Johannesburg & Area - Top Things To Do
In a previous post, I’d mentioned we were en route to South Africa. Well, the day where I discuss that trip (or part of it at least) has finally arrived! Adam and I were, in fact, on a trip to visit family in Johannesburg along with my parents. It was my mother’s first trip back after emigrating to Canada fifty years prior (gasp!), and our first trip there, so you’d better believe my aunt had a tour of the best-of-the-best planned.
When we arrived we were greeted with a five day itinerary put together by my ‘boss babe’ cousin—she owns a company in television production, so that sucker was thorough, complete with names, dates, addresses, phone numbers, and descriptions for each stop. There is something just so utterly relaxing about having someone else plan excursions for you, particularly when you’re on their home turf and you know they’ve given it serious thought. So—humbly from my family to yours—here’s a list of what to get up to in Jo’burg and its surrounding area.
1. Union Buildings Grounds
Exterior of the Union Buildings, Government Ave., Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Head to the heart of it all at the grounds of the Union Buildings, official seat of the South African government and centre of South Africa’s political life. Although the Union Buildings themselves aren’t open to the public, immediately adjacent you’ll find sweeping, immaculately-kept terraced gardens offering the perfect vantage to take in Pretoria. A colossal likeness of Madiba himself—the affectionate name for Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president—serves as a hub of activity and prime selfie spot; when we were there several school buses of teenagers had descended and the atmosphere was positively bubbly!
Teenagers surround the Nelson Mandela Statue at the Union Buildings grounds, Government Ave., Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
View of the surrounding city from the Union Buildings, Government Ave., Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Heading east you’ll find the South African Police Memorial encompassed by a large, grassy amphitheatre. And if you happen to be there during jacaranda season, from late September to mid-November, my aunt reports Government Ave., heading eastwards from the top of the grounds, is the best place to take in the purple explosion between parallel rows of overarching trees.
View of the South African Police Memorial, Union Buildings, Government Ave., Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
2. Constitution Hill
Inside Number Four, Constitution Hill Precinct, Kotze St., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
View through a doorway in Number Four, Constitutional Hill Precinct, Kotze St., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Prepare to be profoundly moved by the endurance of the human spirit and South Africans’ will to forgive at Constitution Hill, one of Johannesburg’s most important historical sites. The precinct has four locations: the Number Four, Women’s Jail, Old Fort, and Constitutional Court. The oldest location, the Old Fort, was built in 1893 and meant to house white male prisoners—Boer leaders were imprisoned there following the Anglo-Boer War, and Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there twice having been deemed too dangerous to include among the black population. The Number Four (and Five) section(s) housed coloured and black prisoners in notorious conditions, with food rations allotted in decreasing amounts according to race, and in isolation cells. Keep an eye out for a tribute statue of Mahatma Gandhi to the left of the entrance, who was incarcerated here in 1906. The Women’s Jail housed both black and white women in separate areas as the name suggests; these women were often incarcerated for minor offences like violating pass laws or brewing beer illegally (prohibited for blacks).
View of an eternal flame (tower on the right) from the rampart walk, Constitution Hill Precinct, Kotze St., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
If the turbulent past of these locations seems daunting, it’s juxtaposed by the immense push for societal rehabilitation represented by the Constitution Court, deliberately placed onsite to counteract a century’s worth of human rights violations with hope in a new democracy. The court is open to the public, and inside you’ll find over 200 pieces of contemporary art. Be sure to climb the Great African Steps dividing Number Four from the Court, symbolically built with bricks from the demolished Awaiting Trial Block.
Façade of the Constitutional Court, Constitutional Hill Precinct, Kotze St., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
3. Mandela House
Exterior of the Mandela House. Vilakazi St., Orlando West, Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa.
Tourists flocked to Soweto when the unassuming house where Nelson Mandela lived with his first wife, Evelyn, and then second wife, Winnie, opened as a museum in 1997. The single story house on no more than a postage-size plot (according to Mandela) still shows wear from the apartheid era with bullet-holes marking the exterior. Inside you’ll find original furniture, family photos, and memorabilia from Mandela’s life both prior-to and after his presidency. For those keen to wander, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s house is just down the street, though not open to the public.
Window at Mandela House. Vilakazi St., Orlando West, Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa.
4. Maropeng and Sterkfontien Caves, Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site
Exterior of the Tumulus Building, Maropeng, R400, Mogale, Gauteng, South Africa.
A Cradle of Humankind guide shows visitors a troglobite in a tour of the Sterkfontien Caves, Kromdraai Rd., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Maropeng marks the start of it all—no, really, we’re talking about the dawn of human civilization—as one of two official visitor centres for the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Though roughly an hour’s drive from Johannesburg, it’s well-worth the trip to the interactive museum, which launches visitors on an actual boat-ride back through simulated time before entering a seres of exhibits on early hominids, their discovery by palaeontologists, and the continuing impact of human activity on our environment. Expect kids (and adults!) to be thrilled by hands-on displays, audio-visuals, and life-like recreations of species based on original fossils.
Indiana Jones wannabes should purchase a joint-ticket entrance to the neighbouring Sterkfontein Caves, the location where the 2.1 million year-old remains of Mrs. Ples, and roughly three million year-old skeleton of Little Foot were found, both famous Australopithecus hominins. Tours leave every half-hour, and while you may not need Jones’ fedora (they’ll give you a helmet), wear comfortable footwear.
A stairway in Sterkfontien Caves, Kromdraai Rd., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
5. Hennops Hiking Trail
View of the Hennops river on the Hennops hiking trail, R511, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
There’s a poignant moment in Disney’s The Lion King when Mufasa turns to Simba and says, ‘everything the light touches is our kingdom’; well, points along the Hennops Hiking Trail will have you uttering Simba’s responding, ‘Whoa!’ at the expansive country before you. Located about an hour’s drive from Johannesburg, and roughly forty minutes from Pretoria, Hennops Hiking Trail has several trails to suit varying abilities as well as a picnic spot. The 10km Krokodilberg Route takes you along the river’s edge, over a suspension bridge and cable car, across grassy plains to gain gradual height, to a look-out, and past a historic mine site—it comes highly recommended from a couple of Canadians who like to get out and stretch their legs. Be sure to bring plenty of water, sunblock, snacks, and cash to pay for entrance (there are no card facilities).
The Hennops hiking trail, R511, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
6. Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve
Eland and a zebra at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai Rd., Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
Speaking of Simba, you can get up-close and personal with some friendly cubs at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve located about fifty minutes drive from Johannesburg. Meant to be toured largely by car, the private game reserve is home to rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers, hyenas, wild dogs, over twenty varieties of antelope, in addition to much more. Live snake handling displays are held almost daily, and as a self-drive activity, you can watch the lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs being fed Wednesdays, weekends, and public holidays (check their website for an up-to-date schedule). There’s nothing quite like watching a lion loll around in the grass after a good meal from the comfort and safety of your own car! Afterwards, you can go back to pretending they’re just cuddly creatures at the animal crèche, where you can handle lion cubs and other baby animals for an added fee.
A lion cub sleeps in the animal crèche at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai Rd., Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
For us, trip highlights included being within spitting distance of the endangered African wild dog, rarely seen even in bigger parks like Kruger National Park, and visiting the African Garden, where you can walk freely among birds like the Blue Crane and Ground Hornbill, as well as tortoises.
African wild dogs at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai Rd., Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
A cheetah lounges at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai Rd., Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
7. BONUS: Try either Koeksisters or Koesisters (note, they’re different!)
Admittedly this could be a bit of a trek, as I don’t have a specific place in mind, but I know that won’t stop intrepid foodies out there (like me!) from sampling local fare. Koeksisters are an Afrikaner confectionary made of deep-fried, braided dough dunked in syrup or honey. Koesisters, alternatively, are a Cape Malay spiced deep-fried dough in an oblong shape, dunked in syrup and then rolled in coconut. There are aficionados of each, but personally I’d recommend trying both and basking in that sugar-high. But not my Aunt’s (pictured below): those are mine! No really. And maybe my Uncle’s and cousins’ (wink, wink).
I’ve heard tell that Delhi Deli, in Roodepoort, churns out thousands of the Cape Malay variety each weekend, and that a reputable chef-in-training-tested version of the Afrikaner treat can be found at the supermarket chain Spar. If you’re a local, or in-the-know tourist, and have savoured some of these tasty treats out, help a fellow traveller and comment below—sharing is caring!
My Aunt’s koesisters laid out for afternoon tea. Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Happy travels!
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