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Do you like gold? Diamonds? Then Johannesburg is the place for you. Jo’burg or Jozi, as the locals call it, is surrounded by some of the world’s largest gold and diamond mines. Although they are gradually being wound down as reserves are depleted, they still play a very important part in the commercial life of South Africa’s largest city.
Security tends to be tight at gold and diamond mines, so head instead for Gold Reef City Theme Park, where you can poke around in the gold museum, watch a movie about mining, go on an underground mine tour and watch a demonstration of gold pouring.
The park also has plenty of rides, ranging from the gentle to the extreme – the names Anaconda, Tower of Terror and Runaway Train should give you some idea – along with a 20-minute free flight bird show featuring birds of prey.
The sun sets over the skyscrapers of Johannesburg. Photo courtesy of SA Tourism.
| But there is much, much more to Jo’burg than gold. Here is a partial list to get you started:
Ghastly ghosts – The Mystery Ghost Bus takes you on a tour of some of the historic sites of the city, introducing you to the ghosts that haunt them.
Sterkfontein Valley – The site of the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site where some of the earliest evidence of man and his ancestors has been unearthed.
Historic towns – Take a leisurely trip to the quaint town of Parys on the Vaal River or Magaliesburg to the west of Jo’burg. Or head for the village of Cullinan, where the world’s largest diamond was found in 1905. The village is quaintly and prettily Victorian, in stark contrast to the Big Hole nearby – the town’s diamond mine. You can tour the mine, above ground and below. Just don’t expect to find any diamonds.
High art – The Johannesburg Art Gallery is the oldest and largest in Africa, founded 100 years ago. This is a great place to get to know the best of traditional and modern African art.
Arts and crafts – Now that you know your African art, take it slow on a Sunday morning with a wander along the Crocodile River with its craftsmen, artists, galleries, health spas and restaurants.
Get a beer – The city naturally has plenty of watering holes, and we are not talking the kind that attracts hippos and giraffes. But one place you should pay homage at is the Radium Beer Hall, the oldest bar in the city. When it opened in 1929, it was the Radium Tearoom, selling booze on the sly. It did this for 13 years before getting a license.
A drop of shopping - Fourways Mall is home to 170 shops selling everything from high fashion to jewelry, along with branches of chain stores from around the world, cinemas, hotels, restaurants and bars. Serious shoppers could probably spend their entire South African holiday here. And if that is not enough for you, head for Sandton, the city’s newest business and chic shopping area.
Get your history here - Jo’burg has museums aplenty, including the Apartheid Museum, documenting the black and coloured South Africans’ struggle for freedom; the National Museum of Military History, which documents every conflict involving South African military forces (they have been in quite a few); and the Origins Centre, which documents the rise of mankind from its African origins.
One last attraction you should not miss –
Gumboot Dancing. Just ask your accommodation host to get you tickets.
Johannesburg has two stadiums that will host World Cup matches. The brand new Soccer City will see action right through the tournament and will be the venue for the World Cup Final. Famed Ellis Park will see action in the early rounds, along with one match in the round of 16 and one of the quarter-finals.
Soccer City is the largest stadium in Africa, and will host the World Cup final.Photo by www.ligafutbol.com.
Ellis Park was purpose-built for rugby. It will always occupy a special place in history,
for the moment that brought the people of South Africa together in celebration as the
iconic scenes of Nelson Mandela holding aloft the 1995 Rugby World Cup trophy at
Ellis Park were beamed around the world. - Photo by Goldorak.
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