Gauteng Tours

Gauteng 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.

Pre-tour
Post-tour

Pre-tour

Pre-tour Date:	8 - 10 May 2013
Tour Length:	3 Days
Meeting Point:	Pick up and drop of at OR Tambo International Airport
Expenses Included:	Accommodation and all meals included in itinerary; All transfers (inclusive of return to OR Tambo International Airport); Spa treatment as per itinerary.
Expenses Excluded:	Personal expenses such as telephone calls, laundry, refreshments (inclusive of alchohol). Meals not included in itinerary.
Participation Cost:	No costs. Please note that the GTA will accommodate buyers with their hotel accommodation, who wish to arrive one day earlier or one day later than itinerary

Day One - Wednesday, 8 May 2013 - ARRIVAL IN GAUTENG

Pick up at OR Tambo International Airport and transfer to Johannesburg based hotel.

Dinner at hotel.

Day Two - Thursday, 9 May 2013 - JOHANNESBURG AND SOWETO TOUR

09h00

Pick up from Hotel/Guest House.

09h30

Pick up at the Hotel, be taken to APARTHEID MUSEUM - This museum offers a multi-media, multi-sensory walk through the history of apartheid. It has been critically acclaimed in South Africa and abroad.

Journey into the history that still defines South Africa’s here and now – Welcome to the Apartheid Museum.

After receiving your entrance ticket, stamped with the words NON-WHITE / NIE BLANKE, you are taken through a turnstile and past huge copies of old passbooks. The EUROPEANS ONLY entrance takes you through a separate-but-not-equal path past enlarged identity books classifying the white people. The section in the middle is appropriately for the passbooks of the people in between – the Chinese, Indians, Malays and Cape coloureds. To quote historian Phil Bonner, who was part of the team responsible for narrating our complex and jumbled past “Racial discrimination has been commonplace throughout the world and cannot be explained simply by racial prejudice. What makes it different in the South African context is how it evolved, how it was overthrown. We needed to create a place where that could be explained and thought about”. In essence, this is what the Apartheid Museum is all about.

10h30

SOWETO tour, this is a very unique experience. Soweto is a township South of Johannesburg. Walk on VILAKAZI STREET the only street in the world with two recipients of the Nobel Prize (Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu). Visit the Mandela Family Museum. The humble house in Orlando West, 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. Hector Peterson Museum was one of the first students to be killed during the 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto. He has since become a symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. Learn about the past struggle and the hope for the future of the people in the area.

Visit the Hector Peterson Museum: The first child to be killed during student uprising in Soweto. Learn about the past struggle and hope for the future of the people in the area. Hector Pieterson has become something of an iconic image of the fateful day. Today 16 June is National Youth Day to honour young people (1 hour tour).

11h30

Lunch at popular Soweto Restaurants.

17h30

Back to the hotel/guest house.

Day Three - Friday, 10 May 2013 - WEST RAND (CRADLE OF HUMANKIND)

09h00

Pick up at hotel.

The Sterkfontein Caves were discovered in 1896 by an Italian gold prospector and are now regarded as one of the world’s most important archeological sites. The caves lie in the Sterkfontein valley which, together with the nearby sites of Swartkrans, Drimolen and Kromdraai, make up the recently proclaimed World Heritage Site known as the “Cradle of Mankind”. Dr Robert Broom of the Transvaal Museum (now the Museum of Natural History) began excavations at the cave in 1936 and in 1947 discovered a well-preserved skull of a species of early man known as Plesianthropus Transvaalensis. This later became known as the famous “Mrs Ples”. Our tour includes visits to both the Sterkfontein and Kromdraai caves.

12h00

Tour, MAROPENG CENTRE, the Tumulus containing vast underground visitor attraction incorporating a sensory extensive display which immerses visitors in touching, hearing, feeling, seeing and experiencing the unique history of humankind

13h00

Lunch at Tumulus Restaurant.

15h00

Be taken to the PLUMARI GAME LODGE - Big 5 Game Drive experience - enjoy a genuine game drive and real bush experience. The Plumari Africa Game Reserve – in which Plumari Game Lodge is situated, comprises a pristine malaria free wilderness area of over 3000 hectares. The Reserve boast an amazing natural African bushel with an abundance of flora, fauna birdlife and wildlife.

A game drive is approximately 3 hours in duration. Late afternoon drives will involve a sundowner with a fantastic view towards the end of the driver.

19h00

Back to the Hotel

16h00

Depart from Plumari to OR Tambo Airport.

Post-tour

Post-tour Date:	14 - 16 May 2013
Tour Length:	3 days
Meeting Point:	Pick up and drop of at OR Tambo International Airport
Expenses Included:	Accommodation and all meals included in itinerary; All transfers (inclusive of return to OR Tambo International Airport); Spa treatment as per itinerary.
Expenses Excluded:	Personal expenses such as telephone calls, laundry, refreshments (inclusive of alchohol). Meals not included in itinerary.
Participation Cost:	No costs. Please note that the GTA will accommodate buyers with their hotel accommodation, who wish to arrive one day earlier or one day later than itinerary

Day One - Tuesday, 14 May 2013 - ARRIVAL IN GAUTENG

Pick up at OR Tambo International Airport and transfer to hotel.

Dinner at hotel.

Day Two - Wednesday, 15 May 2013 - TSHWANE and DINOKENG TOUR

09h00

Pick up from Hotel/Guest House.

10h00

Freedom Park Tour: Freedom Park is a heritage site that provides a broad new perspective of South Africa’s history.

12h00

Depart from Tshwane to Dinokeng.

13h00

Lunch at the Mongena.

14h30

Arrival in for the Dinokeng Game Reserve.

Dinokeng – the “place of rivers” is a 280 000ha region in northern Gauteng that is rich in natural, cultural and historical heritage sites. The region, which includes the Rust de Winter and Roodeplaat dams and towns of Cullinan, Rayton, Hammanskraal, Moloto and Refilwe, is the catchment area of the Olifants and Limpopo rivers, believed to have healing powers.

The Game Reserve, an initiative by the Gauteng Provincial Government to establish a premier tourism destination close to urban Gauteng, aims to also promote economic growth, job creation and social upliftment through conservation.

The game reserve currently has four of the Big 5, namely Rhino, Lion, Elephant and Leopard. Landowners are looking forward to the introduction of the last of the Big 5, Buffalo, very soon.

Check-in at a lodge in the Game Reserve.