Other sights in Gauteng
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AECI Dynamite Factory Museum
The AECI Dynamite Factory Museum, housed in an original 1895 homestead 16km northeast of the city centre, charts the development of South Africa’s explosives industry (a crucial factor in Jo’burg’s development as a mining centre).
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Constitutional Court
The Constitution Hill development focuses on South Africa’s new Constitutional Court, built within the ramparts of the Old Fort, which dates from 1892 and was once a notorious prison, where many of the country’s high-profile political activists, including Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, were held. Ruling on constitutional and human-rights matters, the court itself is a very real symbol of the changing South Africa: a lekgotla (place of gathering) rising from the ashes of one of the city’s most poignant apartheid-system monuments, with cases heard in all 11 official languages. The modern structure incorporates sections of the old prison walls, plus large windows that…
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Market Theatre
The lively Market Theatre complex, next door to Museum Africa, puts on regular shows and has a couple of restaurants and some craft stalls.
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Mary Fitzgerald Sq
Mary Fitzgerald Sq (named after South Africa’s first female trade unionist) is probably the best place to start a visit to central Jo’burg. As well as being the staging ground for a number of annual events – check Jo’burg city’s website (www.joburg.org.za) for details – it’s also a good place to people-watch at one of the area’s cafes. The square is lined by an array of heads carved by Newtown artists from old railway sleepers, and is bordered by the Jazz Walk of Fame, a Hollywood Blvd–style walkway that pays tribute to South Africa’s most influential jazz musicians. There’s also a bronze sculpture honouring Brenda Fassie, one of the country’s most popular musicians, who…
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Montecasino Bird Gardens
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Avalon Cemetery
At Avalon Cemetery, you’ll find the graves of Hector Pieterson (Plot EC462) and Joe Slovo (Plot B35311), former leader of the South African Communist Party.
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Credo Mutwa Cultural Village
The Credo Mutwa Cultural Village is a series of clay sculptures and buildings inspired by African folklore, and created in 1974 by Credo Mutwa, an artist and healer (though some of the buildings were destroyed after he made controversial comments about the 1976 Soweto uprising). After years of neglect, a restoration was completed in 2008.
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Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Just down Vilakazi St, by Sakhumzi Restaurant, is the Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
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Kliptown Open Air Museum
The Kliptown Open Air Museum tells the story of how the Freedom Charter came to be drafted through photos, newspaper clippings, art and song.
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Oppenheimer Tower
You can also visit the Oppenheimer Tower, erected in gratitude to the chairman of the Anglo-American Corporation, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, who in 1956 organised a loan from the Chamber of Mines to build 14,000 homes, improving living standards for thousands of Sowetans.
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Orlando Towers
The Orlando Towers, built originally for Orlando’s Power Station, loom large on the Soweto skyline. Once painted a drab white, one tower is now decorated with a colourful mural, the largest in South Africa, depicting, among others, Nelson Mandela, singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and a football stadium. The other tower displays the FNB logo (the bank commissioned the murals in 2002). The brave can now get strapped into a harness and throw themselves off a platform from the top of the towers. The Power Swing has a 40m free-fall followed by a pendulum swing, from where you get a bird’s-eye view of the Orlando dam. There are also plans to introduce a bungee jump from between the…
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Regina Mundi Church
South of here, down Klipspruit Valley Rd, is the Regina Mundi Church, an important meeting point during the apartheid years and central to the struggle. The police often retaliated and you can still see bullet holes in the ceiling to the right of the main altar. The right-hand ‘community’ altar rail is also chipped from where the butt of a police rifle smashed it. In recognition of the church’s role in the struggle, several hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission were heard here.
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Diepkloof Farm Museum
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Cullinan Diamond Mine
After visiting Sammy Marks’ Museum, head north to historic Cullinan, a pretty 100-year-old village full of quaint Herbert Baker architecture. It is best explored on a sluggish, Sunday afternoon stroll. The village is home to Cullinan Diamond Mine, one of the biggest and most productive diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes in the world. It has produced three of the largest diamonds ever found. The largest, the 3106-carat Cullinan, as it was called, was 11cm by 6cm in rough form and was presented to King Edward VII. You can don a tin hat and organise a tour of the mine through Premier Diamond Tours.
To get here, take the N4 east and the Hans Strijdom off-ramp, then turn left…
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Chimpanzee Eden
Chimpanzee Eden, 12km south of Nelspruit on Rte 40, acts as a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees. Here you can see chimps in a semi-wild environment and learn about primate behaviour and their plight. The entry fee includes a guided tour (10am, noon and 2pm). There’s also a boutique hotel here (singles/doubles R1150/1350).
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Croc River Reptile Park
Just northwest of Nelspruit and signposted from Rte 40 is the Croc River Reptile Park, where you can meet these prehistoric creatures face to face.
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Lowveld National Botanical Garden
Out of town, the 150-hectare Lowveld National Botanical Garden is home to tropical African rainforest, and is a nice place for a stroll among the flowers and trees. It’s on Rte 40 about 2km north of the junction with the N4.
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Sonheuwel Nature Reserve
The small Sonheuwel Nature Reserve features antelope species, vervet monkeys and rock paintings. It’s on the southern edge of Nelspruit, off Van Wijk St.
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Hector Pieterson Museum & Hector Pieterson Memorial
North of Vilakazi St is Soweto’s big gun, Hector Pieterson Sq. Named after the 13-year-old who was shot dead in the run-up to the Soweto uprising, the square now features the poignant Hector Pieterson Memorial and the excellent museum, offering insight into Sowetan life and the history of the independence struggle. It follows the origins of Afrikaans, its introduction into black schools and how this led to the tragic incidents of 16 June 1976. Moving exhibitions contain quotes of remembrance from the day in question, including an eyewitness from Antoinette Sithole, Hector Pieterson’s sister. All around the museum, large windows look out onto the streets, pointing to…
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Old Kromdraai Gold Mine
The Old Kromdraai Gold Mine is the first gold mine on the Witwatersrand. Guided tours leave the converted shed every hour.
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South African Police Museum
The police museum contains exhibits covering the turbulent history of the nation’s police force and includes some grisly exhibits on celebrated crimes, and a display on police transport both inside and outside the museum.
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Sterkfontein Caves
It includes a permanent hominid exhibit and a walkway past the excavation site. Tours down into the caves, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the world, leave every 30 minutes.
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National Botanical Garden
Around 9km east of the city centre, these gardens cover 77 hectares and are planted with indigenous flora from around the country. The 20,000-odd plant species are labelled and grouped according to their region of origin, so a visit is a must for keen botanists. Garden picnic concerts are held from May to September.
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Fort Klapperkop Military Museum
This fort was one of four built to defend Pretoria, although in the end it was never used in that regard. Located 6km south of the city, it’s one of the best-preserved forts in South Africa, and its museum tells the story of the country’s military history from 1852 to the end of the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer War. There are panoramic views across the city and the region.
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