The first leg: Subhash’s trip to Johannesburg

The first week of March, 2004 was a very anxious moment for me as I was scheduled to leave on 8th March for my first ever trip to the African continent as well as my first ever trip to the Southern Hemisphere. I was looking forward to this trip very eagerly and I had gone through the itinerary time and again to visualize the exotic places I would visit. Prior to my trip I had got loads of feedback about South Africa – the popular one being that Cape town is one of the most gorgeous cities of the world. Seeing is believing and so I boarded my flight SA 227 in the wee hours of Monday morning and arrived at Johannesburg around 0715 hrs on Monday, 8th March. I was looking forward to meeting the other FUNDIS (South Africa Experts) on arrival.

This trip was organized for South Africa experts. I was a qualified FUNDI or Expert as I had successfully completed the SA tourism programme.

On arrival at Johannesburg airport, in a matter of few minutes I cleared Immigration and customs and I was met by Francois who would handle the rest of our arrangements at Johannesburg. I was glad to see that out of the 12 FUNDIS in our group, there were 5 from India. There was a petite lady from Bangalore on one end and an extremely large gentleman from Delhi on the other end. Also in the group were another Delh-ite and a fit and lean Pune-ite from ”amchi Maharashtra” Then besides the BIG FIVE (five Indians ) and I’ll let you know about the other BIG FIVE in my subsequent articles, we had an Irish cum Englishman who was now an American travel agent , a Kiwi from a company in the U.S, a South African from Australia, a Dutch national from Netherlands, an Australian from Australia and two Nigerians from Nigeria. All of us formed the “FUNDI DOZEN”.

As not all of them were arriving at the same time, I along with the first group of FUNDIS was driven straight to our hotel where we would spend the next 3 days – the Crowne Plaza hotel at Sandton. Sandton is one of the more upmarket districts of Johannesburg. The hotel property was well laid out and each one of us checked into our respective rooms immediately. Later, in the evening, some of us who were excited to explore the city and check our e-mails took a 5 minute walk to the Village Walk close by where besides visiting a cyber café, we savoured some of the finest Italian cuisine. Village Walk is a very happening place comprising of shops, boutiques and speciality restaurants in close proximity to the Crowne Plaza Hotel – an ideal place to spend your evenings.

As we were still recovering from our jet lag, late in the night, we planned to have an adventurous meal at South Africa’s Red Meat and Red Wine Capital – The Butcher Shop & Grill situated on Sandton Square. A sure “no no” for vegetarians and even for kids under 14.

We were contemplating going either to a Greek Restaurant or the Butcher’s Shop. Since the majority of us were in for a bit of adventure, we all landed up at the Butcher’s Shop where they serve some of the finest wines along with a wide range of meat and fish, which would include Game, Crocodile, Mozambique prawns, Oyster and anything you would like to eat if you are a carnivore.

The more adventurous colleagues of mine ordered Crocodile, Baked Game Dish whereas I took the safer option of ordering Mozambique prawns. I was recommended the main dish by our exuberant steward though I personally preferred to order the starter dish not just to save on price but also taking into account my appetite. However, I was served the main dish which had some of the largest prawns that I probably might have seen and that too twelve of them! With great difficulty I managed to finish half the dish and at that moment I pledged to only stick to starter dishes for the remainder of my trip. It is amazing to note that the Africans eat such huge quantities and still are not as huge as you might imagine (barring a few exceptions). It was an invigorating experience and I would recommend meat lovers to visit the Butcher’s Shop. In fact in the in-flight magazine of South African Airways, there was a very interesting advertisement which read ” SOUTH AFRICA’S 3 ICONS….. Table Mountain, Kruger National Park and Butcher Shop & Grill at Sandton Square.” I was glad to have visited one of the three ICONS of SOUTH AFRICA!

The following morning we were ready after a sumptuous breakfast for a tour of the Cradle of Humankind – the Sterkfontein and the Wonder Caves.

Before I take you into the caves, let me share some interesting information with you about Joburg or Jozi or Egoli or the City of Gold. Well all these sobriquets are various names given to the city of Johannesburg, the commercial capital of South Africa located in the Gauteng province. Jo’burg is undoubtedly the economic and industrial powerhouse of sub-Saharian Africa.

The city has many exciting places to explore such as Soweto – a city within a city, the Newton Cultural Precinct – home to theatre, jazz, clubs and restaurants, the Gold Reef City…..Before I proceed any further let me tell you that Jo’burg is like any other big city in the world – a New York, a London or a Mumbai. Unlike what you may have heard of it being dangerous, it’s like any big city which has a great influx of immigrants from neighbouring countries. it is bound to have some crime but that is normally confined to certain downtown areas and only those who try to venture alone in the dark can expect some trouble. Otherwise, it is a very exciting city and one can easily spend 2 to 3 days in Johannesburg as there are lots of exciting activities for the tourists. As for the Sandton area, it is extremely safe and I think it is the media which has created the impression of the city being unsafe. I really feel, Johannesburg is one of the most fascinating cities I have visited. Did you know that it is located on a high-lying plateau of over 1500 m above sea level?

The city has many exciting places to explore such as Soweto – a city within a city, the Newton Cultural Precinct – home to theatre, jazz, clubs and restaurants, the Gold Reef City and before I proceed any further let me tell you that Jo’burg is like any other big city in the world – a New York, a London or a Mumbai. it is bound to have some crime but that is normally confined to certain downtown areas and only those who try to venture alone in the dark can expect some trouble. Otherwise, it is a very exciting city and one can easily spend 2 to 3 days in Johannesburg as there are lots of exciting activities for tourists. As for the Sandton area, it is extremely safe and I blame the media for creating an impression of the city being unsafe. Did Did you know that this fascinating city of Johannesburg is located on a high-lying plateau of over 1500 m above sea level ?

The Cradle of Humankind is a world heritage site. In 1947, it is here that Robert Broom discovered the skull which reminded us where we came from. The skull, which came to be known as Mrs Ples, derived from Plesianthropus – meaning almost human – was described at the time as “the most perfect pre-human skull ever found”. Mrs Ples is a hominid – a term used to refer to humans and our ancestors i.e. primates. To get a feel of exploration it is worth walking into the Sterkfontein Caves which is now being developed as one of the key attractions of the future. It was fascinating to walk into these caves as they are still being explored in order to trace some more of our ancestors. To get in and out of the caves requires you to climb a lot of steep steps and narrow curves and it also gives you ample opportunities to bend your back – an ideal trip for those seeking adventure. The Cradle is about an hour’s drive from Johannesburg and has lots of other attractions around it such as small game sanctuaries, lodges and wellness centres.

The Cradle of Humankind was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 and comprises of an area of 48000 hectares. Besides the Sterkfontein Caves, the other site which is open to public is known as the Wonder Caves.

In 1978 a foot embedded in breccia was discovered at the Sterkfontein Caves. The foot, believed to be that of a monkey, was kept in a box until 1994 when it was discovered that it was from a hominid. “Little Foot”, believed to be between 3.2 and 3.5 million years old, was then announced to the world.

Unlike the Sterkfontein Caves, you enter the Wonder Caves by lift and here you can find some of the most amazing lime and dolomite formations in Africa. The caves are supposedly as old as 2200 million years. Some of the formation are as high as 15 metres suspended in some fascinating shapes. In these caves you find cave pearls, rimstone pools, stalactites, stalagmites, etc. and we were taken for an exciting tour where the most striking of all formations was in the shape of Mother Mary which has been formed naturally over a couple of million years back.

The same evening we visited Moyo – a restaurant which serves typical African cuisine. On our way to Moyo in the downtown area and on our way we had a glimpse of the downtown region which looked like an altogether different city. It is connected to the other end of Jo’burg through the Nelson Mandela Bridge.

Moyo is one restaurant which offers an all-African Dining experience where you can have cuisine from different parts of Africa. To make you feel that you too are a part of Africa. while you await your meal, you could get your face painted just as some of us did.