Johannesburg: Hollow City of Gold
My first memory of Johannesburg dates back to when I was about 6 - quite a long time ago now, unfortunately - and is of experiencing a small earthquake while staying in my aunt's apartment in the cramped inner-city honeycomb that was Hillbrow in the '70s. She explained that this was a regular occurrence and was because Johannesburg had been built on a maze of mining tunnels. Ever since then I have been obsessed by Johannesburg, the hollow City of Gold, but it was quite a while before I managed to get down a mine shaft.
First up, a few facts about Jo'burg: it's the largest city in the world that doesn't lie next to a body of water and it's also one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world, which basically makes this capital of Gauteng Province the biggest city in South Africa. It is constantly expanding and will soon engulf Pretoria's jacaranda lined streets - and possibly the rest of Africa as well - and, although it might have those rascally little Parktown Prawns scuttling the streets at night, it hasn't been invaded by aliens a la District 9...yet.
I have spent time in Johannesburg for both business and pleasure but the pleasure far outweighs the business and my memories of the Johannesburg Zoo with its cablecar - no, you CAN'T walk back down the mountain and I know because I tried, got most of the way down and was forced to climb up again - white lions and Siberian tigers will remain with me for as long as I live.
Gold Reef City was where I finally got to go down that mineshaft when I went on the Geological Exhibit and Underground Mine Tour. It was truly fascinating and I was only slightly (yeah, right!) disturbed by the fact that I was 100 or so feet underground. The true highlight of the tour, however, was the 1 kilogram gold bar on display that begged me to take it home, and I got so caught up in that that I completely ignored the casinos, 4D theatre and many thrilling rides that GRC has to offer.
No trip to Jo'burg is complete without visiting the Carlton Center, which is, at 730ft high, the tallest building in Africa. After touring the viewing deck on the Center's 50th floor, an idea would be to explore the underground shopping mall that connects the Center to the nearby Carlton Hotel and buy jellybeans and wish you had the guts to tackle its ice-skating rink (slippery ice? uncontrolled motion? ME??? I don't think so). Much more to my liking were the evenings that I spent at the original Fontana's restaurant in Hillbrow eating their now-famous roast chicken. I see that the Fontana Famous Roastery has since become a national franchise and this must surely delight all South Africans (though I'm sure the chickens will not be as impressed).
Johannesburg is not an easy city to negotiate and I would stress that anyone who is foreign to the area travel with a tour or at least a large group of people. Safety is always an issue here where the rich rub shoulders with those who have absolutely nothing and tourists should always be vigilant and conduct themselves as though they were in a dangerous area. And this would be because they ARE in a dangerous area (no, I'm not exaggerating; I lived in South Africa for over 35 years and I know the country).
On the other hand, safety issues shouldn't discourage people from visiting Egoli, that glittering golden city that is Johannesburg.
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