We booked the two day tour, so we didn't have to rush through it. On the first day we went on the Johannesburg city tour. The first place we stopped at was Gold Reef City. Gold Reef is a theme park and old gold mine. We didn't go on any of the rides, but we went down the old mine. Since it was a week day, the park wasn't very busy so we were the only ones on the tour down the mine! It was really cool, we got a guide all to ourselves and were the only ones down there. I feel like we learnt a lot more alone, than if we had gone down with a group.
We only went down to the second floor of the mine, but this still meant a one minute ride in an elevator down into the Earth, We were given torches, and at some points they were the only light we had. We were shown the equipment that was used to mine the gold, and how to tell if there is gold in a rock. We got to see holes that had been made in the Earth to get to the gold, and shown how they transported it back to the surface. It was very interesting, and I am really glad that we got the opportunity to do it.
The next place we stopped at was the Apartheid museum. For those who do not know, the Apartheid was a dark time in South Africa's history when the government separated the population according to the colour of their skin. It was a time of white supremacy, and black people where treated horrifically. The museum documented life for black and coloured people during the Apartheid, and how they tried to fight back. It was a really interesting museum, especially for Harrison as he had never really learnt anything about the Apartheid or South Africa's history. Our next stop was the Origins Center at the big university here in Joburg. We got there an hour before it was due to close, so we had to rush through it a bit. The origin center documents the origins of human life, found in Africa. It was mainly rock paintings, and just rocks, which was a little disappointing. As we had to rush a bit we didn't get to see everything, but it was still pretty interesting. We had been out on the tour the entire day, and were quite exhausted, so we decided that was the last stop of the day. Even though we had only stopped at 3 stops that day, we had spent a few hours at each stop. We started the tour at 10:00am, and finished up at 5:30, so it had been a really long day. Although we didn't stop at all the stops, we still got to learn quite a lot about the stops and Joburg in general, as there was commentary that you could listen to on the bus. So it was good for Harrison to learn more about South Africa and Joburg, and I learnt some things that I didn't know as well.
The next day we went on the Soweto part of the tour.
Soweto is the biggest township in Johannesburg. During the Apartheid, townships were set up as places where black and coloured people were forced to live. Nowadays anyone can live in the townships if they wish, but more often than not they are where the workers live, and are primarily populated with black people. We got off the big bus at Gold Reef City, to get onto a mini bus, or a taxi here. The taxi's take people to and from the townships. We were not on a public taxi, it was a mini bus owned by the tour company, but it still felt like we were in one of the taxi's that transport people to the townships. On our tour, there were only two other people as well as us, not including the driver or the tour guide. It was nice to have such a small group. Before entering Soweto we stopped at the soccer stadium that was used when the soccer world cup was held in South Africa.
I had always thought that it was the ugliest of the soccer stadiums in South Africa. However, our tour guide explained that it is meant to represent a calabash, which is traditionally used to drink traditional beer out of. The white waves on top, are meant to represent the beer inside the calabash. I think that it is a really cool idea and representation. I still think it is not the prettiest stadium, but now that I know what it represents, I can appreciate it more. Our next stop was at the biggest hospital in Africa, and the southern hemisphere. We didn't get to go inside. but we drove past it. And it was absolutely massive! I can't believe how big it was! We got out of the taxi at the next stop, and met a guide that was going to take us on a bit of a walking tour of the streets of Soweto. We went down Vilakazi St, which is the street that Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's houses are on.
We didn't go into the houses, but it was cool to see them. We were taken into a shebeen, which is like a pub. During the Apartheid black and coloured people were not allowed to drink in pubs or bars, so they began to open their own illegal pubs known as shebeens. Now, obviously anyone is allowed to go into a pub or bar if they are over 18, however shebeens are still found around South Africa, as ways to preserve culture and a sense of community. The shebeen we went into had roof made out of tin, and was really tiny. They made their own beer, and played traditional African music. It was awesome to see!
One thing I didn't like about the tour, was that the guide made us stop at these stalls on the sides of the roads, where people sell things that they have made. Usually I like stopping at these stalls, as the things being sold are always interesting. However, the guide was really pushy in trying to get us to buy stuff, which made the shop owners pushy and expected us to buy things. It was just very uncomfortable. Once we were done with the walking tour, we got back on the taxi and saw some more of Soweto. It was a super interesting tour, I really enjoyed being able to see something that is part of South Africa's history. We were taken back to Gold Reef City, and got back on the big bus to finish the tour. We decided to stop at one more stop on the big bus before heading home. We stopped at a place called Constitution Hill, which is where a jail was during the Apartheid.
We got to walk around the old jail and see the cells and learn about how the prisoners were treated. We were the only people walking around the jail which really gave it an eerie feel. We also got to walk on top of an old fort, which gave us an awesome view of the city. I really liked walking around the jail. Although it was sad to see how badly the prisoners were treated, and how poor their living conditions were, it was still interesting to see such a horrible part of South Africa's history. I think things like the jail are extremely important to today's society, as it helps us to remember the bad times and make sure they never happen again. The two days on the bus tour were great! We both learned a lot, and got to see a lot of the city.
On Friday, it was time for Harrison to get a tattoo! We went back to Lyndsay's work, and the same lady that did my tattoo, tattooed Harrison's leg. He got an awesome forest tattooed around his leg, and it looks incredible!
It turned out so great and he is very happy with it! I also got a matching tattoo with Lyndsay. We got the word Raine tattooed on our legs, which is both of our middle names. We had always wanted to get matching tattoos, so it was great to finally get them! Very special.
Harrison's tattoo took 5 and a half hours! He was really struggling by the end the poor thing!
On Saturday my Aunt and Uncle took Harrison and I to some markets. The first place we went to was the Maboneng Precinct, where there was supposed to be a food and art market. However when we got there it seemed to be closed! We found out that there was an art exhibition being held there so the markets were closed that day. We still got to walk around and see some art, and some cool stores that were still open. Once we had seen all that we had wanted to see, we moved on to the next market. This one was called The Sheds. It was a market in an old warehouse and there were all sorts of food stalls and other cutesy stuff.
As we walked in, Alyson and I went to the champagne stall and got a glass of champagne each! We wandered around the markets, sipping champagne and looking at all the awesome stalls.
We came across one stall that was selling gourmet popcorn! We tried gingerbread flavoured popcorn and espresso popcorn! I bought some peanut and chocolate popcorn, and it was delicious! After wandering around for a bit, we settled down for some lunch. I got a prawn and calamari combo, it was yummy!
Harrison tried decided to be brave, and tried a crocodile kebab. It was actually pretty good. I also got a chocolate brownie milkshake, which had an actual chocolate brownie floating on top! It was amazing! One of the best milkshakes ever! After lunch we got some Belgium waffles. Alyson's were good, but mine were sadly not cooked properly and weren't that nice. Eventually we had to leave, otherwise we would have spent all our money, and eaten ourselves into a coma! It was a really great day!
Last night we had a braai (BBQ) as an early birthday dinner for me! It was really great to be with my family, and have dinner all together. Poor Harrison is really sick again, and has been out for the past two days. We are taking him to the doctor today, so hopefully he gets better soon!
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