Day trips from Johannesburg - Soweto & Lion Safari Park

To ensure I was able to make the 'Welcome meeting' for my Intrepid Exploring Southern Africa tour, I arrived in Johannesburg a day prior. Wanting to get the most out of my time in a new city, I choose a flight that arrived early in the morning. That way, I had a full two days to explore before the meeting.

First Day trip from Johannesburg - Lion Safari Park

After just over 20 hours (including transit), I arrived in Johannesburg at 6.30am. I was very tired from the long flight and was so thankful that my travel agent friend, suggested I pre-booked a private transfer from the airport to my hotel. This allowed me to just walk out of customs, find my name and be taken to my hotel. She also gave me the heads up that tipping is highly recommended, so I tipped my driver, who was very pleased and then I went inside my hotel, C.A.G The Vantage.

I booked my hotel through booking.com and got a great rate for this apartment style room. I was firstly very impressed as it was still only very early (7.30am) and the receptionist told me they had a cancellation the night before and I could go straight to my room. I am not sure if it was pure luck or she looked at how wrecked I looked and had pity on me. Either way, I was super grateful and as soon as I got in the room, I dropped my bags and went straight for the shower (it had a rainfall shower head...BLISS!). Feeling slightly more human, I then had a look around my apartment and it had everything you could need:

- Full Kitchen (including a full size fridge, oven and all utensils/crockery) - Lounge Area with a comfy couch and TV

- Washing Machine & Dryer

- Air con/Heating - Free Wifi - Plus more – check it out!

I chose this hotel because it was within walking distance to a shopping centre, restaurant precinct and the hotel that my tour started at the following evening (and it was cheaper). It is in the Rosebank area, a newer part of Johannesburg and quite a safe area (I was still warned by the hotel staff not to walk around by myself at night though). So, seeing as I had a full kitchen and my last few meals were plane food, I decided to venture out to the shops and get snacks for my trip and something to make for dinner that night. The shopping centre was only 100m from my hotel and if you have read my other blogs, you would know that I love checking out all of the different brands and foods in different countries.

To resist sleeping and to help me get straight into the South African time zone, I had pre-booked a half day tour to the Lion and Safari Park. I chose this park because of the wildlife conservation and research that it does and its contribution to the local community. Picked up from my hotel in my own private car, my driver was awesome, answering any questions I fired at him on the 40 minute drive and he even came with me into the lion cub area to take photos of me so I didn't have to ask a random. Patting a lion cub was pretty special 😍 and the two that were there were just gorgeous!

I then went on the safari drive around the park and saw the other animals they have there. It was good, and the guide was very informative, however the animals were fenced in, so it wasn't as exciting as a game drive in the wild. But, if you have limited time in Johannesburg and can't get out to a proper game drive, I would recommend visiting the Lion and Safari Park. I was glad I went just for the opportunity to get up close and personal with the lion cubs, something you wouldn't be able to do in the wild.

Second Day trip from Johannesburg - Soweto

Today I visited Soweto, a township of Johannesburg that is abundant with history and the place Nelsen Mandela called home from 1946 to 1962. I pre-booked this tour through Urban Adventures, a sub brand of Intrepid who do fantastic day tours in the cities that their tours start and finish in. The tour I did was called Cycle Soweto and going by bike was a fantastic way to get around and see various neighbourhoods of this township that you wouldn't see in a car or bus.

The tour started by being picked up from your hotel and driven to the Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers (this is a seriously funky place, definitely go check it out), here you test out a bike suitable for you and then you head off.

We had a large group of people and we all cycled up a hill to a lookout point (the hardest part of the bike ride, although still manageable). This was a wonderful spot to start the tour and for us to really take in the whole picture of Soweto. To our surprise, we were also then split into two groups and lucky for me, I was put in the group with just two other people and our guide. Turns out the two other people were a lovely couple from Adelaide, Australia and were going to be on my Explore Southern Africa tour!

Our guide was amazing, taking us around and explaining the history, culture and even teaching us some of the language as we cycled the streets and dirt tracks of Soweto. It was a bit confronting to see the contrast of poverty as we rode along, and this is why this tour has a medium cultural shock rating. Something to be mindful of when visiting, especially with kids.

We made a stop at a local takeaway shop and our guide bought us some fried bread and meat to try, all very tasty! He was so passionate about his hometown and he really went out of his way to ensure we had a great experience and got a lot out of the day. This tour also gave us the opportunity to interact with the people of Soweto - the best way to learn about a place!

When we got back to the Backpackers, our guide let us try some traditional beer...this is no ordinary beer. I won't give anymore away, just make sure if you get the chance, give it a go and see what you think for yourself. He also explained some of their traditional dress and let us try on some of it. The lady from Adelaide and I were wearing beautiful red hats and I got a photo with the couple. Then the guide explained that, the red hat was for married women so it looked like the man had two wives, we all had a bit of a chuckle as I removed the hat.

It was then time for lunch: four different stews, bread, salad and pap (sort of like polenta and made from ground maize). With our legs sore and our bellies full, we headed back to our hotels. I had checked out of my hotel and the driver was kind enough to swing by so I could pick up my bags and then take me and the couple from Adelaide to the hotel where our tour started, the Holiday Inn, Rosebank.

After checking in and having a relaxing shower, I then made my way down to the Intrepid welcome meeting. It is so fun meeting people on a tour group, it's always a complete lucky dip and I always find myself scanning the room, wondering where people are from, who I will be friends with, who will be the annoying ones and who will be the ones that are always late!

The welcome meeting itself was very informative and a lot of information to take in. I would suggest, when going on an Intrepid tour, that you are there for this meeting. They answer a lot of questions or give you information on things you didn't even think about. Once the meeting was over, I went back to my room and straight to bed, we had to be packed and in the bus by 5am the next morning! You can read all about my amazing adventure here.

Review of Urban Adventure

Although I wasn't sure on the value for money when I booked ($125-$139 as at July 2019), the Urban Adventure's Cycle Soweto tour seemed like the best option for me as a solo traveller. Plus, I liked the idea of fitting in a bit of exercise while travelling.

I was very happy that I choose to do this tour as the 6 hours we spend exploring was well worth it and going by bike is a fantastic way to travel through the streets of Soweto. Our guide and driver were very professional, knowledgeable and had a great sense of pride for their hometown. As mentioned, this tour has a Culture shock rating of medium, it has the same rating for Physicality.

Travel Start Date: 19 Jul 2018