With a powerful history and amazing wildlife, South Africa is more than just a venue for football’s biggest prize.
By Michael Ide
This month, hundreds of thousands of football fans will flock to South Africa for the first FIFA World Cup to be held on African soil. The country will be in the spotlight, trying to prove itself as a world-class tourist destination. With stunning nature parks and wildlife, sprawling cities, a diverse culture and great wine, football matches may not be the most memorable part of a trip to the Rainbow Nation.
Originally built around massive gold mines, Johannesburg is the economic and cultural heart of the country. Unfortunately, due to the high crime rate in the city center, it’s best to stay in Melville, Johannesburg’s northern suburb.
The area is significantly safer and has an active nightlife, but is close enough to town that you can easily arrange day trips. But for such a large place, there is surprisingly little to entice a tourist into the city proper.
To understand the context of other historical sites in South Africa, it is important to visit the Apartheid Museum, which documents the struggle against white domination of this diverse nation (there are 12 official languages).
Apartheid, the governing philosophy of the South African government for almost five decades, ended in 1994 with the country’s first fully democratic election, a vote that elevated Nelson Mandela to the presidency. With the motto “A history forgotten is a future lost”, the museum is meant to document how South Africa overcame apartheid, as well as the hardships suffered under it.
Soweto, the south-western township of Johannesburg, came to international attention during anti-apartheid riots in 1976 that quickly spread throughout the rest of the country. Although the protests were eventually quelled, leaving 600 dead, many people consider them to be the beginning of the end of apartheid.
Soweto has changed a lot since then. With over 1 million people, many of them in the rapidly growing professional class, it is no longer just an appendage to Johannesburg. Some parts of Soweto are still rough and its sheer size makes wandering around on your own impractical. To get the most out of a visit to Soweto, sign on to an organized tour so you can see the spots where history unfolded and get a taste of the daily rhythms of life in South Africa’s largest township.
The Big Five
From Johannesburg you can fly directly to Kruger National Park, though the drive across the province of Mpumalanga, which houses the reserve, isn’t too difficult. Travelers to Kruger have the chance to see the Big Five: lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhinos (the park has both white and black rhinos). You will have to be lucky to spot a leopard, which is both rare and elusive, or a black rhino, which is endangered with a population of less than 4,000 worldwide, but seeing the rest is virtually guaranteed. Although you can safely travel in the park by yourself, you are better off hiring a guide who knows the area and the animals’ habits.
If you like to fish, head west from Kruger to Sabie, also in Mpumalanga. Primarily a logging town, the natural beauty and great fly fishing has made this a popular spot for South African tourists looking for a weekend out of the city. The town itself is only a few kilometers across, set on the side of a large hill, with hiking trails in every direction. Any of the hotels can provide you with maps of the most common trails and most can set up a tour if you want.
Between Sabie and its neighbors, Graskop and Pilgrim’s Rest, you can find fly fishing, rappelling, whitewater rafting and the Big Swing a cable swing that takes you across a gorge at speeds over 150 km/h.
View from Table Mountain
The first Europeans to settle in South Africa were employees of the Dutch East India Company, who set up a small outpost for ships sailing around the Cape of Good Hope from Europe to the East Indies. The Cape Colony eventually came under British control and the Afrikaners, descendants of the original Dutch settlers, spread out over the rest of southern Africa to avoid British rule.
This quirk of history can still be felt in Cape Town today. For one, the mix of people in Cape Town is staggering. While most areas in South Africa are dominated by one tribe or another, Cape Town is the center of the Coloured community, which descended from the black, whites and Malays who lived together in the Cape Colony. Add in people of every other ethnic group in South Africa and a reasonably large expatriate community and you get a cultural mix that is hard to beat.
The most recognizable part of Cape Town’s landscape is Table Mountain, with its distinctively flat top. The three-hour hike to the top is enjoyable enough in itself, but the panoramic view of Cape Town once you get there is unparalleled. While guides are available, they really aren’t necessary; local walking groups meet on a regular basis to hike up the mountain and many of them would be happy for you to join in. And if the hike seems like a bit much for you, there is a cable car that can take you directly to the top.
Across Table Bay is Robben Island, where anti-apartheid activists including Mandela and Jacob Zuma, the current South African president, were imprisoned. Now the prison has been turned into the Robben Island Museum. The museum tours include a trip around the island, which also housed a mental institution, a leper colony and a quarantine center, and a tour of the maximum security prison guided by a former political prisoner who was held there.
If the sightseeing is becoming a bore and you need an adrenaline kick, Cape Town is famous for shark diving. The idea is pretty straightforward. Go underwater in a big cage, throw some bloody meat in the water and wait for the Great Whites to show up. It’s important to check water conditions before going out (water clarity can vary dramatically, greatly affecting your experience), but it isn’t often that you can get up close to 1,000 kg of muscle and teeth and feel secure. If you want to end the day with some dancing or live music, head to Long Street in the city center, or go to the Waterfront if you are looking for a more subdued, upscale night out.
During your stay in Cape Town, take time out to visit Stellenbosch, less than an hour’s drive away. South Africa produces some of the world’s best wine and Stellenbosch is in the heart of the wine country. Even if you prefer not to attend wine tastings, the cheese and chocolate tastings will get your palette going, and it is hard to imagine a more idyllic end to your trip than a picnic in the vineyards of South Africa. bt
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