MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Spending a Saturday in Jozi

MyPR: Spending a Saturday in Jozi:

Saturday… a special day we all love. It heralds that the weekend is here, time to relax, explore, and recoup after a busy work week. A random fact is that the Anglo-Saxons named each day of the week after a god or item they considered worthy of adoration. Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, is honoured on Saturday.

Saturdays for the win

With the weather improving, and the sun shining, we can think of no better way to celebrate the weekend, than getting out and about in the fresh air and joining us onboard.

Our Johannesburg City Sightseeing Hop-on-Hop-off Bus is the official tour of Jozi and Soweto. Explore the City of Gold, as she is lovingly known, aboard our open-top red bus. The route has over 16 stops and will take you to over 20 of Johannesburg’s greatest sites. You can hop on and off at your leisure. Safe, enjoyable, educational, and practical, it’s never been easier to see Johannesburg’s most popular attractions.

The loop of our route covers the following destinations:

  • Rosebank – this is our main ticket office where we recommend you start to enjoy the full loop
  • Zoo Lake – where you can enjoy time wandering this beautiful lake, where water activities are available and a large expanse of beautiful lawns for the kids to run around
  • Johannesburg Zoo – covering over 55 hectares of land and home to over 320 species of animals, totalling about 2 000 animals.
  • Military Museum – officially opened in August 1947, this museum was created to preserve the history of South Africa’s participation in the Second World War.
  • Constitution Hill – a living museum that chronicles South Africa’s democratic transition. The site is a former jail and military fort that bears witness to South Africa’s stormy history and now houses the country’s Constitutional Court, which upholds all citizens’ rights.
  • Mining District Walk – here we recommend a 30-60 minute stop, where the Main Street Mall extends through the corporate mining district of Johannesburg. It has the offices of some of the world’s major mining firms, as well as a very interesting outdoor museum depicting South Africa’s mining history and heritage.
  • Carlton Centre – The Carlton Centre, once neighboured by a luxury 5-star hotel, is a 50 story skyscraper and shopping centre. At 223 metres, it is the second-highest building in Africa. (re-opening soon)
  • James Hall Transport Museum – this is the largest and most comprehensive museum of land transport in South Africa. It was established by the late Jimmie Hall together with the City of Johannesburg in February 1964.
  • Gold Reef City – a destination we recommend at least a 3-hour stop. Here you can enjoy thrilling themes park rides such as the Anaconda, Tower of Terror, Golden Loop, and the Jozi Express roller coaster. A dedicated kid rides section is available. You can also experience a heritage tour and an underground mine tour.
  • Soweto Experience – at Gold Reef City jump onboard our Soweto Tour, which is offered in a minibus and is guided by a resident who knows the ins and outs of this community. Highlights include FNB Stadium, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Baragwanath Taxi Rank, Orlando Towers, Hector Pietersen Memorial, Vilakazi Street, and the Kliptown Open Air Museum in Walter Sisulu Square. Further information on this experience can be found on our website here.
  • Apartheid Museum includes interactive displays, film footage, and historic photos portraying Apartheid South Africa and the country’s road to democracy. (opening soon)
  • Newtown – this precinct, which dates back to the 1880s, has a long history of biodiversity and culture. It’s now the heart of the city of Gold’s progress and arts, with new developments growing and an abundance of art galleries, museums, and theatres.

All of the above can be experienced in one day, on a Saturday. How amazing is that? Even better is that we have amazing specials at the moment:

Our Combo Deals are by far the most popular:

  • Bus and Lunch at Ocean Basket – R185
  • Bus with Coffee and a Muffin at Mugg n Bean – R175
  • Bus with Coffee and a glazed doughnut at Krispy Kreme – R179
  • Bus and Roco Mama’s Burger – R199
  • Bus and Spur Burger – R219

Remember to keep an eye on our website and socials for our Weekly Deals.

We can’t wait to welcome you onboard on Saturday. Bring your spirit of adventure and join us for a thrilling tour of the City of Gold.

Visit City SightSeeing to book one of our Next Level Adventures.

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Have you tried: Travelling to South Africa?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? It’s also home to the world’s largest man-made forest: Johannesburg is home to 10 million trees, which helps the city cope with greenhouse effects and also lowers the noise levels within the city.

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Top Star Drive-In: Destroyed by What Created it

However, the very thing that created the Top Star eventually destroyed it. Because the early miners had used crude methods, the Ferreira Dump—and dozens of others like it—still contained significant traces of gold. As the price of gold rose and new chemical extraction technologies (like the carbon-in-pulp process) made it profitable to “mine the waste,” the ground beneath the Top Star became more valuable than the cinema itself. In 2006, despite fierce opposition from heritage groups who argued that the dump and the drive-in were culturally significant landmarks, the projectors were turned off for the last time.

The reclamation of the dump was a staggering industrial feat. Starting in 2008, mining giant DRDGold used high-pressure water cannons to “monitor” the dump, turning 5 million tons of solid earth back into a liquid slurry. This slurry was then piped 40 kilometers across the province to a processing plant in Brakpan. By 2011, the “mountain” had completely vanished. The 50-meter-high plateau that had dominated the southern skyline for a century was reduced to a flat, dusty crater.

The disappearance of the Top Star is a poignant symbol of Johannesburg’s “extractive” nature. It is a city that consumes itself to stay alive; even its historical landmarks are subject to the fluctuating price of minerals on the London and New York stock exchanges. Today, if you drive along the M2, there is an empty space in the sky where the Top Star used to be. While the reclamation removed a source of toxic dust and “acid mine drainage,” it also erased a piece of the city’s collective memory. The land where the gold-flecked mountain once stood is now being rehabilitated for light industrial use, proving that in eGoli, even the horizon is for sale if there’s enough gold hidden inside it.