A Soweto Tour

Visiting a poor township, Soweto, as a tourist and taking photos of the inhabitants and the poor conditions they live in just seemed a bit weird to me.  But I signed up anyway out of interest and to gain an insight into the history of South Africa.

Mattress inner springs form walls of segregation between one home and another, corrugated iron or in some cases thick packing blankets formed walls and families have lived in these homes for generations.

We stopped at Kliptown, one of the first of the resettlement towns established around 1903.  Due to the massive gold seam that ran through Johannesburg, everybody flocked there when the “gold rush” began in 1886.

As living conditions deteriorated a decision was made to move all the poor, mostly black families out of their accommodation in Johannesburg and into townships. SOWETO stands for South West Township.

We met the very elderly but warm and welcoming main store owner who shared some anecdotes with us and then we walked in a circuit around and in between a block of shacks/shanties.

Please Shoot Me

Some children followed us laughing and joking, dancing and singing but never asking for money.  They are known to say “please, shoot me” which translates to; they want their photo taken.  But once again it seems like it’s just for the fun of it and not as a means to ask for money.

We visited an orphanage inundated with Welsh volunteers.  The classrooms are built out of shipping containers and the kids were very animated, excited and very affectionate.

West Orlando and Nelson Mandela

We headed from there to West Orlando where Desmond Tutu still has a family home and Nelson Mandela once lived.  It’s also where the 1976 students’ protest rally, demonstrating against the ruling that only the Afrikaans language be used in schools, turned to bloodshed.

Hector Pieterson Mu

We also visited the Hector Pieterson museum named after the youngest victim, a 12-year-old shot during the demonstration from police gunfire.

An interesting lunch was next.  A chunk of very light aerated white bread hollowed out and filled with luncheon sausage, cheese, french fries, and sauce.  Different, not exactly healthy but tasty all the same.

Hanging At The Sheeben

This was followed by a trip to a Sheeben which used to be an illegal drinking den in the townships which was normally a room in someone’s house. It’s still a drinking venue now but is legal and this one was selling “Joburg Beer”. It’s served in a milk carton with the warning highlighted on one side; “ don’t drink and walk on the road as you will get run over” .

Maize Beer

The beer is made from maize, it’s very cloudy and has only about a 2% potency.  It’s traditionally served out of a hand-cupped clay bowl which ensures your nose has the misfortune of being closer to the unsavory smell.  The bowl actually forms the shape of the local football teams huge stadium where the football world cup was held.

A small group of dancers came to visit us while we tried out the beer, lots of body slapping and stamping of sandaled feet.  The sound and dancers movement was awesome to watch.

There are probably hundreds of tours you can do to Soweto and it’s definitely a safe place to visit when you go as part of a tour.

I booked through Curiocity Backpackers and the cost was 350 rand (about $23 usd).  We left about 10/10.30 am and returned about 2.30/3 pm.