Gauteng

Sights to see

Johannesburg: Gold Reef City – Museum Africa – Market Theatre – Apartheid Museum – Constitution Hill – Sterkfontein Caves
Pretoria/Tshwane: Union Buildings – Voortrekker Monument – Church Square

Places to go

Guided tour of Soweto (South Western Township) – Visit to the Cullinan-Diamond mine in Pretoria – Trip to Gold Reef City (Johannesburg in the days of the first gold diggers) – Trip to Lesedi Cultural Village – Drive to the “cradle of mankind” near Sterkfontein Caves 

The smallest South-African province is located on the high field in a height of approx. 1,500 m. After gold was first found in 1886, gold diggers, fortune seekers and adventurers from all over the world came to the scarcely populated grass land, hoping to find their luck. In the language of the Sotho Gauteng means place of gold. Gauteng is the most densely populated province of the country, and almost 40 % of the gross national product is realized here. Johannesburg, the former gold digger camp, today is a vibrating business metropolis of the state. The extra modern city with its skyscrapers is the melting pot of the Rainbow-Nation with Blues and Jazz clubs, trendy restaurants in the suburbs, and elegant shopping malls.

Pretoria/Tshwane is the seat of the government of the new South Africa, and an important industrial location. It also accommodates UNISA, the world’s biggest Open University. The city is most beautiful in spring, when 70,000 violet-blossoming Jacaranda trees turn the streets into a sea of blossoms. A visit to the Premier Diamond Mine, where the legendary Cullinan diamond was found, and a walk through the wonderful gardens all around the Union Buildings are absolute musts.

Soweto is South Africa’s second biggest city with approx. 2.5 million residents. It is not a pretty sight to see, but very instructive for interested visitors. You should not go to Soweto on your own, only on guided tours which are on offer.

Big parts of Gauteng are agricultural areas. Industrial locations can be found around the cities of Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark. Natural reserves and bird reserves, small game reserves, parks and sport arenas as well as many leisure time facilities offer ample opportunity to relax. The Sterkfontein Caves are considered the „cradle of mankind“, and have been declared a world cultural heritage UNESCO.

The airport O. R. Tambo International, Johannesburg, is the portal through which most tourists come to South Africa.