After my Rovos train ride I arrived in Johannesburg. I was fortunate to stay in a fantastic small boutique hotel, 10 Bompas Road, run by friends of a friend of mine. Peter, one of the owners, was kind enough to pick me up from the train station and the hotel is located in an upscale suburb of Johannesburg near the Rosebank rail station. I was invited to have lunch with Peter and his partner Christophe on the outdoor terrace of the hotel overlooking the pool area. Peter and Christophe and I had much in common, we are about the same age and they are long time partners like Vincent and I. They are also Francophiles and own a home in a small village in the Languedoc region in Southwest France. In fact they were leaving for France later that evening. Christophe told me about the story of the hotel and it was originally the home he grew up in before it was converted into a 9 suite hotel in recent years with a restaurant and newly built conference center next door. The meal was superb and the best food I had in the three days I was in Johannesburg.
I was given a huge suite, bigger than my apartment in Paris, beautifully appointed with a separate living room and spacious bedroom. Snacks, fruit, and a bottle of Champagne were also supplied.
The first stop was The Apartheid Museum, opened in 2001. I spent almost two hours absorbing the enriching history of The Apartheid, learning so many new things I didn’t know before. Besides the compelling history about Nelson Mandela, I learned he was a clotheshorse and had a special thing for shoes.
After the museum, I was taken to Soweto, short for South Western Township. It was established the same time as Johannesburg with the discovery of gold in 1885. Black migrant workers and miners populated Soweto and in 1948 at the start of the government implement of apartheid, many black Africans were evicted from mixed neighborhoods, so new housing and an extension of areas of Soweto were incorporated. June 16 1976, news of the Soweto Uprising spread across the world when violent protest broke out over the government policy to enforce education in Afrikaans language instead of English. Today Soweto has over 1.3 million people, about a third of Johannesburg’s population and languages spoken include Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Tsonga.
I was taken to Lebo’s Soweto, a hostel for backpackers that also had bicycle and Tuk-Tuk tours. I was given a Tuk-Tuk tour, which was great because I got to see things up close instead of from a car window. What struck me most about Soweto was the vibrant colors everywhere- on the buildings, the billboards, people’s clothing, the schools, and the shops. The driver showed me his father’s house and told me his father was a musician and on the weekends they had jazz jams and brunches.
Lunch was at a typical African restaurant, which offered a buffet and music. On the same street was an historic plaque stating two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived a few doors from each other, Nelson Mandela and Desmund Tutu. I did a tour of Nelson Mandela’s house, a small, modest cottage with lots of great photos, art, and artifacts.
The last stop was the Orlando Towers, two former cooling towers from an electricity plant. Shuttered in 1998, the plant was turned into entertainment center in 2006 and the towers now have the largest painted mural in South Africa. In between the towers is a bungee jump and I was offered a free jump but kindly said know as I know that would entail an emergency visit to the chiropractor.
After a full day of touring, I was happy to relax in my comfy room at 10 Bompas Road.
10 Bompas Road Hotel
http://tenbompas.com
Johannesburg Tourist Board
http://www.joburgtourism.com
JMT Tours
www.jmttours.com.za
Lebo’s Soweto
http://www.sowetobackpackers.com
