Johannesburg,South Africa
- May 11
- 3 min read
Ahh South Africa; I’ve been having dreams of you before I could remember and now that I finally get to visit, I plan to make the most of it.
I began the long journey from New York to South Africa via Amsterdam courtesy of KLM. As a SkyTeam traveler, most of my journeys take me through Amsterdam. What felt like an eternity later, I landed in Johannesburg South Africa.
It was approaching eleven at night as I requested an Uber. The drive to my hotel felt rather long. As I moved through the darkness of night my mind kept wondering, is this the load shedding I’ve heard about all these years? What felt like an eternity later, I arrived at the Hilton House Johannesburg. Check-in was seamless but the rest I had that night was beyond epic.
The next day, after having a lovely breakfast accompanied by colorful canary birds, I embarked on a private tour of Johannesburg. Walking tours are my go to method of seeing a city but this one required transportation to cover as much ground as possible.
The first stop was 9 12th avenue. This was the last address for the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. The guide languished over the feelings of the day he died and pointed out where stones were still decorated with messages to the former president.
We then made a stop to FNB stadium, perhaps the largest football stadium in South Africa that doubles as a concert hall from time to time. We then made our way to Soweto to see the Soweto Towers. I pretty much read every travel magazine as a kid, so to see them up close was nothing short of satisfying. For those adventurous travelers, bungee jumping is an option.
After viewing a few neighborhoods in Soweto, we made our way over to Orlando West to see the Hector Pieterson memorial. I couldn’t believe I had never heard of this memorial and the activities that transpired that day. I felt siloed in a cocoon of comfort not knowing events like this even took place.
On a more upbeat note, we headed over to 8115 Vilakazi Street, which was the address of Nelson Mandela a few weeks after leaving prison. The house is now a museum, with impromptu live performances on the outside. It’s located on what’s called Nobel Laureate street, as it’s said to be the only street that house two Nobel laureates, him and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
We made a few other stops, the house of Winnie Mandela, a few abandoned mining locations, churches, you name it. To have the entire day to explore the city and to do it at my pace was really incredible.
That night I had reserved a 10pm dinner at the hotel. I don’t particularly eat that late but considering it was New Year’s Eve, I needed a reason to be up. I sat at my private table for one in the corner of the hotel restaurant silently awaiting the festivities. As the New Year drew upon us I headed to the rooftop to see the fireworks. Thank goodness, I made it into another year!
The next day, I would commemorate the new year by doing something I never thought I’d do, a safari. The tour guide picked me up from my hotel and embarked on what felt like a three hour ride to Sundown Safari’s. The property itself was impressive and they even have a hotel on premises. It’s a great idea to stay here so you can have one of the earlier safaris in the mornings to at least beat the heat. As I switched to my Safari vehicle, I couldn’t help but ask myself, what am I doing here?
Roughly twenty minutes later and we were off. In our open air vehicle we sped down the highway until we made it to the Safari entrance. Antelopes, Rhinos, Zebras. I’d been to the zoo once or twice but to see animals in their natural habitats was amazing. We took a break for lunch on the reserve and then headed back out again at 2:00 PM. A cheetah climbing a tree to catch its prey had to be the most impressive thing I’ve seen. The ride back to Joberg was a miss, I’d been so tired from being in the sun all day I just slept.
The final day was set aside for the museum of Apartheid but they closed for a holiday break. Although I was reimbursed, still stung that I was able to miss the history and the moment!
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