Jo'burg & Soweto Tour

Wow what a big day!  I have been up since 4:30am Mauritian time and it is now 7:30pm South African time, six hours behind Perth.
Our flight from Mauritius went without a hitch, the plane came in early and we arrived at our hotel, The Emperor's Court before 1pm.  The other people in my group; a married couple and a mum and daughter were given their rooms, mine was still being cleaned.  I filled in the paperwork, left my luggage with the married couple in their room and went off with Ekala Tours for my Johannesburg and Soweto tour.  Malcolm met me in the lobby,  a very polite and knowledgeable  man.  He is third generation born in Johannesburg. The tour lasted five hours and was totally amazing.
Firstly we drove through Jo'burg and saw the outside of the offices where Nelson Mandela first worked as a lawyer.  We almost had the opportunity to see his office but was told it was now locked.   Malcolm said he had only seen it once.  Then on the motorway to Soweto and it was everything I had imagined.  We drove past the multitude of tiny houses, many of them renovated and rendered.  The blocks are very small and sheds are sometimes added at the back of the houses to provide accommodation for family members.  We also drove past old hostel style shacks, no longer lived in but a reminder of the past.  Malcolm took me to the Hector Peterson Museum and Memorial.  I had my photo taken by a local photographer for only $2 AUD, he printed it right there and then!  I browsed the markets over the road and found the most amazing beads made by a local lady, I even had a photo taken with her.  Lots of lovely beads for Mel and me.
Our next stop was Nelson Mandela's house at 8115 Orlando  West Soweto.  It is the only street in the world where two Nobel peace winners lived.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lived in the same street.

There was a large crowd of people but a lovely young girl told me she is a volunteer and she took me and a man from Kenya on our own personal tour of the house.  She showed us the bullet holes in the front of the house and the tiny kitchen and rooms.  There was a lot of reading today but I was happy to do so.
The traffic was challenging today.  The public transport is poor in Jo'burg and many taxi vans take the run from Soweto to Jo'burg.  They have their own set of rules, many of hem going through red lights, going straight ahead from a turning lane and not using indicators.  Many of them are very old and rusty. Fortunately Malcolm could just about read their minds. He continued to provide interesting information about what we were seeing and also the history of.  Our last visit was to the Apartheid Museum.  It was in many ways very confronting.  The museum trail begins with an explanation of the gold rush in the nineteenth century which attracted thousands of whites.  The whites were the minority and the blacks the majority.  Racism was rife and segregation was enforced long before Apartheid.  The horrific history and the journey of freedom by Mandela, the African National Congress and it's supporters.  Thank God for Mandela and freedom fought and achieved.
Malcolm drove me past Nelson Mandela's current house and told me Nelson is at home because of he number of cars from medical teams outside,  he said Nelson is still very ill.  I was treated to a scenic drive and a view of the grand hotels and upper class residential areas before dropping me back at my hotel.
I was hoping for a long bath but upon my arrival I was told they had given my room away and I would have to go across the road to another hotel.  I was gutted.  I was tired and hungry.  The lobby was full of people and my luggage still in the married couple's room.  I went up to their room and asked for a hug, they gave me a glass of wine as well!  In the end the porter helped me take my suitcase across the road and they paid for my dinner which I had in my room.  They had said they would upgrade me, but the room is a little bigger than a broom cupboard!  Not even a bath.  I had no internet coverage and a lovely young girl came up,  we started chatting and I showed her my lovely beads and photos.  She said, 'don't tell anyone, but I will get you on the internet for free!'  Even from a bad situation, blessings can occur.  Reminds me, my voice has returned to normal, I am most grateful to be well again.  Flying to Hoedspruit and onto Makalali tomorrow,  I can hardly wait for the safaris.