Writer, poet and political activist Don Mattera grew up in Sophiatown, where he experienced the brutality of apartheid first hand, and from where his family was one of the last families to be forcefully removed from the cosmopolitan suburb in the 1960s.

Sophiatown shaped Mattera, but also blues singer Dolly Rathebe, past ANC president and gynaecologist Dr AB Xuma, who lived there for 30 years, and Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist Trevor Huddleston.

Come with me and see the buildings that escaped the bulldozers, hear the music of the 50s, and the eloquent words of Mattera and others.

In the late 1950s Adam Asvat and his family had been forcefully wrenched from Sophiatown, and moved to Pageview or Fietas.

When the government wanted to flatten Fietas, he wasn’t going to let that happen again. Some 67 families stood their ground against the fierce apartheid machine, and won.

Join me to hear about his courageous story, and much more.

We’ll move on to the colourful suburb of Fordsburg, and relive the brutal war between Jan Smuts’s government and white miners in
1922.

Our illustrious and beloved late former president made Joburg his home from the age of 21.

He stayed at various places in the city, in between visits around the country, until he was convicted of sabotage, and sent to Robben Island in July 1964. Upon his release in 1990 he returned to his home town of Jozi, and lived here until his death in December 2013.

Come with me on an often emotive journey to some of the places of significance to his life in Jozi.

​

​

​Mahatma Gandhi left his mighty footprint in Jozi, the town he lived in for a good deal of his 21 years in South Africa, until his return to India in 1914.

He walked the dusty streets of the town, practised as a lawyer in Joburg, spent time in the Fort prison, and developed his philosophy of Satyagraha or passive resistance here.

The city remembers this great man in Gandhi Square, where a sculpture of him reminds us that he came here as an attorney. We’ll stroll through some of the places in Jozi he made his own for a short while.

​

​

The grave of Enoch Sontonga, the creator of SA's anthem, was found in the Braamfontein Cemetery after a dramatic 9-month search. Forty-two school children, aged 13 to 17, drowned tragically in the Westdene Dam.

I spoke to some of the survivors, and mothers who lost their children. South Africa's boxing "giant", the late Baby Jake Matlala, 1,47m tall, told me with a big smile, "Height is not an issue, it's in the mind". Hear these intriguing stories and more, in my cemeteries tour.

We'll visit Braamfontein and Westpark cemeteries.

​

Dr Malcolm Klein thought that “nothing could penetrate the emotional barriers I had learned to erect”, while working at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in the 1970s. But not on 16 June, 1976. A sprawling suburb of over a million people, the events of that day were the first nail in the coffin of the demise of apartheid. Hear what Hector Pieterson’s mother and sister have told me over the years, and what Tsietsi Mashinini’s mother and brother said to me.

Soweto has a special place in our country’s history. Along the way we’ll visit a spaza shop in Vilakazi Street for a local kota or bunny
chow.

​

Stand more or less where the first tents were erected in downtown Joburg by Colonel Ignatius Ferreira, who gave his name to Ferreirasdorp. Hear tales of the people who made the city what it is.

Marvel at the beautiful inner city buildings that reflect different architectural styles. Join me as we walk in downtown Joburg, in the footsteps of the earliest inhabitants, through to giants like Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela. We’ll stop in at the city’s remaining gold mining stope.

​

Walk with me through prisons that tell the story of brutality and unimaginable hardship for black people in apartheid prisons. Hear about then 16-year-old Seth Mazibuko, who was brought in in chains and handcuffs, and who lives with phobias from his prison experience over 40 years later.
 

Step into the hospital cell where Nelson Mandela spent time. Contemplate life for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in a tiny tin shack in the Women’s Gaol. Then, let your spirit soar as you enter the Constitutional Court, and be blown away by how this is possibly the only place in the country where every South African can see something that acknowledges their culture, language and ambitions.

​

Trade unionist Mary Fitzgerald led protesters in the square, named after her now. Museum Africa and the Market Theatre are housed in the former market building, built in 1913.

Kippies nightclub was modelled on an Edwardian toilet, and named after saxophonist Kippies Moeketsi. The Turbine
Hall and the Electric Workshop produced the town's first electricity.

Hear these tales and much more in a walking tour of Newtown, the heart of the city's cultural precinct.

​

Come with me on your mountain bike as we explore the Braamfontein spruit, and learn about Joburg’s river systems.

We’ll head up to the Delta Environmental Centre, and hear about its role in the growing city. We’ll then go west to Alberts' Farm to chat about its history. On the way back, we
will pay our respects to those buried at the Heroes' Acre at Westpark Cemetery, including Herman Charles Bosman, Ahmed Kathrada, Hugh Masekela, Baby Jake Matlala, and Beyers Naude.

​

The city has some wonderful art galleries, showcasing South Africa’s many talented artists.
 
Come with me on a tour through some of those galleries. Each tour will be different, depending on what exhibitions have opened that month, but they will always be exciting.

​

Discover the legacy of the Randlords - those men who made their fortunes on the gold and diamond mines - in the magnificent mansions they left behind.

We'll start the tour outside Herbert Baker's lovely home in Westcliff.

He was the architect who designed and built many of the Randlords' homes, some of which we will go inside, others we'll admire from the outside.

​

Did you know that satellite images show Joburg as an urban forest of over 10 million trees? And this from a tree-less grassland before gold was discovered here in 1886.

Come with me on the trail of some of the oldest trees in Joburg, starting with a glorious Blue Gum tree planted in the 1880s, reaching 34m into the skies. From there we'll drive to Emmarentia, where we'll take in the history of the early pioneer, Louw Geldenhuys, while admiring trees that his wife planted in the 1880s.

We'll then drive down to Zoo Lake for more history, and glorious trees. 

​

Take to the streets on your bike in the quiet suburbs of Westcliff, Parktown, Houghton and Parkview, as we consider the history, architecture and personalities of these early Joburg suburbs.

It's a leisurely 25km ride with a few hills and awesome views - a great way to start a day. 

​

We've all heard of Burchell's Zebra and Burchell's Coucal. They get their names from British explorer William Burchell, a naturalist, linguist, artist, musician and polymath, with a deep curiosity about the world around him. He was one of the early explorers of the Cape, taking his wagons beyond the colony's borders, and returning with over 60 000 specimens of animals, reptiles, plants, birds, insects and more. He spent 4 years travelling, from 1811 to 1815, and produced two wonderfully written volumes recording his travels, in Travels in the interior of South Africa. He detailed his adventures in a marvellous annotated map. 

Come with me to learn about this extraordinary man, his travels and legacy. We'll study his volumes and his map, then view some of his original paintings and drawings - the city has around 500 of his works. 

​