 meters high and named after the city of those who discovered them.
Blyde River Canyon, South Africa (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/4, 1/4000 s)
If you can’t make it to Bloukrans Bridge as I’ve described in a previous post, you can still do adrenaline sports at Soweto Towers, located just outside of Johannesburg. Here you can bungee jump, base jump, even play paintball.
Just ‘nearby’ is the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa and is arguably the most popular attraction/activity to do in all of South Africa. You can do a self-drive/stay in the park as well, or you can choose to go with many of the operators.
A package will consider of a round trip transfer from typically Johannesburg (but not limited to) and Kruger, nightly accommodation (air conditioned suite/bungalow), brunch and dinner daily, and a certain number of game drives (morning/afternoon/nightly). Your experience may vary but our tour group was overwhelmingly nice, with only about 12 people, and our guide was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about the animals and surrounding environment.
This is a one in a lifetime experience that is often expected to be pricey, but shop around a bit and compare different providers. I find this to be much more enjoable than doing a self drive.
For example, this is the description of the package I purchased for SAR 6,750:
Round trip road transfers between Johannesburg and Kruger Park
Two night’s accommodation (en-suite air conditioned bungalow at Skukuza restcamp)
Brunch and dinner daily
Morning and afternoon game drives daily (total of 4 x 3- 4 hour drives of which one will be a night drive)
Panorama route sightseeing (Bourke’s luck potholes, God’s Window, Lisbon Falls, Pilgrim’s Rest, Three Rondavels)
I’ve also been told that safari in places like Kenya can be affordable and just as good or better than in the Kruger but I have no experiene in Kenya (yet).
