Wednesday 31 May 2023: Roger

Arriving at Auckland Airport, having received an email from Qantas to be at the airport 4-hours before the flight, I checked in online and arrived at 0350hr to pick up the boarding pass. I went to the business class check in, got my boarding pass, and headed upstairs to go through security, only to find the grill to customs was down and the shops and cafes were all closed. MacDonalds was the only place open, with massive queues to order. There was a big sign saying nothing opens until 90mins before the first flight, which was mine to Sydney at 0600hr.

I stood around for a while, eventually spotting a seat to sit down, until the grill came up about 0430hrs. Luckily I am only 70, not 90 years old trying to find a seat.

I headed through to the lounge, the flight departing slightly late for Sydney, then headed to the gate for the flight to South Africa. I had reserved a window seat on the left hand side of the plane. Last time I did this flight in 2011 on a 747 there was a big westerly wind across Australia and when we headed south we got fantastic views of the Antarctic ice. Sometime into the flight I checked with one of the crew to see if we would see the ice, and the crew said the 787’s don’t head that far south, so we wouldn’t see them, so hard luck.

Between watching movies and listening to a very good book called Dictator Land on the various dictatorships that had ruined many prosperous countries in Africa I arrived in Johannesburg just after 4pm. I checked into the Intercontinental Hotel, adjacent to the airport. With lots of friendly staff, this hotel, which I have stayed at several times before, has fantastic service. Heading up to the room I made an effort to stay awake until 2200hr, but by 2030hr I was fading and hopped into bed. Of course I was wide awake at 0030hr.

Thursday 1 June 2023 – Johannesburg: Roger

My daughter Victoria and her partner Beau arrived at 0715hr. They had spent a few days in Singapore on their way here, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed breakfast together and I organised a tour of Johannesburg and Soweto (known as South West of the Town). At 1000hrs we were picked up by a friendly, bubbly and delightful driver guide called Vuyo. Vuyo has a degree in political science and has been a guide since 2003. We headed southwest along a motorway, eventually driving through an area called Kensington, once a white only area, but now pretty derelict with many of the shops closed with iron grills on front and for lease. Most of the houses had barbed wire around their houses.

Next stop was Ellis Park, the famous rugby ground, with Emirates signs all over it. The surroundings of it are not very desirable, which you would not expect from what you see on TV.  From there we headed to Hillbrow, a place known by the internet not to visit when you are a tourist. As we drove down the road, Vuyo pointed out the men on the corner primed to rob people or undertake their drug activity. Vuyo wound the window half way up, worried I would get my phone snatched. He says at night time, this is not a place to visit, especially with your Rolex watch and Louis Vuttion bag, as they may be borrowed and never returned. It was not a place for tourists. We then went to Constitution Hill, where the prisoners Nelson Mandela and Gandhi were held at various stages. At the time this was a white man only prison, but they didn’t want to send Mandela to a ‘black’ prison as he might influence people and establish an escape. This was before he was transferred to Robben Island.

We then headed to Braamfontein, a university area. Then we crossed the railway lines, with thousands of trains sitting stationary. Like many countries, South Africa got impacted hugely by covid. To stop the spread they stopped the use of train lines, and turned the power off to the overhead lines. Surprise, surprise, the local baddies went and stole the copper wire lines which run the trains. Consequently the trains are no longer running and the government has no money to pay for new lines.

It was interesting because on the way out we were having a great discussion with Vuyo about the power disruption in South Africa and he explained that at the end of the Apartheid the power was only supplied to 32% of the population. Because of the way Mandela came into power in 1991, many of the wealthy in South Africa left the country taking with them what little wealth they could out of the country. What was one of the wealthiest countries in the world is now struggling to recreate its economy with the highest crime rate in the world and over 30% of the population unemployed. According to Vuyo’s political studies, it will take another two generations from now for the country to reach the prosperity it once had.

We then headed to the old commercial district, now mostly closed. Then we headed to the Indian district and from there we went to Newtown. They have tried to spruce the place up, with pillars on the motorway with artwork and a museum. Then we jumped on a motorway and headed to Soweto. Passing large hills made of tailings (hills built from the left over spoils from the mines after gold extraction), which now have grass and plants on them.

Arriving at Soweto, expecting slums, we passed a rather nice school, with lots of kids standing around in nice school uniforms and headed down some rather nice streets. Observing very nice houses with double garages and brick walls, few topped with barbed wire, and what would be a rather nice part would be of any city of the world. Vuyo went on to explain that this was known as the upper class area of Soweto, populated with doctors, lawyers, and business people. We were somewhat surprised by how nice the area was. We then headed to the middle class area of Soweto. Although the streets and paving were a little rougher than the upper class part, there were lots of people out cleaning the footpaths and mowing the grass. In general the area was quite well kept. Vuyo explained that back in the 70’s they used to have a thing called ‘neckties’, where people that spoke or gave information to the police would have a car tyre put around their neck, filled with petrol and set on fire. Things have changed, and the car tyres we saw were being re-threaded and sold, as opposed to being used for ‘justice’. Nowadays there is little crime in Soweto, and if there was, there is mob culture where the community would assist and the police would not be involved.

We headed past what was an old coal power plant, with its large decorated chimneys, which you can now bungee jump off a ramp that is between the two. We then arrived at a little market place, and a cafe, Vilakazi Espresso, which had a generator running out the back. We enjoyed a coffee and a sandwich before being encouraged to have a look at the stalls, where we made a contribution to the local economy, Victoria more than others.

We then headed to the local museum, where no photos were allowed. This was full of various photos of demonstrations and riots that took place during the apartheid days. One in particular had all these high school children parading up a street all well dressed in their school uniforms to be later attacked by riot police. Many of the children arrested were unable to be tracked down by their families and the authorities never alerted parents of their children being arrested. There is a courtyard with bricks laid out with names of those who were killed during these demonstrations.

From the museum we drove past the house that Mandela occupied in Soweto with a couple of his four wives. We also drove past the house that Desmond Mpilo Tutu occupied at one stage. We then saw Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, a public hospital, which is the largest hospital in Africa and third largest in the world. There was a large nurse living quarters next to it for those from overseas to reside in.

Vuyo explained that through the 70’s and into the 80’s the apartheid rulers were gradually starting to integrate the black and white communities. Unfortunately when the ANC took power in 1991 many of the affluent business people left the country and with a combination of corruption amongst the politicians since then it will take generations for South Africa to recover to the affluent country it once was.

From there we headed to the lower class area of Soweto, which is a shanty town. To earn an honest living, people here go out and collect rubbish to be recycled. This is known as a lower class job and so these workers don’t embarrass their families they often wear full masks to hide their faces and identity as they roam the streets collecting plastics, bottles etc which are then separated and recycled.

Note this guy has his face covered so his kids who go to the local school won’t be embarrassed by the fact that their father does the lowest job in the community to support his kids through their education. There are a number of people in other countries that could learn a lesson or two from these hard working people.

These people live in huts and shacks, made from corrugated iron. Often 4 – 5 people live in one of these shacks. Some have electricity that is stolen from the local grid but there is no sewage or potable water supply. These days this area is minuscule compared with what it was years ago.

Soweto’s soccer stadium

Soweto’s hospital entrance. Formerly a military hospital, now the largest in the southern hemisphere.

We started heading back to our hotel, taking in more of the views of Johannesburg, seeing blokes in the back deck of utes and some people walking on the motorway. Returning to the hotel, it was a good time to sit down and relax at the restaurant for a drink and dinner to follow.

Local bus station

Sylvia and daughter arrived around 1630 followed by my daughter Kirstie and her friend Celeste at 2230, without their bags as the flight from Sydney to Dubai was late, their bags missing the connection. Also on that flight was Beka’s friend Katrina.