You may not visit Johannesburg during the World Cup, but if you do, you’ll find that the city has emerged as one of South Africa’s most vibrant tourist destinations.
Johannesburg, called ‘Joburg’ or ‘Jozi’ by the locals, is a vibrant destination that has shaken away its reputation of being Cape Town’s lesser cousin. Situated in the heart of the nation, it was long viewed as the ‘stop-over city’ before visitors moved on. But increasingly, it is the place to be. For decades Joburg has had wide, tree-lined streets that bloom with purple jacarandas and red coral flowers. Its magnificent neighbourhoods such as Sandhurst, Westcliff and Hyde Park have always had elegant, Edwardian-style low-rise homes swathed in white paint and surrounded by lush gardens. More recently, visitors have benefitted from the development of restaurants, galleries and outdoor spaces that have added a dash of excitement, making visitors tarry a while.
AFRICAN FOOTPRINT
African footprint is a dance and music extravaganza that celebrates the rainbow nation’s new beginnings. The hugely talented cast of performers sing, drum and dance their way through a narration of the vibrant and diverse history of South Africa, displaying kwela-jive, traditional gum boot, tap, ballet and hip hop manoeuvres.
A proud ‘product of South Africa’, this show is regularly performed in various venues around Joburg, but should the ensemble be travelling while you are there, DVDs and CDs are available online.
Info: www.africanfootprintonline.com
KIM SACHS GALLERY
This eponymous gallery is run by a ceramic artist who has created one of the most ethereally beautiful spaces in Joburg. The mud-washed entrance and the charming verandah at the back hold between them collections of intricately-woven baskets, one of a kind ceramic creations, textiles for walls, and soulfully crafted objects of indeterminate use. Brilliantly coloured, heavily patterned mobiles swirl from the ceilings, and artisan-crafted rugs splay underfoot.
Info: 153, Jan Smuts Ave, Parkwood
(Tel: 011 726 6420)
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THE APARTHEID MUSEUM
Opened in 2001, this museum has been put together by a body of top architects, curators, designers and landscape artists. The experience is an extraordinarily powerful passage through South Africa’s apartheid era. The interactive experience starts at the door when you are handed tickets indicating whether you are ‘non white’ or ‘white’. Full blown photos, scenes on film, newspaper clippings, metal cages, artefacts and nooses (121 of them dangle from the ceiling representing the political prisoners during apartheid) shock you as you feel the pain of a segregated, downtrodden society. The visit engenders a deeper understanding of those who suffered and the indomitable human spirit that gets over very kind of adversity.
Info: Northern Parkway and Gold Reef Road, Ormonde (Tel: 011 30 94700)
EVERARD READ GALLERY
South Africa has a pulsating contemporary arts scene,and there are several areas that have become the Elysian Fields for art lovers — such as Jan Smuts Ave through Rosebank, Parktown North and the galleries at 44, Stanley Avenue. The Everard Read Gallery, first established 1913, is South Africa’s largest gallery showcasing artist legends such as Keith Joubert and George Mzimba as well as sculptors, photographers, lithographers and multi-media artists.
Info: 6, Jellicose Ave, Rosebank
(011-788-4808)
ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP
A visit to Alexandria (Alex), an enormous township, completes the snapshot of Joburg. Everyone is out on the streets, hanging about, eating and working. Groups of children pose happily for the camera, giggling. Rows of tented hair salons line the streets, packed with hairdressers braiding perfect corn-rows. Mini buses hoot for custom, music blares in the shabeens and people queue outside phone booths. Some of the poorer homes have metal-sheet and tarpaulin roofs. There is no denying that the overcrowding, lack of water and sanitation are dire. High unemployment figures have recently led to a spate of xenophobic attacks against refugees from neighbouring countries, yet, freedom and empowerment have been intoxicating, bringing new hope to the poor of the ‘Rainbow Nation’.
BOTANICAL GARDENS
For a tranquil interlude, a picnic under the shady trees, al fresco opera and concerts, visit Joburg’s favourite outdoor space — the botanical gardens. Established in 1968 on 81 hectares of land, this haven with exotic trees like cork oak and Californian redwoods attracts all kinds of birds, especially waterfowl. Moor hens, crested grebes and Egyptian geese flock round its dam, the various ponds, islands and reed beds.
Info: Thomas Bowler Rd, Emmarentia
(Tel: 011 782-1517)
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EAT
Try local fare such as masonja, which is mopane worms with piquant peri peri sauce at Gramadoleas, one of the oldest and most festive restaurants in town. Here you can savour Pan African cuisine such as the bobotie (beef pie), sosaties (grilled marinated chicken or lamb with apricots), cubed crocodile tail, grated biltong (dried, cured bush meat) and mielie (maize bread). For desert, try melktert (a Dutch heritage milk tart).
Gramadoleas, Market Theatre Precinct, Wolhunter St, Newtown
(Tel: 011 838 6960)
SHOP
Inveterate traveller Mark Valentine combs through sub-Saharan Africa from Mali to Somalia, to ferret out the most unusual and interesting pieces of art in the form of beaded armchairs, crowns, textiles, wooden headrests and star chairs (that take your gaze straight up to the celestial panorama above). In this little known hideaway, wander from room to room, soak up the unkempt charm of the premises where everything you see is unusual and exciting. Amatuli is where you will absorb an idea or uncover the delightful curio to take home. Each piece comes with a write-up and description of the original usage.
Amatuli , 170 Corlett Drive, Bramley
(Tel: 011 440 5065)
African antiques, artefacts and textiles collected and showcased by Lara Tatley. Find brightly coloured telephone wire baskets, Nguni Cowhides as rugs, Shauna woven baskets from Zambia, Kuba (flat stitch) and Shoowa (pile) textiles from the Congo.
Toguna, 235A Jan Smuts Ave, Partown North
MORE TO DO
There’s plenty more to explore in Joburg.
- Catch a panoramic glimpse of the city at Top of Africa, Carlton Panorama (all 360 degrees), from the top floor of the Carlton Centre
- Visit the Drum Café 9(Tel: 011 834 4464) which holds drum circles where you can tap into Africa’s primal rhythms as a group;
- Try Bill Harrop’s Original Balloon Safaris (Tel: 011 705 3201) for an aerial adventure;
- Experience the Bus Factory — a vibrant new space that displays the creativity of young artists and craftsmen.
Geetika Jain is a writer and editor based in London