Overlanding Through Africa

The forecast today was for 90 - 95% chance of heavy rain 🌧 all day! It was unfortunate, but we had pre-booked two-day tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus 🚌, so we had to go for it!

We headed out after breakfast and followed Google Maps to the starting point for the bus. It was only an 11-minute walk from our hotel. It wasn't raining, and the sun was trying to poke through 😀. Several people wished us a good morning as we walked. Once Google Maps told us we had arrived, it wasn't clear where the bus stop was, so I asked someone. He could have just told us, but instead, he took us there! While we were standing there checking our phones📱for bus times, a lady came out of the nearby Holiday Inn to warn us about keeping our phones hidden in public so as not to attract opportunistic thieves. She advised us that the bus office was just around the corner and directed us there. Despite the warnings about our safety, everyone we have met so far has been so helpful. No wonder they call Johannesburg the friendly city!!

At the bus office, we collected our tickets and arranged to do the included Soweto tour tomorrow when the weather forecast is better. When the bus was due, a member of staff actually escorted us to the stop and made sure we were safely on board!

Because of the expected rain 🌧, we decided that today we would just stay on the bus 🚌 and do both the green and red routes. That way, we could get our bearings and plan the rest of our week in the city.

So, that's what we did. The rain held off for the first part of the route, so we took some photos 📸. The audio commentary was excellent. We learned a lot about the city.

Johannesburg is a relatively new city. It was founded in 1886 when gold ✨️ was discovered here. The settlement was named after two officials of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), Christian Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik, who both worked in land surveying and mapping. The two men combined the name they shared, adding 'burg', the archaic Afrikaans word for 'fortified city'. The city is also known by its Zulu name, eGoli, meaning 'city of gold'. Colloquially, the city is also known as Joburg or Jozi.

When gold was first discovered, Johannesburg began as a tented ⛺️ shanty town. It has come a long way since then. The city is now the richest in South Africa with higher salaries than anywhere else in the country. As it has throughout its history, it still attracts entrepreneurs and those seeking a better life. Today, Johannesburg is the financial powerhouse of Africa.

The city's success is surprising. On paper, its location is not ideal for a town, never mind a huge metropolis. There is no reliable water supply nearby. Water has to be pumped 360 kilometres from Lesotho 🇱🇸! Johannesburg is also located at an altitude of 1700 metres, making it uncomfortable for some people to be here. Despite the difficulties, it is now the largest city in the world 🌎 not built on a lake, river, or coast and boasts one of the best climates on earth.

Johannesburg is an extremely green city. 10 million trees 🌳 were planted, making it the largest man-made forest in the world 🌎. One of the trees the city is famous for is the jacaranda. When it flowers in October and November, there is a carpet of purple flowers over swathes of the city. This phenomenon won't exist in 50 years' time. The jacaranda is a non-native species that was introduced from South America. It uses far too much water to be sustainable in Johannesburg. As the trees die off naturally, they won't be replaced.

Halfway through our tour, the heavens opened. We were sitting upstairs on the bus 🚌 under the cover at the front, so we stayed dry, but the rain put paid to our photography 📸!

We arrived back at Rosebank at around 12.30pm and went for lunch at Yalla, a Middle-Eastern café. The food was excellent, but the portions were huge - we couldn't finish it!

By the time we'd had lunch, the rain had stopped, so we were able to get back to the apartment without getting wet.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening writing posts (I've finally been released from Facebook jail!), catching up with the Coronation concert from yesterday, and watching Netflix. We've never had Netflix before, but it's included in the apartment 😀).

The photos 📸 attached to this footprint are of the bus, some sculptures in Rosebank Mall, and the view of the approaching storm from our apartment window when we got back this afternoon!Read more