Johannesburg in South Africa

A city of astonishing contrasts, a huge metropolis where opulent wealth and desperate poverty live side by side, Johannesburg is the intriguing, dynamic heart of this turbulent country. If you want to see the real South Africa-and try to understand it-Jo'burg has to be on your itinerary.

The history of the region around Johannesburg is so ancient that it stretches the boundaries of evolutionary science. The 1998 discovery of a 3½-million-year-old Australopithecus africanus in a cave near Sterkfontein, northwest of Johannesburg, has left scientists wondering: Is it human? Who are we? Where did we come from? And all of those big ol' questions.

Several aeons later, in around 100, 000 BC, South Africa became the home of the nomadic San people. The first home-in-a-bag backpackers, model conservationists and Old Masters of the cave canvas, the San were the consummate survivalists until the onslaught of disease-ridden, gun-toting white men who reduced them to their measly current population of 10, 000.

Long before the arrival of genocidal Europeans, the San were joined by another tribe of nomads, the Khoikhoi, and then by successive migrations of Bantu-speaking peoples, who arrived in South Africa in around AD 500. The Bantu tribes were Iron-Age peoples who domesticated animals, farmed crops (particularly maize) worked metal and pottery and lived in settled villages. Modern South African descendents of the Bantu include the Basotho, Swazi, Tswana, Xhosa and Zulu, but calling these groups 'Bantu' now is insulting, since the term (like many others) was badly misused during the apartheid era.

European settlement in South Africa started modestly, with a supply station established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company. It quickly evolved into an ambitious colonial settlement (based in Kaapstad or Cape Town), with its own dialect (Afrikaans), puritan religion (the Dutch Reformed Church), and slaves imported from as far afield as Indonesia. When the colonists spread east over the next 150 years, they were violently resisted by the Bantu tribes. In 1779, the eastward expansion of the Boers (Dutch-Afrikaner farmers) was temporarily halted by the Xhosa in the first Bantu War. The Boers also came into conflict with the British colonialists who gained control of Cape Town in 1806. The British abolition of slavery in 1834 was regarded by the Boers as an intolerable interference in their affairs, and led to their migration (known as the Great Trek) across the Orange River two years later.

The history of the town of Johannesburg began in 1886 when four sleepy farms on the Transvaal highland were rudely awakened by some fool yelling 'Gold!' The call prompted thousands of digging hordes (amongst them Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato) to descend on what turned out to be the richest gold-bearing reef ever discovered. Three years later Jo'burg had become the largest town in Southern Africa-a rowdy place full of bars, brothels and fortune-hunters of all creeds and kinds.

This motley crew of whites and blacks were regarded with deep distrust by the Boers, by the Transvaal government and especially by the president, Paul Kruger. Kruger introduced electoral laws restricting voting rights to the Boers, and laws aimed at controlling the movement of blacks. The tension between the Randlords and uitlanders (outsiders) on one side and the Transvaal government on the other got so hot it all boiled over into the 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer War.

Although gold-mining remained the backbone of the city's 20th-century economy, the huff and puff of manufacturing soon turned industrial Johannesburg into a forest of smokestacks that really fired up during WWII. Under increasing pressure in the countryside, thousands of blacks moved to the city in search of jobs. Racial segregation had become entrenched during the interwar years, and from the 1930s onwards vast squatter camps had sprung up around Jo'burg. Under black leadership these camps became well-organised cities, despite their gross overcrowding and negligible services. But, with the introduction of apartheid by the Nationalist Government in 1948, many were destroyed by the authorities, and the people were moved to new suburbs known as the South-Western townships, now shortened to Soweto.

The official entrenchment of apartheid during the 1960s did nothing to slow the expansion of the city or the arrival of black squatters. Large-scale violence finally broke out in 1976 when the Soweto Students' Representative Council organised protests against the use of Afrikaans (regarded as the language of the oppressor) in black schools. Police opened fire on a student march and over the next 12 months more than 1000 would die fighting the apartheid system. The regulations of apartheid were finally abandoned in February 1990 and since the 1994 elections the city has, in theory, been free of discriminatory laws. The black townships have been integrated into the municipal government system, the city centre is vibrant with hawkers and street stalls and inner suburbs have become multiracial.

Unfortunately, serious problems remain in post-apartheid Johannesburg. Crime is rampant and middle-class whites are retreating to the north, where new shopping malls and satellite business centres are mushrooming. Gold-mining is no longer undertaken in the city area, and the old, pale-yellow mine dumps that created such a surreal landscape on the edge of the city are being reprocessed. The classic view of Jo'burg-a mine dump in the foreground and skyscrapers in the background-will be retained, however, as some dumps are being preserved as historical monuments.

Airport Information: 011 570 9209 Weather Bureau: 082 162 Directory Enquiries: 1023 Police Emergency: 10111 Ambulance Emergency: 10177 Fire Department: 011 624 2800 Taxi: United Executive Cabs 011 886 1927; Corporate Cabs 0800 800 800; SACab 08611 72222; Rose Radio Taxi: 083 255 0933/4 (24hrs) Tourist Assistance: 083 123 6789

**Gauteng Tourism Authority**
1 Central Place,
Cnr Jeppe & Henry Nxumalo (Goch) Streets,
Newton,
Johannesburg

Crime is a big problem in Jo'burg, but it is important to put things in perspective: remember that most travellers come and go without incident and that much of the crime afflicts suburbs you would have little reason to stray into. The secret to success is simple: seek local advice, listen to it and remain aware of what's going on around you.

A couple of important things to remember are that you are really very unlikely to become the victim of a violent crime-even criminals understand that assault and murder attract far more attention from the authorities than robbery alone-and that you are most vulnerable when using an ATM.

Few tourists run into serious trouble in Johannesburg (Jo'burg) and despite the odd horror story, you really don't want to spend your time here hiding away in a hotel room-there's just too much fun to be had. That said, the city's crime statistics do make uncomfortable reading and so it is well worth taking a little extra care when you are out and about.

If your hostel/hotel transport does not arrive at the airport, bus station or train station when expected, catch a legitimate taxi to your intended destination. This small investment may save the contents of your backpack and money belt. Don't be added to the statistics of many independent travellers who lose the lot in their first moments in the city. Never walk out of Park Station with luggage unless you're getting straight into a car.

Store your valuables in the hostel/hotel safe and when you head off to explore the city, try not to dress too conspicuously, take only what money you think you will need and keep maps and swinging cameras to an absolute minimum-you want to blend in, not stand out.

Visitors entering South Africa from countries where yellow fever is widespread must show a WHO vaccination certificate when entering the country. Alternatively, visitors may be inoculated on arrival at Johannesburg International Airport.Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea is a common problem suffered by travellers in Africa, which is often caused by dirty water. However, visitors to Johannesburg need to know that it has an extremely sophisticated water purification operation. In any tourist area water can be drunk straight from the tap. Malaria: Malaria is a common African disease, but Johannesburg is far away from the nearest malaria-infected areas, so no precautions are needed unless you are traveling on to tourist areas in the how, low areas in the North and North East of the country, such as game parks where it is necessary to take preventative measures during the summer season. Inoculations: Hepatitis B inoculations are recommended for children up to 12 years old, who have not completed the series of injections as infants. Booster doses for tetanus and measles can also be administered. HIV/AIDS: Always take precautions when having sex. Johannesburg has many initiatives in place to address the problem-but the city is no exception to the rule. Sun protection: Sunglasses are recommended wear in Johannesburg, where the glare of the African sun can be strong. Visitors with fair skins should apply sunblock regardless of whether the sun is shining.

Johannesburg General Hospital 011 488 4911; Helen Joseph Hospital 011 489 011; Southrand Hospital 011 435 0022; Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital 011 933 8000; Coronation Hospital 011 470 9000; Edenvale Hospital 011 882 2400; Sandton Hospital 011 709 2000.

Johannesburg is usually visited by tourists all year round, although summer (November-February) is the rainy, hot (up to 30C) time of the year. The winters are mild with cloudless skies, and the temperatures rarely going below freezing point. This is the best time to visit the game parks in the North of the country, because it is dry and the game usually congregates around the waterholes. There is also much less malaria around at this time of year.

There is not really any time when it is not recommended to visit Johannesburg - this is all up to personal preferences for weather conditions.

Johannesburg International Airport (JIA), easily accessible from Pretoria and Jo'burg, has flights to regional centres across the country, with airlines covering many of the smaller towns as well. Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and several other destinations are also connected to Jo'burg via a network of no-frills budget airlines-by far the best way of getting between the big cities. A number of international bus services leave Jo'burg for Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The main long-distance bus lines (national and international) depart from and arrive at the Park Station transit centre, in the northwest corner of the site, where you will also find their respective booking offices.