The tickets are very reasonable, R120 online and R150 at the
'door'. We started the tour at Park Station on a half full bus. There were the
usual selection of European tourists but it was also nice to see or rather hear
locals on the tour.
The audio part of the tour is very good. The guides have
some good information and are entertaining. They objectively cover the important
parts of Joburg history but without going too deep into the ugly parts
surrounding apartheid. Luckily there weren’t any cringe –worthy parts which is quite
an achievement!
It goes past Ghandi Square, the Carlton Centre (see previous
Top of Africa post) and onto Santarama.
We got off at the Santarama stop. Just to give you some
background… in primary school, Santarama was one of the field trips we used to
do. It's also known as Miniland. It's full of teeny replicas of all sorts of (pre
1994) South African things like an airport, the Castel of Good Hope, a harbour,
a city hall, the Dromedaris, rural
villages for different tribes and so on. There is a massive statue of Jan van
Riebeeck outside and for some strange reason, a huge statue of Michael Jackson
inside? I was looking forward to seeing the place because I only have fond
memories of it… I was very disappointed! It looks like they haven’t done any maintenance
in the last 15 years and would probably have to demolish it and start again. I'm
not really sure why this is on the tour? 
We then walked down the road to the James Hall Transport
Museum. What a treat! I'd never heard of it, but am so glad my Dad wanted to
see it! They have old wagons, bikes, fire engines and cars in great condition. Being
a fan of shiny sports cars and vintage cars, I was in my element! Then it was
on to Gold Reef City, via Turfontein, past the Apartheid Museum and back into
town. 
We got off the bus again at the Mining District Walk,
outside the Anglo American building – which was the building my dad had his job
in (but not at Anglo). We walked down Main Street which has been done up very
nicely! My dad told me stories about when he worked in town in the 70's before
the big companies moved into the Sandton CBD. There are little extra touches
everywhere like pretty gardens, metal leaf cut outs in the pavements and mining
machinery and presses. While waiting for the bus, we chatted to some guys (and
their customers) at their spaza shop and my dad took some great photos… Joburg
is truly a great cultural melting pot!
And then we were off to Newtown, where we stopped to grab
some lunch at Gramadoelas. I wouldn’t recommend it. Bad service, terrible food
and a waste of stomach space! I think you just need to look a bit harder in the
area for a great place to eat. While waiting for the bus, we made a plan to
come back to the Sci Bono Museum that is in the old Electric Workshop (my favourite
rave venue back in the 90's).
The rest of the trip took us past the Origins Centre - a
very interesting museum about the evolution of humankind, The Grove in Braamfoniten,
home to the Neighbourgoods Market (excellent market!!) and a lot of urban renewal
and the to Constitution Hill. This is my favourite museum and I've done the
tour so many times I can probably give it myself. If there is one place you visit
in Joburg, this is it!!
From there, it was back to Park Station and the end of a
really good tour. We had a great day and I am looking forward to other routes
they will hopefully add to the tour.
