Quite a few people warned me to stay away from Johannesburg, or Joburg or Jozi as the locals called it. They claimed it was a very unsafe city, with robberies and car hijackings occurring frequently. To prove this point, a couple from Singapore who had traveled for the last 16 months, admitted nothing bad ever happened, aside from being robbed in Joburg.
However, I didn’t want to be hindered by fear, so I ventured to this interesting city for a total 6 days (which sandwiched the trip to Kruger). Obviously I kept my wits about me, never walked downtown alone, and used Uber extensively.
Joburg is the largest city in the world that isn’t next to a body of water. It grew to this enormous city because of the nearby gold mines in 1886. Everyone wanted a piece of the action, and importing labour was cheap and effective. This resulted in a huge mix of white, black and coloured people. Note: A loose definition of coloured is anyone who is not white or black, but obviously most are a mix of the two.
The racially mixed people in Joburg really make the city feel alive, and they are some of the most friendly and welcoming people I’ve ever met. For example, after just 3 minutes in a local pub, The Living Room, I had already started 5 conversations. On a Sunday, I went to a local stand-up comedy show, which was highly entertaining even if I couldn’t understand all the local lingo and nuances.
South Africans mix the Afrikaans language with English, which results in cute sayings and sometimes shortened words. Some notable examples:
- Air con = air conditioning
- Brekkie = breakfast
- Braai = BBQ
- Lekker = good
- Robot = traffic light
- Hozit = how is it?
- Just now = at some point in the future
- Yabo = yes
For the touristy stuff, I visited
- The Apartheid Museum, to better understand why it happened, exactly what happened, and how it ended. Also learned quite a bit about Nelson Mandela.
- The Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site, to see and learn about a 3.3 million year old human fossil, and the importance of Africa in our origins.
- The hop-on/hop-off city bus, to get a quick overview of the city. Mind you, I only hopped-off twice, once for the museum, and another to get a coffee.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time there. I met quite a few interesting locals and tourists, but also enjoyed exploring the city on my own. I heard the hostels in Soweto (the largest township around Joburg) are fabulous. Perhaps on my next visit.
Joburg wraps up a total of 7 weeks in South Africa. It is now one of my favourite countries in the world. As long as you’re street-smart, you’ll be fine, and will thoroughly enjoy this magnificent country.
