Johannesburg South Africa
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LONG DISTANCE TOURS DEPARTING JOHANNESBURG

Johannesburg is now a glittering city, but in 1886 it was a dusty, crowded, raucous and rough shanty town. Johannesburg erupted when, the Australian George Harrison, a prospector on his way to Barberton, discovered an outcrop of gold bearing rock on the farm Langlaagte. Tents and makeshift shelters sprang up almost overnight and masses of prospectors and

fortune-seekers swarmed to the area. The frenzied search for instant wealth

had begun. Christiaan Johannes Joubert and Johan Rissik was sent to the area to lay out the new town, and named it after themselves. The fever broke when major mining corporations swallowed up individual claims, and the gold mining industry was born - the exclusive business domain of mining magnates such as Cecil John Rhodes and JB Robinson.

Johannesburg airport accommodations

Airport Grand Hotel - (5km from airport) Complimentary airport transfers
Airport Sun Inter-Continental Hotel - (50m from airport building)
Birchwood Executive Hotel - (6km from the airport) Complimentary airport transfers
Emperor’s Palace Hotel and Casino - (2km from airport)  
City Lodge Johannesburg Airport - (4km from airport)
Courtyard Suite Hotel Bruma Lake - (15km from airport)
Don Suite Hotel - Bruma Lake - (15km from airport)
Don Suite Hotel Johannesburg Airport - (4km from airport)
Garden Court Eastgate - (15km from airport)
Garden Court Johannesburg Airport - (1km from airport)
Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport - (500m from airport) Complimentary airport transfers
Kopanong Country Hotel - (10km from airport) Complimentary airport transfers
Road Lodge Johannesburg Airport - (Budget hotel 5km from airport)
Road Lodge Isando - (Budget hotel 5km from airport)
Town Lodge Johannesburg Airport - (5km from airport)

Johannesburg accommodation

Courtyard Suite Hotel - Rosebank - Rosebank
Don Suite Hotel - Rosebank - Rosebank
Grace in Rosebank Hotel - Rosebank
Gold Reef City Hotel - Gold Reef City
Garden Court Milpark - Auckland Park
Parktonian All Suite Hotel - Braamfontein
Rosebank Hotel - Rosebank
Sunnyside Park Hotel - Parktown
Wanderers Hotel - Wanderers
Westcliff Hotel - Westcliff (Luxury hotel in northern Johannesburg)

What to see and do in and around Johannesburg

Supreme Court
"Top of Africa" viewpoint
Beer Museum
Gold Reef City Themepark
Johannesburg Zoo
Museum of Military History
Miniature Town at Wemmerpan
Bensusan Photographic Museum
Johannesburg Art Museum
Johannesburg Observatoty, 1904

Some more info on Johannesburg

Accustomed perhaps to an elegant lifestyle, this emergent stratum of society, the financiers, businessmen, mining magnates and merchants, introduced the dignified charm of the Victorian era into the haphazard layout of the mining camp. Gracious mansions, landscaped gardens and elegant suburbs, whose air of opulence still presides over parts of Parktown and Houghton, became the traits of the time. Gold was the catalyst which brought Johannesburg into being, and it's identity will always be closely linked with gold.

Within an accelerating history a city emerged, which in the course of a century has become a vibrant and sophisticated metropolis, the commercial pulse of the Republic, and the largest mining and industrial centre in Africa. Major business houses rub shoulders with thriving shopping complexes; the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the only one in the country, is filled with the tumult of financial negotiations.

Today, Johannesburg is a city of contrasts. In the heart of the city, the mine dumps and headgear, ideally viewed from the top of the Canrlton Centre, one of the highest buildings in the city, still serve as symbols of Johannesburg's boisterous past. Ultra-modern in concept, Anglo-American's angular glass structure in the southern end of town is architecturally juxtaposed with the quaint, turn of the century facades of the original Diagonal Street, still clamorous with the noise of pavement stalls and fruit vendors. These contrasts are no less pronounced In the cultural sphere, for in the midst of a highly sophisticated mining community, African tradition continues to play an integral part, best identified in the energetic ethnic dances performed by miners.

Moreover, while a multiplicity of museums cover a vast range of interests - from photography and costumes to military history and rock engravings - the Africana Museum in Progress provides fascinating insights into our African heritage, displaying life-size models of tribal huts, examples of ethnic clothing and intricate beadwork.

In the midst of this urban development there are still numerous opportunities to step into the wilder side of Southern Africa and observe wildlife in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve or the Lion Park. Nature lovers will be amazed to find an abundance of indigenous flowers and trees in the many parks and gardens which stand in sharp contrast to the concrete structures of the city centre. The Braamfontein Spruit, rising in vibrant Hillbrow, winds its way through the suburbs, and the trail which has been cleared along its banks offers peaceful walks amid a host of native birds and flowers.

This then, is 'Egoli' the city of gold, the Nguni name for Johannesburg, is derived from the word 'gold', renowned not only for its vast mineral wealth, but also as a venue for vibrant nightlife, elegant cuisine, exclusive boutiques, theatres and art galleries galore. A city of golden opportunities, fast paced fun, a modern cosmopolitan metropolis packed with vitality and verve.

Apart from an exciting pleasure repertoire, superb hotels, restaurants and shopping centres pander to people with five-star tastes. In quiet, leafy suburbs, baronial mansions in manicured gardens lined with limousines testify to the fact that Johannesburg, at the top of the supertax bracket, is a very affluent society. In the central business district, fortunes are made by the astute on the Stock Exchange each day. Skyscrapers tower over boutiques, aromatic Indian bazaars, and African muti (medicine) shops where traditional healers dispense advice and herbal remedies. And jets from near and far soar overhead en route to Johannesburg International Airport - the major gateway to South Africa. It is as full of promise as the glittering wealth beneath its foundations.

Distances to and from Johannesburg in kilometres

Beaufort West - 950
Beitbridge - 550
Bloemfontein - 420
Cape Town - 1405

Colesberg - 625
Durban - 600
East London - 990
George - 765

Kimberley - 470
Nelspruit - 360
Phalaborwa - 540
Pietersburg - 330

Piet Retief - 330
Port Elizabeth - 1060
Pretoria - 60
Upington - 875

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