South Africa – Thank heavens for Uber

July 3-5

Hello everyone!

My latest travelling adventure starts in the ‘City of Gold’. A place founded on dreams of wealth which has exploded since 1886.

Statue at Constitution Hill

This was the year in which gold was first discovered. In what are now the outskirts of Johannesburg, people flocked to this barren land seeking their fortune from the gold rush.

Joburg is a 2 hr 30 mins flight from Lilongwe

City Hall

There is no other reason for a city to exist here, let alone one which houses almost 4.5 million people and is southern Africa’s economic hub. There is no water source (water is apparently transported from hundreds of kilometres away). Just lots of gold. I also wouldn’t say it’s the prettiest place, with brutalist architecture and monstrosities which make me think of 1960’s Britain.

The reason for Joburg's existence

Buildings reminiscent of UK cities in the 1960s. Or Newport...

With such a large population, Johannesburg has traffic problems. These are compounded by the lack of a metro, save for the Gautrain which connects the centre with the airport and Pretoria. Also, there’s the strong suggestions from almost everyone here that you should not walk. Anywhere.

Stuck in traffic around Park Station

I can’t remember visiting a place where walking around on your own is so strongly advised against. It makes it difficult to get a feel for the city when you’re peering out from windows, rather than pounding the pavement.

Very few people can be seen walking - it's a city for wheels

I did get the opportunity to explore as part of a walking tour heading through the inner city of ‘Jozi’. Arguably the most fascinating aspect was how many high-rise buildings are abandoned and empty. On purpose.

An example of a high-rise in Joburg, many of
which are unoccupied

A legacy of apartheid, these ugly tower blocks were once where the whites of Joburg lived and did their business. After the end of racial segregation, the whites packed up and moved to the northern suburbs. Many of the towers were then boarded up with bricks so that no squatters could enter them. Some are still this way today, empty and unloved.

The building in the distance has been unoccupied since the 1990s

Apartheid brutalised this city and its scars are evident. Some of the signs have been left up as a reminder of Joburg’s divided past.

If you can take your eyes away from the incredible
suit on display, the top shows an apartheid-era sign

The southwest of the city is home to the powerful Apartheid Museum. The tone is set from when you receive your ticket, which randomly selects you as white or non-white. Separate entrances are a visible example of apartheid in action.

The entrance to the Apartheid Museum

I was randomly selected as 'white'

The museum is packed full of information, much of it difficult to digest as you read tale after tale of white suppression and non-white struggle. One particularly disturbing section is a ceiling full of nooses, representing the people who ‘committed suicide’ (more often thrown of the top of Johannesburg’s police station).

Nelson Mandela being interviewed by ITN in 1962

The nooses reflecting the high 'suicide' rate

Another of Johannesburg’s reminders of its past is found at Constitution Hill. A total of 156 people, including Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, were arrested and held at the prison complex before the historic Treason Trial in 1956.

The Old Fort at Constitution Hill

After much discussion, Constitution Hill was left in its original form

You can imagine that this history could have the potential to be a mill around Joburg’s neck. Luckily, there are other things to do to help you take your mind off, or drink away, the past. The entertaining World of Beer Museum certainly helps to do that. Even here though, the legacy of apartheid is touched upon as you are guided through a ‘shebeen’, a Soweto house which illegally sold beer.

A typical Joburg pub from the 1920s

Beer sampling - none were particularly impressive

Visiting all of these places, as well as Africa’s tallest building (at 222m, it’s not even in the top 100 tallest buildings in the world), is made possible on the hop-on, hop-off red bus. You’ll have seen these in cities across the globe. Though used out of necessity, it was certainly an interesting way to move around Joburg.

The Carlton Center: Africa's biggest building

View from the Top of Africa

Other than that, you’re at the mercy of taxi drivers who know they can charge a lot of money. Unless you have a smart phone with internet access, in which case Uber becomes your best friend. A R100 taxi journey becomes R40, and a 35km journey out of the city to the lodge where my tour leaves from is half the price.

Hated elsewhere, but a godsend in Johannesburg

Ultimately, Joburg left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. Unable to move around with my usual independence – I’m sure I could have walked but was always advised against it whenever I asked. Though a young city, it is already steeped in and scarred by history. It has a difficult job, which it is trying to do, of striking a balance between honouring the past and moving into the future. With Uber, it certainly makes it easier for a visitor to do both!

Love you all

Matt