Today was the last day of the tour but fortunately we had enough time to do a half-day tour of the city of Johannesburg, Soweto (short for South Western Townships) and the Apartheid Museum. The museum was very moving, including having to enter in a segregated door depending on your random ticket stub. While it’s easy to come to South Africa and skip over this darker side, I think it’s important to acknowledge the troubled history, understand its source, remember those who fought and died for equal rights and see how South Africans are moving forward.
One man continues to stand out among the many who battled the long, hard fight against apartheid: Nelson Mandela. We visited his foundation’s headquarters, his last house (where he passed away in 2013 and where people still leave messages written on stones), and the house he shared with Winnie in Soweto (now a museum). His house was down the street from another Nobel Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, and is a real tourist attraction. Vilakazi Street is bustling with street performers and vendors, as well as a popular restaurant serving traditional African dishes – I skipped the tripe but our driver loved that dish!
On our way back to our hotel we saw that some people still live in very rudimentary houses with no plumbing but hopefully the government will continue to build homes so this will also become a distant memory. The last two images are of the colourful Orlando Towers where you can go bungee jumping! We decided to pass… 😉
Thanks for following along on our tour! If you’d like to join us on a future tour to South Africa or would like help planning a personal vacation there, please contact us!
Other blog posts from this tour:
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Days 8 & 9 | Days 10 & 11 | Days 12 & 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Days 16 & 17 | Day 18