Gauteng Adventures and activities: Plan your trip. What To Do this weekend?
Gauteng-place of the gold-the economic hub of South Africa. Smallest province. Most people. Go figure; this is not the place you come to for deep immersion in the wildest Africa. It’s where you go if you want to see the real-South African-deal. Not diversity of flora, but of people. It’s where we all ultimately came from - a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cradle of Humankind, will explain why.…
Gauteng Adventures and activities: Plan your trip. What To Do this weekend?
Gauteng-place of the gold-the economic hub of South Africa. Smallest province. Most people. Go figure; this is not the place you come to for deep immersion in the wildest Africa. It’s where you go if you want to see the real-South African-deal. Not diversity of flora, but of people. It’s where we all ultimately came from - a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cradle of Humankind, will explain why. This is a place to contemplate our origins but more importantly, a place to celebrate the richness, vibrancy, and complexity of Africa right now.
With so much historical and cultural significance, it would be a pity to consign Gauteng to status of “springboard to other wilder places”. Though an hour’s drive will take you to bushveld or mountains, the adventurous will find plenty to explore in the urban jungles of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The historic township Soweto, the birthplace of the anti-apartheid struggle is a melting pot of activities from meaningful cultural experiences to serious adrenalin fixes. The refurbished Orlando Towers, their dull grey now brightly painted by local artists, a symbol of transformation, is a hub for urban thrill seekers. The old cooling towers now offer gravity-propelled activities like BASE and bungee jumping, abseiling and the world’s highest SCAD free-fall.
Almost any adventure you can find out in the countryside you will find offered in the cities here, from cycling to rock climbing but at the end of the day, we all need a little restorative energy from Nature. Gauteng has some lovely landscapes to play in. The Magaliesberg, a biodiversity hotspot, provides all the usual mountain-related activities, only an hour from Johannesburg.
The Vaal and Crocodile Rivers offer additional tranquil retreats and are perfect environments for canoeing, white water rafting, and other water-based sports that Gauteng’s excellent adventure operators curate.
