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VIBRANT
CULTURE
MOVE TO THE BEAT
South Africa’s domestic music scene is as
vibrant as ever, ranging from the distinctive
kwela (pennywhistle) and kwaito (African pop)
of the townships to the Afrikaners’ traditional
boeremusiek and tiekiedraai to soul, jazz, and
reggae. Hugh Masekela (trumpeter), Abdullah
Ibrahim (jazz pianist and composer), and the
late Miriam Makeba (songstress) are three
of the best-known contemporary musicians.
Classical music and ballet still draw enthusiastic
audiences.
THE MINI
ITINERARY
DAY 1: Learn about the great
struggle against apartheid with
a guided tour of Johannesburg’s
legendary Soweto Township.
LIVE AND ENERGETIC NIGHTLIFE
If you’d like to experience some of the music of
South Africa live and in person, there are many
wonderful venues throughout the country, but
a surefire destination is Joburg’s Newton Music
Centre, where you’ll find the renowned Market
Theatre as well as jazz clubs, dance clubs, and
various other entertainment venues. For alfresco
cafés and music scenes for the trendy, head to
Melville.
A bit more on the upscale side, Melrose Arch is
home to various restaurants and sidewalk cafes.
Sandton and Rosebank are also abuzz with
fabulous nightspots and wine bars.
FESTIVALS GALORE
One of the best ways to get to know South
African music is to head to one of the dozens of
music festivals held throughout the year. Great
listings of musical events in South Africa can be
found at www.southafrica.net
Here is a sampling:
• The Cape Town International Jazz Festival
is held in March or April, and features an
all-star line-up that includes top international,
African and South African performers.
www.capetownjazzfest.com
• Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, held
every April in the town of Oudtshoorn in the
Western Cape, celebrates Afrikaans music,
culture and language. www.kknk.co.za
• Joy of Jazz is hosted by Johannesburg every
September. www.joyofjazz.co.za
• Arts Alive is a September-long celebration of
music, poetry, theatre, comedy and dance in
Johannesburg. www.arts-alive.co.za
• The National Arts Festival is the country’s
largest cultural event and features everything
from classical and jazz to avant-garde music.
It’s held every June and July in Grahamstown,
in the Eastern Cape. www.nafest.co.za
Rural Town, KwaZulu-Natal
SOUL-STIRRING SOWETO
Just south of Johannesburg is Soweto, the largest
township in South Africa. Soweto was home to
Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
and thousands of black South Africans whose
struggles against apartheid captured the world’s
attention. Guided tours are the best way to see
this vibrant city within a city, and most tours
include stops at the following:
• Regina Mundi Church is renowned for
defying the government during the township
uprising and remaining open both for worship
and political debate.
• The Hector Pieterson Museum & Memorial
stands as a tribute to the 1976 student uprisings.
• Freedom Square is where the African
National Congress (ANC) created the Freedom
Charter.
• The Mandela Family Museum, in Nelson
Mandela’s former home on Vilakazi
Street, houses an assortment of Mandela
memorabilia.
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s house (not
open to the public) is also on Vilakazi Street,
making it the only street in the world to have
housed two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
When on Vilakazi Street, you can sample
traditional African food while seated at a shady
trestle table on the grass at Sakhumzi’s, or savor
ethnic dishes at Nambitha, with its exhibition
of some classic photos from world-acclaimed
photographers such as Peter Magubane
and Jürgen Schadeberg. Or head over to
Makhalemele Street for lunch at Wandie’s Place,
one of Soweto’s most famous shebeens (taverns).
THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE HUMAN RACE
Just a 45-minute drive from Joburg is the Cradle
of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage site
that many people believe to be the birthplace of
the human race. Here, at the Sterkfontein Caves,
archaeologists discovered the nearly threemillion-year-old
remains of a female skeleton
known as “Mrs. Ples”. She is considered the
first hard evidence of the connection between
humans and apes. Also on display are artifacts
and fossils dating back to the Stone Age that
Constitution Court, Johannesburg
were discovered in the caves and on the
10 000-acre site that surrounds Sterkfontein.
WAR AND REMEMBRANCE
If you’re interested in historical tours and
stories of epic battles, visit the Battlefields Route
in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Here is where great
Zulu warriors took on marauding Boer forces,
and then battled the Brits, and finally, where the
Boers and the British fought each other. Two
of the most famous points on the route are
Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana. Although there is
a self-tour option, a good guide can bring the
battlefields to life through stories
and background details.
In Cape Town, you’ll find the Castle of Good
Hope, South Africa’s oldest Colonial building,
which was originally established as a military
fortification by the Dutch East India Company.
Constructed between 1666 and 1679 in
anticipation of an attack by British forces, it
now houses the Castle Military Museum, and is
the ceremonial facility for the traditional Cape
Regiments.
DAY 2: Take a day trip to the
Cradle of Humankind World
Heritage Site, 45 minutes away from
Joburg, and cap off the evening back
in town with a live music show at the
Newtown Cultural Centre.
DAY 3: Fly to Cape Town and
explore historic destinations like
the Great Synagogue (circa 1903)
and the Castle of Good Hope.
DAY 4: Take a 40-minute ferry
ride to Robben Island, the former
prison that held Nelson Mandela
and other political prisoners during
apartheid.
Nelson Mandela Capture Site, KwaZulu-Natal
47 | SOUTHAFRICA.NET