Secret Johannesburg

For those who know and love it, Jozi still offers a rich vein of gold. By Lisa Johnston

‘Foreigners think we’re nuts, coming back to a doomed city on a damned continent,’ wrote author and muso Rian Malan in his contribution to the From Joburg to Jozi story collection. ‘But there is something you don’t understand: it’s boring where you are.’

While you might not share outsiders’ negative sentiments, give Jozi your heart and you’ll have to concede that anywhere else is boring by comparison. There’s a vibrancy to Joburg that starts in the inner city and seeps into suburbia. Capetonians might think they have the lifestyle market cornered, but don’t be fooled, Joburgers know how to live – and live it up. The truth is, the more you embrace the eclecticism of the city, the more it has to offer. Safety is a concern in some instances, of course, but apply the same wit and tactics as you would in any big city and the rewards are worth it.

In one day and within a few kilometres, you can traverse worlds. Spend the morning ambling around the Oppenheimer’s grand garden, lunch on delicacies at an Italian supermarket in Orange Grove and by afternoon browse traditional attire and muti at the Mai Mai Market. Welcome to the heartbeat of Joburg, metropolis of Africa.

Roof of Africa

Marvellous markets

Independent bookshops

Sunrise yoga

Chinese dragon boat racing

Cycle park in the city

Sandboarding the mine dumps

Paths less travelled

The big ones

If you’re a visitor to Joburg, don’t miss these:

• The rose garden at Emmerentia Dam
• Big-band jazz at the Radium Beer Hall
• Sundowners at Moyo at Zoo Lake
• The Apartheid Museum
• Constitutional Hill
• Shopping at the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg
• New China Town in Cyrildene
• The War Museum next to the Johannesburg Zoo
• The Newtown cutural precinct
• The Rosebank Rooftop Fleamarket

For more information, web http://www.joburg.org.za.