The largest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa, 284 m long crossing over 42 operational railway lines linking Braamfontein and the north of Johannesburg to Newtown in the heart of the city's central business district.

Hector Pieterson (1964 - 16 June 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, where school children protested over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools, when a news photograph by Sam Mzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students. By the end of the fateful day 556 children were dead. For years, 16 June stood as a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the apartheid government. Today, it's known as National Youth Day - a day on which South Africans honour young people and bring attention to their needs.

Pitso or Petersen or Pieterson? Since June 1976, Hector's surname has been spelt "Petersen". Now the family insists that the correct spelling is "Pieterson". That's not the full story. The Pieterson family was originally the Pitso family. It decided to adopt the Pieterson name to try to pass as "coloured", a minority grouping who had slightly better privileges, like marginally higher wages. Antoinette Sithole, Hector's sister, says that before she married she had always been "Pieterson", but that she and her siblings had always considered it a joke.

No trip to Soweto in Johannesburg is complete without a visit to Regina Mundi, the largest Catholic Church in the most populous black urban residential area in the country. Not only has the vast church always been a spiritual haven for thousands of Sowetans, it has also played a pivotal role in the township's history of resistance against apartheid. As such it is a well-circled destination on the tourist map: every day the church opens its doors to streams of visitors keen to witness the scars it still bears from the Soweto uprisings, when police stormed through its doors, firing live ammunition at fleeing students. But both before and after the dramas of the Soweto uprisings, Regina Mundi - whose name in Latin means Queen of the World - has quietly offered its protection to those struggling for liberation. When political meetings were banned, people sought the safety of Regina Mundi - if not Queen of the World, then surely Queen of Soweto - to form their political strategies.

The site of the signing of the historic Freedom Charter by anti-apartheid organizations in 1955, is to be the center of a massive upgrade project to revive the Kliptown area. The square will be renamed Walter Sisulu Square in honour of the 90-year-old former ANC leader.

The story of Bara starts soon after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
A young Cornish lad, John Albert Baragwanath, arrived on the gold fields to make his fortune.  The surname "Baragwanath" was derived from the Welsh word "Bara", which means bread, and "gwanath" meaning wheat. After trying a number of projects, John Albert started a refreshment post, Soon he had a small hostel, "The Wayside Inn". However, to the transport drivers, and stagecoach passengers, it was "Baragwanath's Place" or just Baragwanath. It is the largest hospital in the world, occupying 173 acres, with 3200 beds and 6760 staff members. The hospital is in Soweto, South Africa - just outside Johannesburg. It is one of the 40 Gauteng provincial hospitals, and is financed and run by the Gauteng provincial Health Authorities. Opened in 1941 by Prime Minister Smuts as the Royal Imperial Hospital, Baragwanath, the facility was known as Baragwanath Hospital from 1948. The name Chris Hani was added in 1997 to honour a slain African National Congress and South African Communist Party member. More than two thousand patients check in to the hospital daily and nearly half of them are HIV positive.

PLEASE NOTE: The Mandela House Museum is NOW OPEN.

 

Nelson Mandela's humble little house in Orlando West, Soweto, now called the
Mandela Family Museum, is an interesting stopover for those keen to imbibe a slice of authentic history on the world's most famous former prisoner.

Popular tourist attraction offering a unique vantage point from where most of Soweto can be viewed. Built from the ruins of the old Sofiatown, the tower is set in unusual gardens.

Unmistakably Soweto's premier eatery; visited by luminaries such as the legendary Quincy Jones, Sir Richard Branson, Jeffrey Osborne to mention just a few and many more people the rich, famous and the poor from Soweto and surrounding areas. They specialises in sumptuous african cuisine the best Soweto can offer.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve is 50 000 hectares in size and is located in the North West Province of South Africa, 150 km north west of the Gauteng metropolis and 60 km north of Rustenburg.

The history of Pilanesberg Game Reserve is also unique amongst national parks in Africa. Pilanesberg National Park's special features of rugged landscape, well-watered valleys and attractive dwelling sites have made it a preferred site for human settlement for thousands of years.
Prior to its proclamation as a reserve in 1979, the Pilanesberg National Park Complex was degraded and depleted of indigenous game populations due to fairly intense settlement by commercial farmers. At considerable expense, the land has been restocked with game, the scars of human settlement were removed and tourism infrastructure was developed during the first 15 years (1979 and 1993). This constituted the largest and most expensive game stocking and land rehabilitation project ever undertaken in any African game reserve at the time.

A 110 kilometer peripheral Big Game fence was erected over some very rugged terrain, 188 kilometer of visitor roads have been developed and more than 6 000 head of game were introduced during the Operation Genesis game translocation programme. Thus, while wildlife resources are rapidly declining in most developing countries in Africa, Pilanesberg National Park is one of the few areas where this trend has been dramatically reversed. For this far-sighted action the North West Province (Previously Bop Parks) and its people have received worldwide acclaim and recognition. The challenge that lies ahead is to further develop and manage Pilanesberg National Park in such a way that the conservation, cultural, recreational and economic benefits of this far-sighted action can be optimally utilised to the benefit of current and future generations

Since late 1979, thanks to Operation Genesis - the largest game translocation ever undertaken at the time, tourists have been able to take note of nature's alphabet - from aardvark to zebra. The park boasts healthy populations of lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo - Africa's "Big Five". A wide variety of rare and common species exist with endemic species like the nocturnal brown hyena, the fleet-footed cheetah, the majestic sable, as well as giraffe, zebra, hippo and crocodile, to mention but a few.

Bird watching is excellent with over 300 species recorded. Some are migrants, others permanent inhabitants; some eat carrion or live prey, others eat seeds, fruit or tiny water organisms.

There is a self-guided trail in the Walking Area at Manyane Complex in the east, which offers environmental education whilst enjoying game viewing and bird watching on foot. Also at Manyane is a walk-in aviary with over 80 species of indigenous birds.

Sun City is internationally renowned as Africa 's premier holiday resort. Sun City offers a myriad of different entertainment and relaxation opportunities, as well as enough attractions and activities to keep everyone busy.
The fabulous Sun city resort complex captivates visitors with its combination of golf, game and gambling as well as world-class hotels. Formerly the gaming mecca of South Africa, Sun city still attracts those wishing to gamble but also those just wishing to relax, and the focus is now on the total experience of Africa.
Sun city in South Africa offers everything and more and it has become a haven for holidaymaker's to South Africa.