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  GAUTENG

 Salient Features
Gauteng


The name Gauteng derives from the Sotho word meaning ‘Place of Gold’- an apt title, as much of the wealth of this province has come from this precious metal. The principal cities of Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) make Gauteng the commercial, industrial and administrative heart of South Africa and an important powerhouse for the whole of Southern Africa. Gauteng is the main international gateway to South Africa as most overseas land at Johannesburg International Airport. It’s a province that offers a fascinating blend of First-world-know-how combined with African magic- with a whole range of opportunities from shopping, dinning and entertainment to arts, culture and outdoor activities.

MAJOR CITIES

Soweto

A home to a truly rich and diverse sightseeing, culinary and entertainment scene. It is a sprawling township, or more accurately, a cluster of townships on the south-western flank of Johannesburg. Soweto was created in the 1930s, with Orlando the first township established. In the 1950s, more black people were relocated there from 'black spots' in the inner city - black neighbourhoods which the apartheid government had reserved for whites. Soweto's growth was phenomenal - but unplanned. Despite government attempts to stop the influx of black workers to the cities, waves of migrant workers moved from the countryside and neighbouring countries to look for employment in the city of gold.

Pretoria (Tshwane)
Tshwane, the administrative capital and the birthplace of the new South African democracy, is home to a large diplomatic community. Well over a hundred embassies and foreign missions are located here, making Tshwane the ideal base for international trade and for liaison with political decision-makers from all over the world. It is in Tshwane that the Rivonia treason trial was held in 1964. The synagogue where the former president of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela and his colleagues were sentenced to life imprisonment is still preserved in Tshwane. Although Tshwane has a sad past under the apartheid regime, it has seen transformation and democracy in recent times. For instance it was at the Union Buildings in Tshwane that the first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated.


Johannesburg

Johannesburg
Johannesburg is where the money is. And the action. It's the most powerful commercial centre on the African continent. It is an African city that works: the phones dial, the lights switch on, you can drink the water, there are multi-lane freeways, skyscrapers, conference centres, golf courses. If you should get lost, ordinary people on the street speak English.


Almost everyone has a cell phone. You can send e-mail from your hotel room, you can bank any foreign currency, you can watch CNN, and should you fall ill, the hospitals have world-class equipment and doctors who can be trusted with a scalpel. In downtown Johannesburg is the recently renovated Gandhi Square, commemorating the life of the Indian Freedom fighter, who spent some time as a lawyer in South Africa and learnt from first hand experience the inquities of racial discrimination


MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Gold Reef City:
It was a working gold mine until 1970s. it is now a creation of the old mining town with bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, a casino and entertainment. You can also go down the mine. The tour lasts for approximately 3-4 hours, the mineshafts is 226m deep. Closed on Mondays.

Gold Reef City:

The Apartheid Museum:
Experience first hand the workings of the brutal apartheid machinery at the Apartheid Museum, less than 20 minutes drive from Johannesburg.

Sterkfontein Valley:
A 45 minute drive north west from Johannesburg is the Sterkfontein valley, one of the richest remains of hominids such as ‘Little Foot’, ancient ancestors of man, as well as of animals long extinct such as a Sabre toothed cat. The area has been declared as a World Heritage Site. Nearby are the Kromdraai Wonder Caves, with their spectacular Rhinestone pool, stalactites and stalagmites

Lesedi Cultural Village:
Where the visitors can experience at first hand the traditional lifestyles, art and culture of the Zulu, Pedi, Xhosa and Basotho people.

Union Buildings (Pretoria):
It is on these steps that Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected President in 1994. The Union Buildings is the administrative headquarters of the government and stands majestically on Meintjieskop, overlooking Pretoria. At the time it was the largest building project to be embarked upon in South Africa. In 1901 the foundations were laid and the cornerstone on November 26 of the same year.

Hecter Peterson memorial (Soweto):
it was erected in the memory of the 14 year old boy, the first victim to be killed by the apartheid forces sent to crush the student uprising in 1976.



Voortrekker Monument

Voortrekker Monument:
The great grey colossus can be seen from all directions as you near Pretoria… the massive Voortrekker Monument, built in honour of the Voortrekkers (Pioneers), who left the Cape Colony in their thousands between 1835 and 1854. The architect was Gerard Moerdijk and it was his ideal to design a "monument that would stand a thousand years to describe the history and the meaning of the Great Trek to its descendants."


The central focus point of the Monument is the Cenotaph. On top of the Hall of Heroes' is an arch from where one can view the interior of the Monument. It is through an opening in the arch that the sun shines at twelve o'clock on 16 December each year onto the middle of the Cenotaph and the words, 'We for thee, South Africa'. The ray of sunshine symbolises God's blessing on the lives and endeavours of the Voortrekkers.

House of Paul Kruger:
Built in 1884, Paul Kruger's House commemorates the life of the former president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek. The interior has been faithfully recreated to look exactly as it did when President Kruger lived in it more than a century ago.
 
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