Johannesburg

• South Africa's financial hub
• Commercial gateway to the African continent
• Vibrant nightlife and beautiful climate

The sprawling and energetic commercial centre of Johannesburg (Jo’burg, Jozi, eGoli or ‘’the City of Gold’) is the capital of South Africa’s smallest and richest province of Gauteng, and is considered by many as the commercial gateway to the African continent. 

Established as a gold rush shantytown in 1886, Jo'burg was expected to last no more than a decade, however the rich gold deposits flared disputes over who controlled the town, culminating in a war that would change South African history-the Anglo-Boer war.  By the 1920s, Jo'burg had outpaced every rival to become Africa’s major commercial centre, and today boasts a financial, municipal and telecommunications infrastructure that matches some of the worlds leading cities, and hosts a range of commercial activities from financial services to heavy industries and mining. 

As South Africa’s financial hub, the city is rapidly growing and its industrial areas can be ugly, however it offers an interesting collection of museums, shopping centres, a vibrant nightlife with excellent restaurants, and a beautiful climate.  A restored Goldmine and digger's town and cultural visits to townships are amongst the city's other top attractions.

Special features include:

• Soweto
  With a population of 3.5 million people, Soweto (South-Western-Townships) is the largest and the best known of South Africa’s townships with an unrivalled role in South Africa’s recent history.  The initial idea of the township was to move anyone that was not white as far away from the ‘chosen race’ as possible, but close enough so that they could still be used as cheap labour.  Inevitably, Soweto had been the centre of resistance and political violence against the apartheid system throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  Today, the large sprawl of bungalows, huts, shacks and dormitories has undergone some redevelopment but many suburbs remain distinctively Third World.  Organised guided tours are on offer to capture an appreciation of this South African reality.