How Gauteng is capturing young imaginations
TODAY’S young travellers
are seeking cultural
immersion and authentic
experiences that will enable
them to connect with the
people and places they visit.
In South Africa, Gauteng and
particularly Johannesburg and
Soweto are the destinations
where hip, young urbanites
frequent funky districts
and explore the province’s
fascinating history and cultural
diversity.
Travel agents and tour
operators can package a
wide variety of immersive
travel experiences in Gauteng
that give young travellers the
‘insider’ experiences they
seek.
Massive urban regeneration
projects have given rise to the
trendy districts of Maboneng,
Newtown and Braamfontein,
where hip food markets,
unusual restaurants and bars,
coffee roasteries, bookshops,
street fashion stores, theatres,
movie houses and live
music venues are attracting
young travellers in droves.
Young tourism entrepreneurs
have launched a range of
tourism products that explore
Johannesburg’s rich cultural
heritage in these older innercity
areas, while in Soweto,
they are providing adventurous
ways to explore the township’s
wealth of history and cultural
attractions.
Maboneng and surrounds
The four-star Curiosity
Backpackers in the Maboneng
district is a great place to stay
for young travellers who want
to explore Johannesburg’s
inner city areas, says owner,
Bheki Dube. Curiosity
Backpackers offers several
interesting tours that explore
the inner city and Soweto.
Its cycling tour on Fridays,
Saturdays and Sundays from
15h30 to 17h00 explores
the history and heritage
of Jeppestown, Troyeville,
Doornfontein and Maboneng
with a focus on public art. The
R200 tour fee includes a bike
and helmet.
Curiosity’s Underground
Pub Crawl, on Fridays from
19h00, explores Joburg by
night, visiting different pubs
in the Maboneng, Fairview
and Troyeville areas, where
pub-crawlers learn about the
history of the area and some
of the historic buildings that
house these pubs. The tour
starts at The Hide Out Bar
at Curiosity Backpackers
and visits the Poolside Café,
Lenin’s Vodka Bar, Fairview
Tavern, Zebra Inn (a taxidermy
bar), the Don Buildings bar, and
the Troyeville Hotel. The cost is
R250pp for backpacker guests
and R300 for tour-only guests.
Inner city walking tours
Inner city walking tours are
also extremely popular among
the youth, says Jo Buitendach,
owner of Past Experiences.
Both Past Experiences
and Jozi TriAngel Tours
specialise in walking tours
of Johannesburg’s inner-city
areas such as Newtown and
Braamfontein and also offer
interesting Soweto tours.
Past Experiences’ graffiti
tours are a hit with young
travellers interested in
exploring the city’s street
art and public art spaces.
The graffiti tours focus on
the global history of the
graffiti movement and look at
Johannesburg’s graffiti culture.
Travellers get to meet a graffiti
artist on the weekend tours,
who shares interesting facts
about life as a graffiti artist.
While most of Past
Experiences’ tours are private,
its scheduled budget-friendly
weekend tours are aimed at
the youth market, with prices
ranging from R160-R190pp.
Jozi TriAngel’s street art and
graffiti walking tour of Newtown
and surrounds combines visits
to different graffiti sites with
a spoken word experience,
where a young poet recites
poems with historical themes.
The graffiti tour can also be
included in Jozi TriAngel’s
Newtown walking tour, which
explores places such as the
Workers’ Museum, Turbine
Hall and Market Theatre. Tours
start at the Sci-Bono Discovery
Centre and can cater for up to
50 people.
Walking tours (two hours)
cost R250pp (students:
R175pp). Jozi TriAngel has also
partnered with Lebo’s Soweto
Backpackers to offer cycling
tours in Soweto. The Soweto
tour, which starts from R350,
includes transport but excludes
meals.
Fun in Soweto
For an immersive Soweto
experience, staying at Lebo’s
Soweto Backpackers is a
good option. Lebo’s offers
fun tours of the township by
bicycle (starting from R430pp
including lunch and traditional
beer), Tuk Tuk (R385pp) and on
foot (R370pp). Thrill seekers
can enjoy bungee jumping
at Orlando Towers (R550 –
bookable through the Orlando
Towers vertical adventure
centre) and quad-biking Soweto
tours (half day: R1 050pp),
go-karting (R200pp) and
rock climbing (R70pp), all
available from Soweto Outdoor
Adventures.
Birding on Bicycle (R470pp)
is a new half-day off-road
mountain bike adventure
offered by Bay of Grace
Tours that explores birding in
Soweto’s green spaces.
Another must-visit attraction
is the Ubuntu Kraal Brewery
(home of Soweto Gold craft
beer) and the Kasi Beer
Garden. Here, for just R35pp,
visitors can enjoy a guided
tour of the brewery and taste
Soweto Gold’s five beer
varieties. The 450-seat beer
garden serves a gourmet
township grill. The brewery is
in walking distance of Vilakazi
Street in Orlando West.
Take You There, which
operates its famous party
bus and offers full and halfday
craft brewery tours in
Gauteng – great fun for young
travellers – also offers a
party-bus Soweto Experience
(R350pp) which departs from
Montecasino. It stops at
Chaf Pozi restaurant at the
Orlando Towers (with time for a
bungee jump), at 707 Panyaza
– a shebeen-type experience
serving typical township cuisine
– and at Sakhumzi Restaurant
in Vilakazi Street. The tour
price includes transport and
craft beers on board. The next
Soweto Experience takes place
on June 26
