Big bad Jo'burg

We played it safe when we were in Jo'burg, especially given all the bad press it gets. We didn't want to become just another few statistics. Reports say that the city's crime is decreasing because of the highened security for the soccer World Cup that is only about 80 days away. From the minute we got there, it seemed like everyone was gripped by World Cup fever - instead of killing tourists they seem to be making a killing off the merchandise.

Slowly easing ourselves into it, we headed to East Gate Mall, a halfway house between Africa and not Africa. We got the last bits of gear that we needed (at a great price!) and spent some time in Spur, one of South Africa's chain steak places. Yum yum.

We also took a day tour of Soweto, or the South West Township (So-We-To). Soweto is where Jo'burg's non-white population was moved in 1904 so they would be away from the whites but close enough to use as workers. It now houses more than 2 million people and has a range of neighborhoods, with some being incredibly affluent (but lacking the razor wire found in other Jo'burg neighborhoods) and others being fairly poor. We took an awkward walking tour of one of the poorer neighborhoods which was uncomfortably cut short when it became apparent that we had not brough any small money to distribute to locals for being able to view their houses (our guide had neglected to tell us about exactly what would be on our itinerary). But dispite that little hiccup the tour was fabulous and gave us a chance to visit the Nelson Mandela museum - which is housed in his former residence in Soweto - and Hector Pieterson Square which is dedicated to the uprisings in the late 1970s.

Our tour took us through central Jo'burg which seems edgy but not the militarised 'no-go' zone we were expecting. The size took us by surprise, though - the city is massive and contains loads of highrises, many of which are unoccupied because of the trouble that happens after dark.
On the way back from Soweto we got a glimpse of the new pixelated pumpkin-esque stadium where the final game will be played. Another upside of the World Cup is that the roads are being upgraded which is slowing things down for some people but working out quite nicely for us.