SOWETO DAY TOURS - SOUTH AFRICA
Of course no tour of South Africa would be complete without a tour of Soweto, which is a big township in Johannesburg that is predominant black and filled with the history of South Africa during the Apartheid’s years like the Soweto Uprising in June 16th, 1976. Soweto consists of 87 townships like Chiawelo, Dhalmini, Jabavu and many more.
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On the Soweto Day Tours you will see and visit many historical sites like Nelson Mandela’s former home which him and his wife, Winnie Mandela, lived in before Nelson Mandela was put in prison on Robben Island. You will also get to learn about Hector Pieterson, who was one of the kids who got shot in the Soweto Uprising, while visiting the Hector Pieterson museum.
You will take a ride in a taxi, which is a daily form of transport for all the locals of Soweto and you will get to interact and try local food and beer at the local shebeens and get close to theSoweto Culture.
This tour is one of a kind and if you would like to get in a workout while taking in the sights- No Problem! You can take a bicycle ride around Soweto while taking in the magic vibe that exists and the welcoming people of Soweto.
On this tour you would see African youths dancing to kwaito outside of their homes, African woman carrying their babies on their backs as they walk through the townships, the buzz of conversation in isiXhosa, isiZulu, Venda, Tsonga and Tswana going on around the markets, the smell of smoke and pap- a traditional African meal- hanging in the air.
The Soweto Day Tour offers you a choice of three tours, which varies in length, but all guarantees a tour of Soweto which you will never forget! You will be in excellent hands form the moment you arrive and will be brought as close to the culture and the community as possible, making you feel like a true South African!
Your tour Guide is a Soweto Born and who knows the ropes around the Township and will be able to make sure that you won’t miss a single beat of the magic that exists in Soweto!
If you would like to hear the beat of the African drums, see the dance of the African tribes and feel the magic and the vibe of Africa today, then seeing Soweto is a must, as it forms a big part of what South Africa is today and what it was in the past.
Take a further look into the website for more information about tour pricing and events and glance at photos of other tourist who had taken the Soweto Day tours and now knows the roots and traditions of the African ways!
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HISTORY OF SOWETO
The establishment of Soweto is, like Johannesburg, linked directly to the discovery of Gold in 1885. Thousands of people from around the world and South Africa flocked to the new town to seek their fortunes or to offer their labour. Within 4 years Johannesburg was the second largest city. More than half the population was black, most living in multi racial shanty towns near the gold mines in the centre of the town. As the gold mining industry developed, so did the need for labour increase. Migrant labour was started and most of these workers lived in mine compounds. However other workers had to find their own accommodation often in appalling conditions.
The first residents of what is now known as Soweto were located into the area called Klipspriut in 1905 following their relocation from “Coolietown” in the centre of Johannesburg as a result of an outbreak of bubonic plague. The Johannesburg City Council took the opportunity to establish racially segregated residential areas. Some residents were to be relocated to Alexandra township (near the present day Sandton). This group comprised black, Indian and coloured families and they received freehold title to their land (this was subsequently reversed by the Apartheid Government). Only black families were located into Klipspruit and the housing was on a rental basis. Klipspruit was subsequently renamed Pimville.
During the 1930’s the demand for housing for the large numbers of black people who had moved into Johannesburg grew to such an extent that new housing was built in an area known as Orlando, named after the first administrator Edwin Orlando Leaky.
In the 1940’s a controversial character James Mpanza led the first land invasion and some 20000 squatters occupied land near Orlando. James Mpanza is known as the “Father of Soweto”.
In 1959 the residents of Sophiatown were forcibly removed to Soweto and occupied the area known as Meadowlands. Sir Earnest Oppenheimer, the first chairman of the Anglo American Corporation, was appalled by the housing shortage and was instrumental in arranging a loan for the construction of additional housing and this is commemorated by the Oppenheimer Tower in Jabulani.
