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The Best Places to Experience Culture & History
Diagonal Street (Johannesburg, Gauteng): On one side of the street, sangomas (healers) enter a pungent muti (folk medicine) shop to purchase jars of crushed baboon skull, lizards' feet, and crocodile fat, while on the other, businessmen flashing cellphones exit the glass walls of "Diamond House," the gleaming high-rise designed by Chicago architect Helmut Jahn. It is this kind of contrast that makes Johannesburg a potentially electrifying experience.
The Hector Pieterson Memorial (Soweto, Gauteng): When schoolchildren took to the streets on June 16, 1976, in a peaceful protest against the decision to use Afrikaans as the sole means of instruction in schools, police opened fire, killing, among others, young Hector Pieterson. This was a turning point in the battle against apartheid. Widespread riots and international condemnation followed, and nothing would ever be the same. The best way to see it is with a township tour.
Apartheid Museum (Jhb, Gauteng): Few other museums are able to achieve the emotional impact generated by this reminder of South Africa's ugly past. The collection of images, audiovisual presentations, and intimate tales of human suffering and triumph in the face of adversity is staggering; raw and vivid, the journey from oppression to democracy is powerfully evoked here.
Origins Centre (Johannesburg, Gauteng): For anyone interested in understanding the great genetic strand that purportedly binds all of humanity to a common, African ancestor, this new museum is filled with clues, from little bits of sharpened rock to fascinating films depicting the shamanic trance rites of the nomadic San people. While the design and layout owes much to contemporary art galleries, this new attraction is a source of fairly hard-core academic knowledge, including DNA testing (at a price) so you can get a better idea of where your own ancestral roots may lie.
Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng): Having shot to fame in 1947 with the discovery of a 2.5-million-year-old hominid skull, the region continues to produce fascinating finds about the origins of mankind. Tours with paleontologists introduce you to many intriguing aspects of human evolution, in an area that has remained unchanged for millions of years.
Voortrekker Monument (Pretoria, Gauteng): This massive granite structure commemorates the Great Trek -- in particular, the Battle of Blood River (fought between Trekkers and Zulus on Dec 16, 1838) -- and remains hallowed ground for Afrikaner nationalists.
Robben Island (Cape Town): A prison for political activists since the 17th century, including its most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela, the island was commonly known as the "Alcatraz of Africa." Today the island is a museum and a nature reserve, and a tangible symbol of South Africa's transformation.
Bo-Kaap (Cape Town): This Cape Malay area, replete with cobbled streets and quaint historical homes, was one of the few "nonwhite" areas to escape destruction during the apartheid era, despite its proximity to the city. A walk through the streets should be combined with a visit to the District Six Museum, which commemorates a less fortunate community. Visible today only as large tracts of cleared land on the southern outskirts of town (opposite the Bo-Kaap), this once vibrant suburb was razed to the ground in the 1960s.
Wuppertal Moravian Mission Station (Cederberg, Western Cape): Located at the end of a long, dusty road in the Cederberg Mountains, Wuppertal remains unchanged to this day and is both architecturally and culturally a living legacy of the early missionaries. Other mission stations worth visiting are Elim and Genadendal, both in the Overberg.
Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana (Battlefields, KwaZulu-Natal): These two Anglo-Zulu War battlefield sites, within walking distance of each other, encompass both the British Empire's most humiliating defeat and its most heroic victory in the colonies. At the Battle of Isandlwana, more than 1,300 armed men were wiped out by a "bunch of savages armed with sticks," as the mighty Zulu nation was then referred to. Hours later, 139 British soldiers (of which 35 were ill) warded off a force of 4,000 Zulus for 12 hours, for which an unprecedented 11 Victorian Crosses were awarded.
The Vukani Collection (Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal): While most Westerners head for the cultural villages to gain some insight into Zulu tribal customs and culture, Vukani is where Zulu parents take their children. With the largest collection of Zulu artifacts in the world, this is a highly recommended excursion, particularly for those interested in crafts. Note that if you aren't venturing this far afield, the Campbell Collection in Durban is an alternative.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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