Places to Visit in Soweto #3: The Orlando Towers (Soweto Bungee Jumping)
Our next stop was at two tall brightly painted buildings that I was told are iconic of Soweto, the 100-meter tall Orlando Towers.
Formerly the cooling towers of a now-decommissioned power plant, the Orlando Towers hover above the Soweto skyline and are now a location for extreme sports (I will have to travel back to Johannesburg one day so I can bungee jump from there!)
We drove on past the Orlando Stadium (mostly used for football matches) and stopped at the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum.
Things to Do in Soweto #4: Visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum
Hector Pieterson, who died at the age of 13, was among one of the first fatalities of the 1976 Soweto uprising.
He was killed when police opened fire on a student demonstration protesting a new law instating Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
As we stood there, not far from the corner where Hector was killed, listening to our guide tell us what occurred on that fateful day, I got a glimpse of how horrific life in apartheid South Africa must have been for Sowetans.
Things to Do in Soweto #5: Explore Vilakazi Street
I left that stop with a heavy heart. Still, nothing was going to dampen my pleasure of being on Vilakazi Street. It was right around the corner and our next stop.
The first place we came to on Vilakazi street was Nelson Mandela’s former home.
Things to Do in Soweto #6: Tour Mandela House
Currently a museum, Mandela House is open to the public though an entry fee is charged to go inside.
Soweto Day Tour
Before I started my tour of Soweto, I hadn’t realized that the two-hour City Sightseeing Joburg Soweto Tour extension would only allow for perfunctory stops at each point of interest.
If I had, I would have planned enough time in Soweto to actually visit the main attraction at each stop. This would have been quite easy to do.
All it would have taken would have been staying at a stop until the next scheduled bus came along.
This portion of the tour, like the rest of the City Sightseeing Joburg tour, is hop-on, hop-off.
My travel companion and I took pictures to commemorate the fact that we’d been there. Then we got back into the van for the rest of the tour.
We didn’t stop at Archbishop Tutu’s house because it’s still a private residence and is not open to the public.
Still, at least I can say: I have been to Vilakazi Street. I can also say that I have seen both houses for which it is famous!
What to Do in Soweto #7: Visit Kliptown
The last two stops we made before returning to Gold Reef City were both in Kliptown.
Soweto Attractions #8: Explore Walter Sisulu Square
The first was Walter Sisulu Square where in 1955 the Freedom Charter was signed, and the second was on the side of the road near a shanty town where I saw the abject poverty that I thought would characterize so much more of Soweto (I am glad I was wrong!).
After those two stops, our tour was complete and we made our way back to Gold Reef City.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Experiences to Have in South Africa
It’s rare, in my life, for me to visit a place and find that I had such great misconceptions about it—I like to think of myself as a generally informed person.
Soweto, however, got me.
Much larger than I had imagined, Soweto is truly a city within a city, with so much to see.
If you, like me, happen to be in Johannesburg and are determined to visit Soweto but are not sure how, then I highly recommend City Sightseeing Joburg’s Soweto Tour extension.
Remember you can join the greater tour from the Gautrain Park Station or from Gold Reef City.
If you do, please let me know what you think.
Until the next time,
Biche
Flights to Soweto
If you are interested in flights to Soweto, then what you really want is to fly to Johannesburg. Once you fly into O.R. Tambo International Airport, the airport that serves Johannesburg, Soweto is only a 48-minute drive away.
Soweto Vacations Packages
If you are interested in buying both your flights to and accommodation in Soweto as a package deal (it often comes out to being cheaper), check out some Soweto Vacation packages here.
Places to Rent in Soweto
If you are interested in living in Soweto short-term or long-term, you can find a selection of available places–apartments and houses–here.
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Photo Credits: Getty Images