While in South Africa make a day tour of Soweto a must! There are plenty of tours to choose from with 800 different operators conducting personal tours of Soweto. In Soweto, another guide who lives in one of the squatter camps will join you as you visit various other camps, like Nelson Mandela Camp or Kliptown Camp and will accompany your personal guide. This particular tour is one of the more impressive day tours found in the Pretoria/Johannesburg area. Here you will be taken through chaotic and crowded conditions, which will give you a good idea of the amazing sense of unity and community of Soweto’s residents.
Soweto, the name being a shortened form of the official name of “South Western Townships”, is home to up to 3,5 million people, making it the ‘largest black city in Africa’. Go visit the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere, the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital; afterwards you can go see the famous home of Nelson and Winnie Mandela during the struggle years of the apartheid regime. This house is now a museum and is near Bishop Desmond Tutu’s residence. Enjoy an icy cold drink at a local shebeen before continuing with your excursion
At the Regina Mundi Catholic Church, in Rockville, you can view the ‘Madonna and Child of Soweto’ painting done by Larry Scully (1922-2002), as well as experiencing the role of the church during that period. It is also where many meet in remembrance of the day that four school children were shot by police after a demonstration was given against the official language of education, Afrikaans. A visit to a shelter for street kids, as well as a family, can give you an idea of the life of the people in Soweto and gives you an opportunity to give a contribution to help better their lives.
After all these activities you can stop and rest for lunch at either a shebeen for pap (mealie meal) and stew, or at a buffet restaurant where you will be provided with an array of different dishes to sample from.
These are just some of the many highlights you may experience on your Soweto tour, making it a memorable part of your South African experience. Not only will you be given a tour of the squatter camps but you will also be given an informative tour by those that live in those very areas. Altogether a very enjoyable and enlightening experience not to be missed!
