Joberg, South Africa

Hello hello hello

For the past week I have been in Johannesburg for work. I’m at the airport now, waiting for a flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe for a short holiday. I figured since I came all of this way I should take advantage and take a few days off at the end before going home. So I’m headed up to Vic Falls and Botswana for 4 nights and then going down to Cape Town for 4 nights before flying home.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with regards to Joberg. It gets a pretty bad rap as a dangerous place and it’s never been high on my list. The stories you hear of of people getting robbed and gun point while walking down the street and the high murder rates give the impression that you pretty much need to lock yourself in a high security hotel.  But thankfully, that’s not the case.  While I’m not going to pretend it’s a safe city, like most places if you stay in the right area and don’t walk around alone, in the dark or flashing your valuables, it’s not a scary place (other than crossing the street - I swear people are actually trying to run you over)

I stayed in an area called Sandton, which is the business district and one of the more upmarket areas. My hotel was across the street from the train which went direct to the airport. And the EY office was a block away (could see the big EY logo from the hotel restaurant, bar, pool, etc).  Also, there was a huge mall across the street along with Nelson Mandela Square, which is a square with about 8 restaurants.  So basically, I could have spent my entire week not leaving a two block radius.  While the same scenery gets a bit boring after a few days, it was pretty convenient. I felt safe enough walking to and from work, and walking over to the mall on my own.... at least during daylight hours.

I was here working at EY on an internal quality review. There were about 15 of us who flew in for a week and we were a pretty diverse group. There were a few from London, a few from Germany, a few South Africans, an American, a Pol, a guy from Mauritius, a guy from Kazakhstan, and me. It made for some pretty interesting conversations at dinner. The good thing was that everyone got along fairly well, so each night we would all go for drinks and dinner.  

We left the Sandton bubble most nights for dinner, which was good. One night we went to an “African”restaurant which was clearly more novelty than it was authentic. They had specialities from various African countries, a band playing “African” music and a guy who came around to paint tribal designs on your face. While I’m generally not a fan of fake authentic experiences, we actually had quite a fun night. It wasn’t too over the top and the restaurant was upscale and had a good vibe.  So it wasn’t tacky and touristy.  The guys all ordered a plate of fried worms as a starter, which I did not try. However the feedback was they were tough and crunchy.  Go figure, the fried worms were not good.

Most of the other meals involved copious amounts of meat. Portions were huge. I’m pretty sure I had a whole lamb on my plate one night. The other nice thing is that South Africa is known for its wine, so the wine lists at all of the restaurants was extensive and we had some really nice reds. Can’t complain about the prices either - the hotel had giant glasses for ~$3-4. 

Joberg is a real city of contrasts. The EY office is brand new and fancy. It has an outdoor sky bar with a view, a modern open plan and the latest technology and trends.  When there I felt that I could be in any city in Australia or Europe. The restaurants we ate at were nice and the food and wine was good. The hotel was trendy with a popular bar on Fridays. But then a few blocks away, it’s unsafe to walk alone. Other than the airport train (which was built for the 2010 World Cup) public transport isn’t safe, so everyone drives.  Crime rates are high and a lot of people live in poor conditions. I understand why this is, but it makes Joberg a tough place to visit.

On Sunday, before I started work I had a day free. So I did a tour of Soweto and the Apartheid museum. Soweto is a township within Joberg where people were relocated to during Apartheid. Today it’s home to nearly 4 million people of all classes.  We started in a more wealthy area where the houses were big and modern-ish with green lawns and bmws parked outside. But then we crossed a bridge and it was the stark opposite -a shanty town without electricity. There is a program to provide housing for people below a certain income level (started by Nelson Mandela in the late 90s), however our guide said that it’s too slow. It’s taking the government too long to get a lot of people basic services like running water and electricity.  We then went to a street where both Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived for a time. Nelson Mandela’s house is now a small museum. Of course this is a pretty famous street, so souvenir shops have taken over, along with people dressed in tribal costume dancing around. 

We had lunch at a restaurant (which turns into a club at night) under the famous old Orlando Towers power station. The two towers have now been converted into a tourist park and you can bungee jump off the towers. I’m a fan of bungee jumping, but this didn’t seem like the place for it.  The afternoon was spent at the Apartheid museum which was very interesting. I was there for two hours and could have used more time. 

We had guides with us who were from Soweto, and I didn’t feel unsafe at any point when there.  Our guides claimed it’s safer in Soweto than in Sandton. The rationale was that in Soweto everyone knows each other and there is a sense of community and pride, so people hold each other accountable. Where as Sandton is transient and no one cares if a stranger gets robbed.  I can kind of see that, and everyone we met in Soweto was friendly and welcoming, but I’m sure if I just turned up on my own and started walking around the poorer areas I would leave without my valuables.  What they probably really mean it’s safer for Soweto locals in Soweto than in the rest of Joberg.

Overall I liked Joberg and had quite a positive experience.  While I wouldn’t go way out of my way to come here, if in this part of the world, I would say it’s worth a visit for a few days. So now work is done and I’m excited for 8 days of holiday.  Excited to explore Vic Falls and go on safari in Botswana. I loved Africa when I was here last year, so I’m interested to see how Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana compare to Tanzania. Will write again on my next flight.

Sio