A tourist in our own town - City Sightseeing Tours

Daddles and I love doing tours of Joburg! We love the history, the vibe, the architecture, the people. So as a birthday present, I decided to book us on the newly unveiled City Sighting seeing tour of Johannesburg. I've done the tours in Cape Town and Rome and loved them! They're a quick, easy and interesting way to see a city and to get a feel for it before you launch yourself into being a tourist.  

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.

Visit http://www.citysightseeing.co.za/joburg.php

 

 

 

 

Greenside - a place to eat, drink and dance

The other night, I went to Greenside with some friends for a girls night out. This is one of many outings over the last couple year's to the vibey, villagey suburb.

Greenside was initially part of a farm founded by the Geldenhuys brothers, who owned a huge area that now includes Linden, Emmarentia, Saxonwold, Parkhurst and Victory Park.

The main drag of Gleneagles Drive is lined with restaurants and bars on one side and small businesses on the other. There are all sorts of cuisines to choose from, Indian (at Spiceburg and Karma), South African (Mama Tembo's), Asian (Tokyo Star), Italian (Topo Gigio), burgers at Dukes and the list goes on.

It's a great place for sundowners, with Topo Gigio offering jugs of cocktails at half price between 3 and 5. They also have great food and the vibe is great!

If you're there for a night out and aren't having dinner, this is what I recommend...

1.   Have a couple drinks at The Office. It's a vibey, busy bar. It does get super full after about 9, but that's ok because by then it's time to move on.

2.   Stop in at Gin, next door to The Office. This has a more chilled, less hoity toity feel. It's a great place for a couple more drinks and bit of a dance. The music ranges from old school rap, to hip hop to rock to pop. Try and avoid the bathroom though... it's not great.

3.   Wander along to Tokyo Star. There are 2 sections to Tokyo, the bar/restaurant that plays chilled acid jazz type music and the club side that plays everything. And I mean everything, from Dr Dre to Nirvana, it just depends on who the DJ is.

There is also Bob Rock's around the corner, but the night we went there, we were underwhelmed and the music wasn't that good.

Because it is all in a residential area, everything closes down at 2am, so you have a time limit. There are also sometimes cops on Barry Hertzog and Tana, so watch out! Parking is also a bit of a nightmare and you'll find you will end up parking in some side street but there are car guards everywhere so it's pretty safe.

During the day, it's great driving down the main streets of the suburbs, under the canopy of oak trees, looking at the old houses.

All in all, it's a great suburb day or night and there is always something to do and see.

Jacaranda season

The Jacaranda season is almost upon us! In October/November all of the Jacaranda trees in Joburg start flowering. Their beatuiful purple flowers add a special something to the landscape that is the urban forest of Joburg.

They're orginally from South and Central America and were planted all over the city.

I recommend going to almost any viewpoint to take a look out over the city at the gorgeous colours. Parktown is always good for viewing as is Northcliff Hill (though I hear you need to be alert up there).

And when they fall off the trees, the flowers cover the roads wiht a carpet of purple (and make a fantastic popping noise as you drive over them!)

Melville Koppies

A couple months back, Daddles and I eventually got around to going on a guided walk of the Melville Koppies.

We arrived early one summer morning, all ready to go. My in my trusty pair of walking Havaiana flip flops and everyone else in their hiking boots. And I’ll have you know I didn’t get a sock tan and had the last laugh when we walked through the river. Ha!

The Melville Koppies is a nature reserve and Heritage site just off Beyers Naude at the bottom of Melville and across the road from Mark’s Park (where the original Louw Geldenhuys farmhouse is). The walks are through Melville Koppies Central. They do dog walks through Melville Koppies West. Melville Koppies East is open to the public but people are advised not to walk alone (as with most of these areas in Joburg)

The area is on a granite ridge and as you walk around, you can see where the granite has been pushed to the surface. There are all sorts of different colour stones – ranging from clear, to white to brown to black - in different areas, I would assume as a result of different veins of granite and conditions.

The guided walk took us up the koppie, through a foresty area where we looked at all sorts of mushrooms, lichens and pretty flowering plants growing there and also sampling the edible fruits and berries that grow there. All the plants are indigenous. There is even a plant that looks like the seeds of the Tree of Souls in Avatar.

We walked up to the top of the koppie and to where the Iron Age furnace can be found. They have set up a roof and put up educational signage boards and information about the ages of man in the area. Our guide quickly ran through the 250 000 year history (Stone Age an onwards) and who moved through the area and what they left behind. There are arrow heads made of stone, cutting tools, pots, kraal walls and so on. They have also found San artefacts.   

Further up, is a view to die for! You get a 360° view of Johannesburg… its breath taking! On a clear day you can see all the way out to Magaliesburg.

From there we walked down the back of the hill towards the Westdene Spruit, that runs along Beyers Naude and into the Emmarentia Dams. It’s a lovely, cool, quiet area and a nice way to end the walk. All in all, it’s about 3 hours (I think). The guides are passionate about the area and their particular specialisations, such as the plants, insects and history.

They do regular guided walks and also do speciality walks like Geology, birding, ecology and trees. Visit their website on www.mk.org.za for more info.

View from the Top of Africa

The Carlton Centre... it brings back so many memories from my childhood. My dad used to work there and it was always a treat to go visit! My mom also worked there at some stage, when it was the office block to be in. They used to go to the bar at the top for drinks after work. My dad was there when the building was bombed by the ANC. We were also once treated by my dad to the fanciest dinner ever at the Three Ships before it closed down.

The other day I took a friend out for a different day. On the to-do list was the Top of Africa - the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre. So, off we went into the centre of Joburg one Saturday afternoon. Driving into the underground parkade, memories came flooding back... it has a steep driveway down into (what feels like) the centre of the Earth - this was always my favourite part of visiting my dad!

After quite a bit of walking around the shopping centre on the ground floor trying to find the lift to the top, we paid our small entrance fee and caught the lift to the top. We were also hit up for money by the security guard, but that's just par for the course...

We stepped out of the lift and walked towards the light... the view was breathtaking! We could see for miles, all sides of my city. There was Sandton, the stadiums, the mine dumps, the Nelson Mandela Birdge, the old IBM building, Ghandi Sqaure, the airport.... pretty much everything! They have photos and architects renderings on the walls and also some information about the Indian community (though how that fits in, I'm not sure)

It wasn't very busy either, so we had plenty of space and could take our time. I suppose the CBD issue puts people off - though it really shouldn't! I can imagine the sunsets must be awesome from up there!

So do yourself a favour, visit the Top of Africa and while you're in the CBD, enjoy a drive around looking at all the old buildings.

Cedar Farm

I’m not a parent but I do have friends who are. So I get to go to kids parties, as a spectator, once in a while.

It suits me just fine! I get to watch their kids eat loads of sugar, run around like headless chickens and just go mad. And then I get to say goodbye and go home to my quiet house, and sit with my very calm cat.

On Sunday, I went to my bff’s son’s party at Cedar Farm, on Cedar Ave. what a fun place!! They have a big property and lots of cute farmyard animals. There is a thatched area where they have a bar (that you stock) and tables and chairs. There’s a sand pit, jungle gym and they can put up a jumping castle. So perfect for kids and (very tired) parents! The staff were great and friendly and seemed to have everything well organised.

The animals were the highlight for me! They had three baby bunnies (SOOOOO cute!) and a batch of baby piggys (stinky, but also SOOOO cute!!). There were also two ducks, a very loud cock, a pony, a sheep and some grown up bunnies and piggys.

So if you’re looking for a kids venue – though I reckon it would work for grown-ups too – this is a great place to go!

http://www.cedarfarm.co.za/

Great views...

I have also decided to add photos of great views in Joburg when I am inspired.

So here is the first one... it's a view of Sandton at sunrise from my office building balcony.