SOUTH AFRICA'S LARGEST CITY
From the Sotho which means 'Place of Gold’, and an appropriate name because much of the wealth of this province is derived from the gold industry. Gauteng is one of the largest mining and industrial centres in the world today.
Johannesburg
Johannesburg is the commercial and industrial powerhouse of southern Africa
and is where the creative spirit of a nation converges in a dense, cultural heartland. It is the intersection
of African and global trade – incorporating Johannesburg, Pretoria and Soweto. Gauteng is a cosmopolitan, multicultural
mix of people from all walks of life, from all corners of the world and although it’s primary attraction is big
business, there is a wealth of culture to be mined in the museums, galleries, art routes and historical battlefields.
Gauteng is also an entertainment playground, offering a excess of world-class restaurants, shebeens, shopping
malls and music venues. Sightseeing includes: Museum Africa, Gold Reef City, De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre, Cradle
of Humankind, Johannesburg Zoo and Zoological Gardens, and Lion Park
Pretoria
North of Gauteng in the fertile valley of the Apies River, lies the 'Jacaranda City' (Pretoria).
As the administrative capital, Pretoria is dominated by government services and the diplomatic corps of foreign
representatives in South Africa. It is very different in character to the City of Gold and is noted for it's
stately and historic buildings and for it's parks and gardens for which it is renowned. Pretoria has a wealth of indigenous
flora and well known for the lilac-blossomed jacaranda trees. Sightseeing includes: Union Buildings, the Voortrekker
Monument, the National Zoological Gardens, General Smuts’ House, the Premier Diamond Mine, and the Pretoria Art
Museum
Soweto
South of Johannesburg is Soweto, a city developed as a township for black people under the apartheid system and the establishment of Soweto is, like Johannesburg, linked directly to the discovery of Gold in 1885. It is a “City within a City”, and home to more than 3,5 million people with homes ranging from extravagant mansions to makeshift shacks. It is a city of surprise and contrast, of starting enterprises and of vigorous cultural interaction and is a popular tourist destination with sites such as Kliptown, the home of former President Nelson Mandela, the Hector Petersen Memorial site, restaurants and shopping malls. It boasts one of the largest hospitals on the continent and the only African-owned private clinic.
