With cars featuring “GP” number plates, Johannesburg has become known as “Gangster’s Paradise”. In the past it has battled a reputation of being a crime-ridden, concrete jungle rife with Sandton kugels*, but over the last few years, the city of Johannesburg has undergone a renaissance and become a tourist destination in its own right. These days you’ll hear the city referred to as “Joburg”, “Jozi”, or “Egoli”, and more residents have taken to promoting the beauty and excitement that their urban homeland has to offer.
Here are 5 reasons to visit Jozi:
- CULTURE & HISTORY: The Apartheid Museum
There are plenty of museums, galleries, and monuments to see around Joburg. The Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid. A series of 22 individual exhibition areas have been assembled and organised by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, film-makers, historians, and designers. They include provocative film footage, photographs, text panels, and artefacts illustrating the events and human stories of the epic apartheid saga.
The Apartheid Museum is at the corner of Northern Parkway and Gold Reef Roads, Ormonde. Contact +27 (0) 11 309 4700 / [email protected].
Other museums you may be interested in: Johannesburg Art Gallery, Constitution Hill, Hector Peterson Museum.
- FAMILY FUN: Jozi X
This fun park offers exclusive activities that are specially designed to cater for everyone between the ages of 5 and 75 years old, so you have no excuse to avoid this outing. The Jozi X Action World is a world-first with 8 hardness-free features, including a 9m climbing wall, circus-sized trapeze, and giant Krush Kushions. There is also exciting mountain boarding on BorderX tracks, a Slope-style park, and a Big-Air Jump. Try the new sport of Slackline and perfect your balance along narrow, flexible pieces of webbing, set-up at different heights in the Park or Tree Traverse sections. Don’t leave without trying South Africa’s first Big Air Krush Kushion, which helps you do all kinds of tricks on any non-motorized discipline, including BMX bikes, rollerblades, and skateboards.
Jozi X is at the corner of Main Road and Sloane Street, Bryanston. Contact [email protected] / +27 (0) 82 456 2358.
Other family fun activities you may be interested in: Gold Reef City, Honeydew A-maize-ing Mazes, Wild Waters.
- JUNGLE FEVER: Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve
As a proud member of Johannesburg’s Big 5 Tourist Destinations, the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve is a privately owned game reserve, covering 1,200 hectares of wild Highveld. From a modest beginning of 2 White Rhinos imported from a zoo in Germany and some antelope, the reserve now boasts 600 head of game representing 25 different species. Aside from rhino and lion, you will also see cheetah, the rare Cape wild dog, tigers, warthog, and over 200 vultures that come to feast at the reserve. Visitors have access to braai areas, restaurants, a curio shop, swimming pool, children’s play park, and the Crocodile Pub where you can enjoy a sundowner and watch crocodiles at close range.
The reserve is at 520 Kromdraai Road (D540), Kromdraai, Krugersdorp (GPS coordinates: E27.47:33.57 S25.58:25,7). Contact +27 (0) 11 957 0109 / [email protected]
Other wildlife experiences you may be interested in: Johannesburg Zoo, Mystic Monkeys and Feathers Wildlife Park, Montecasino Bird Gardens.
- LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Newtown
Established as a cultural precinct, Newtown lies in Joburg’s CBD. Here you will find the Museum Africa, Market Theatre, World of Beers, Bus Factory, and Workers Museum. Try one of the fantastic restaurants and musical venues like Sophiatown, Nikki’s Oasis, and the Song Writers Club.
Other hotspot locations you may be interested in: Melville, Parkhurst, Soweto.
- SHOPPING SUPREME: B&B African Craft Market, The Mall at Rosebank
Jozi is a shopaholic’s paradise with everything from boutique stores to market stalls. In the heart of the vibrant Rosebank area you will find The Mall at Rosebank, filled with an array of restaurants, stores, and entertainment, along with the B&B African Craft Market. Listen to the pulsating rhythm of African drum beats as you peruse through a range of exquisite high-quality handcrafted African artefacts. Visitors are welcomed seven days a week from 9am to 6pm.
B&B African Craft Market and The Mall at Rosebank are at the corner of Cradock Avenue and Baker Street, Rosebank. Contact +27 (0) 11 788 5530.
Other shopping experiences you may also be interested in: Sandton City, Melrose Arch, Cresta.
Now that you know what’s in store, make sure you find a place to stay that will enhance your Jozi experience. Whether it is in the heart of Sandton or the rural outskirts near Fourways, we guarantee accommodation to suit your every need.
What would you recommend as an outing for tourists in Jozi?
*kugel: a wealthy, pretentious woman, usually very loud and only wears designer labels. Their natural habitat is a cocktail bar at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton City.
Image 1: Newtown by Mister-E
Image 2: Apartheid Museum by Erik Cleves Kristensen
Image 3: Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve by Gurney5
Image 4: The Mall at Rosebank by austinevan
