SOWETO TOUR

Soweto is the very symbol of the African's struggle for freedom in South Africa. During the last troubled decades of the twentieth century Soweto represented the struggle against apartheid. This tour also offers you insight into the daily lives of the people of Soweto, the origins of ?Matchbox City? and its complex relationship with greater Johannesburg.

Soweto itinerary

We shall drive through affluent suburbs. Compare the different houses: matchbox
houses, elephant houses and informal settlements.

  • On route to our first stop, view structures reminiscent of South Africa’s Apartheid past. Stop at the old mine compounds.
  • Visit the Regina Mundi Catholic church. This church was mainly used for political meetings and gatherings during the apartheid era. The church used to be a safe haven for children escaping police brutality. Funeral services of many political victims were held here, hence its historical importance.
  • Join your guide for a short guided tour of the Baragwanath taxi ranks and markets. Experience general urban life and culture in a black township. Some of the things you may see include: colourful markets, ladies carrying goods on their head, the local barber shop, “spaza” or informal shops, ladies doing their washing, donkey carts carrying coal, local home made beer brewing, traditional restaurants, traditional medicine and traditional healers, taxi commuters using local sign language to communicate with the driver, etc.
  • You will get a chance to meet the people of Soweto. Your guide will stop at Motswaledi or Kliptown informal settlements.
  • We shall then take a drive to the suburb of Orlando. You will be able to view famous black activist’s houses during the apartheid years. See the houses of Winnie Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Then on to our famous previous president, the house where Mr Nelson Mandela lived before he was imprisoned in 1964. We shall go on a guided tour of his former house.
  • Your guide will point out sites of the student uprisings that started in 1976.
  • A guided tour of the Hector Petersen Memorial Square and Museum. The Hector Pieterson memorial and museum has been established to preserve the history and memory of all those who were involved in the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976. The museum is named after 13 year old Hector Pieterson, who was among the first student victims to die from police shootings. The memorial to Hector Pieterson is situated a few hundred meters from where he was shot. The museum houses photographic and audio-visual displays of the struggle of the youth against the injustices of apartheid.
  • Visit a shebeen. Enjoy a traditional African buffet meal. Most tourists retire to a shebeen for some refreshment and gossip. Shebeens were born during the period when the apartheid government denied African people the right to consume liquor unless they could prove they had passed 10 years of schooling. They might then apply for a permit for no more than six bottles of beer and a bottle of spirits a month. This action saw shebeens formed by professional bootleggers. In 1988, shebeens were granted licences to sell liquor and are now run as taverns and nightclubs.

    • POSSIBLE PLACES TO VISIT

    Traditional healer shops and
    markets
    We shall visit a traditional healers shop or a traditional healers market.

    The Oppenheimer Tower
    The Oppenheimer Tower is a popular tourist site since one can see most of Soweto from this vantage point. It is located just outside the Morris Isaacson school where the 1976 student uprising started.

    Kliptown
    Established in 1904, Kliptown is the oldest and one of the first urban settlements in the Johannesburg area to accommodate people of all races. The historic Congress of the People was held in Kliptown on June 26th, 1955. It was during this congress that the Freedom Charter was adopted. At the time, thousands of people gathered at the square in Kliptown to formulate an alternative vision to the repressive policies of the apartheid state. The police broke up the gathering on the second day, but not before the charter was adopted as a guiding document that was to remain the cornerstone of African National Congress policy for the next half century. Today Kliptown is a sprawling, colourful collection of settlements with a thriving informal business sector. The informal business ranges from fresh market stalls exploding with different hues of green, iridescent orange and bright red; to street vendors vibrantly selling their wares; to shops of every kind.

    Freedom Square
    Freedom Square is the site where the Congress of the People was held and attended by more than 2884 delegates and 7000 spectators on 26 June in 1955. Prior to this, hundreds of volunteers had approached groups throughout South Africa to formulate their demands for a free and democratic South Africa. Their demands were incorporated into the Freedom Charter, which was adopted at the congress and became the underlying principles of the African National Congress.

    Avalon Cemetery
    The resting place of political activists including Helen Joseph, Joe Slovo, Lilian Ngoyi and others.

    Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
    The biggest hospital in the southern hemisphere. It used to be a military hospital and became a community hospital with some of the most advanced medical facilities in the world.
    Vista University
    Offers tuition for students from Soweto and from neighbouring areas.

    Regina Mundi
    A Catholic church that was used mainly for political meetings and gatherings during the apartheid era. The church used to be a safe haven for children escaping police brutality. Funeral services of many political victims were held here, hence its historical importance.

    Hostels in the old mining compounds
    African men used to enter into short-term contracts to work at the mines, leaving their families in rural areas, to live in single-sex barracks on the mining property. Learn more about this system of migration labour and how this lead to the breaking up of many African families.

    Markets and taxi ranks
    Take a walk with your guide to the local taxi-rank and market. If you are brave you may taste some of the local brew or join us for a traditional quarter or bunny chow!

    Informal settlement at Motswaledi
    Visit a home or an informal settlement: This will be an opportunity for you to meet the people of Soweto. This visit is regarded by many tourists as the highlight of their visit.

    Nelson Mandela's house: a guided tour of his previous home.
    The famous house in Vilikazi street in Soweto was built in 1945. Nelson Mandela lived there from 1946. The Mandela house museum houses a collection of gifts to Mandela from leaders such as Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, Mandela’s prison shoes and his graduation robe.

    Hector Petersen Memorial and museum
    The Hector Pieterson memorial and museum has been established to preserve the history and memory of all those who were involved in the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976. The museum is named after 13 year old Hector Pieterson, who was among the first student victims to die from police shootings. The memorial to

    Hector Pieterson is situated a few hundred meters from where he was shot. The museum houses photographic and audio-visual displays of the struggle of the youth against the injustices of apartheid. The Hector Petersen Memorial, close to the Mandela home was dedicated by US President Bill Clinton on his visit to Soweto in March 1998. The memorial is flanked by a museum, a library, an art gallery, a photographic and video

    exhibition and a theatre. Join us for a guided tour of the Museum. Learn more about the ’76 uprisings in Soweto, the struggle against apartheid, the black consciousness movement and the daily and ordinary lives of the people in Soweto.

    Sites of the 1976 uprisings
    Drive past the Phefeni (Orlando West) Junior Secondary School where the uprisings started where the young Hector Petersen was shot and killed by the police on 16 June 1976.

    Winnie Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's
    home in Orlando West

    Shebeen (An African restaurant)
    Visit a shebeen (“unlicenced pub”). Most tourists retire to a shebeen for some refreshment and gossip. Shebeens were born during the period when the apartheid government denied African people the right to consume liquor unless they could prove that they had passed 10 years of schooling. They might then apply for a permit for no more than six bottles of beer and a bottle of spirits a month. This action saw shebeens formed by professional bootleggers. In 1988, shebeens were licensed and are now run as taverns and nightclubs.

    Note: We only visit all the sites on a full day Soweto tour. On
    the half day Johannesburg / Soweto combination tour and the half day Soweto
    tour we shall only visit the most popular sites.

    Tour Duration

    (4 Hours)
    Depart: 8:00am - 5.30pm

    Book this tour

    1 Person - R 1200.00

    2-4 Persons - R 580.00ea

    5 or more Persons - R 400.00ea

    Price includes ALL entrance fees. Prices are subject to change without notice. Please confirm via email or cellphone for a formal quotation. We provide transport to other locations as well, eg. Limpopo, Namibia, Botswana, Maputo and other destinations in SA. Call/Email for Quotations. ALL QUANTUMS ARE FITTED WITH LATEST NAVIGATION AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS STATE OF THE ART ENTERTAINMENT