Johannesburg

Last weekend we made the trip into big bad Johannesburg and I am pleased to say returned with out a seeing single mugging, shooting etc but it certainly was a weekend of contrasts.

It is a four and half hour drive from Nelspruit, that includes a coffee stop on the way. Once you leave the area surrounding Nelspruit the country is pretty boring, open and  flat. The main features being several huge coal fueled power stations belching out smoke.  You are often driving through thick smog.

We didn't actually see much of Johannesburg. We stayed at an interesting but rather bizarre hotel complex called Montecasino. 3 hotels in the complex, then an enormous building which housed a casino, surrounded by a fake Tuscan village complete with restaurants, cafes, shops, movie theatres and theatres.  Yes I know it all sounds pretty tacky but it was well done and we quite enjoyed it.

On Sunday morning we went on a tour of Soweto, a place you have heard of so much over the years because of it pivotal role in the anti apartheid movement. There are 2 million people living in Soweto today! Our driver was wonderful. He had been born in Soweto but his parents moved when things started getting very violent. We saw the best and the worst of the place. Drove down the only street in the world where two Noble peace prize recipients live, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela ( visited Mandelas house). Had a walk around Kliptown, (sort of a suburb of Soweto) and saw the inspiring youth programme that has been set up there. We also visited one of the shack like houses, which was surprisingly cosy when inside.

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

A street inside the casino building. No the rather large bottom is not mine!

Sitting, outside at a restaurant inside the casino building!!!!

A proper outside photo this time. The building to the right  houses the casino and Tuscan village, the castle like one on the right is a car parking building!

From our bedroom window. You walk through the arch way to the casino

From our bed room window.

A street in Kliptown. The house we visited is next door.

Inside at Kliptown. It was a small tin shack bout 4mx5m, seven people live there, no running water or power but this little poppet doesn't seem worried.

This young man makes a living by boiling up cows heads and making stew to sell.

Kliptown street, you can see the drain running down the side of the street, the woman has just got her water from the communal tap, the porta loos in background are emptied twice a week!

The worst house we saw, I shudder to think what it was like inside.