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Tour 1: City
Travel via lush green suburbs into the heart of Egoli, "place of gold." This ever-changing city offers diverse history, architecture, culture and style. Visit the top of the Carlton, 50 floors up. See the City Hall, Post Office, Von Brandis statue, Rand Club and more than 20 other historical statues competing with skyscrapers and shopping centers. Visit Museum Africa, workers' compound, and the S.A. Breweries Museum. Experience a Muti(traditional medicine) shop. Drive to the "other city" for lunch. See Gold Reef City, an authentic reconstruction of old Johannesburg, built around Shaft number 14, Crown Mines. Venture underground to learn about gold mining: see gold being poured or visit the house museums and other replicas. Enjoy thrilling, fun rides or try your luck at the casino.
The tour will take a whole day, and if taken in your own transport, care must be taken in Old Johannesburg.
Tour 2: City And Soweto
Travel through the affluent Northern Suburbs, into the "City of Gold." See the prominent mining relics, headgear and dumps. Visit the preserved mine stope inside a banking hall. View the city from the highest commercial building in Africa. Do a historical walkabout of the 25 historical buildings and monuments, including City Hall, Library, Post Office, Guild Hall, Rand Club and Between the Chains. See thousands of street vendors before a visit to Museum Africa and workers compound. Visit the site of the first gold discovery before entering a different world, Soweto, 62 square miles of cultural interaction. See "matchbox" houses next to squatters' huts and then mansions, a little further on. Visit the Mandela House Museum, Hector Peterson Museum and the Ekhaya neighborhood museum. A visit to a local pub (shebeen) will round off the trip.
This is not a recommended trip to take without a guide or trusted person, and will take a full day.
Tour 3: Cradle of Mankind And Rhino and Lion Park
Travel via the Western Suburbs to reach the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Roddeport. Stroll through this garden with cliffs and a waterfall. Continue further west to the Sterkfontein Caves, recently declared a World Heritage Site, renowned for the discovery of Mrs. Plea (Plesiantropus—now called Australopithicus Africanus) a collection of human bones that are 2.3 million years old. The cave and display area will give a fascinating insight into the scientific search .
Continue on to the Rhino and Lion Nature Preserve for a fulfilling game-viewing afternoon. Privately owned, it houses more than 20 species of animals including rhino, lion, cheetah, wild dog, buffalo, zebra, sable, impala eland and also has a bird of prey feeding area. Another cave, the Wondercave, can be visited in this area.
Highly recommended, with plenty of picnic opportunities. It will take a full day and can be a guided tour or done as a self drive.
Tour 4: Lesedi Cultural Village
Lesedi is a multi-cultural village set amongst the pristine bush veld and rocky hills less than an hour's drive north of Johannesburg. Travel northwest towards the Magalies mountains, 35 minutes out of town, Lesedi awaits. Experience the culture, tradition and customs of these tribal groups. Situated at Lesedi are four traditional homesteads: the Zulu with their cozy beehive huts, the Xhosa with their perfectly thatched rondawels and distinctive white blankets, the rhythmic drums and whistles of the Pedi tribe and the conical straw huts and thick, colored blankets of the Basotho.
Visit these inhabited villages to learn from them before the dancing starts. Participation is always welcomed. Traditional cuisine follows.
This tour can be done in a half day at a push and can be achieved as a self-drive or guided expedition.
Other options:
Pretoria, via Midrand, Centurion Lake, Voortekker monument, Kruger House, Church Square and the Union Buildings (half day)
Pretoria and De Wildt Cheetah and wild dog breeding project (full day)
Pretoria and Premier Diamond Mine (full day)
Pilansberg National Park, and Sun City (full day)
Sun Suburban Tours also organize suburban walking tours; the special one being the walk from the magnificent Botanical Gardens and Emmerentia Dam through Parkhurst to Rosebank.
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