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Soweto can be visited on a very safe way. Many people are
horrified by the idea of visiting a township. Soweto can be visited with a
local guide giving you an unforgettable experience.
Diepkloof, a rich residential suburb of Soweto is in very
strong contrast with the poverty of people living in the hostels which were
build in the past to accommodate male workers or the people living in the
shags. No matter what, the people of Soweto greet you with a big welcoming
smile and invite you into their homes.
Accommodation can be arranged in Soweto, from a cozy
backpackers hostel to a B&B opposite the home of Nobel Price winner Desmond
Tutu and the former home of Nelson Mandela!
Kaapstad.org can organize the following in partnership
with a local Soweto company:
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Guided mountain bike trips in Soweto
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Guest house overnight
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Private or group half day and day
excursions with a local guide that lives and works in Soweto
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Soweto by night tour
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Soweto shebeen tour
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or what about a bachelor party at
local shebeens?
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Soweto (an abbreviation for
“south-western townships”) lies 20 kilometres southwest of Johannesburg.
Here, within an area of around 100 square kilometres, live between 1.5 and 4
million people (census ever-changing because of the population’s extreme
mobility), making Soweto by far the largest of the towns around Johannesburg
designed to house the black population. Like all South African black
suburbs, Soweto combines townships, hostels and squatter camps.
The inhabitants of Soweto are by
no means a homogeneous group; ethnically the town is very mixed. The largest
group, being the Zulus, constitutes about 33% of the total population. There
are a few wealthy people in Soweto and only small numbers in the
middle-income bracket, with the great majority of the population living in
slum conditions. Only a few of the inhabitants have a regular income, and
estimates of the unemployed range between 50% and 80% of the working age
population.
Soweto played a crucial role in
the struggle against apartheid. Soweto was in a virtual state of war from
1976, when the first protesting school students were killed, until the 1994
elections. During that time many thousands died. Today, visitors who want to
see Soweto can do so safely by taking a guided tour. It may seem grotesque
treating these places as just another tourist attraction, but to get any
kind of appreciation for South African reality, one has to visit them.
Your local Soweto guide takes you for a
'Johannesburg Beer' tasting. |
