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1, Boompeiper Avenue, Birch Acres, Johannesburg, South Africa
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of people enjoy staying here
21 Opinions
an opportunity to dress up colourfully
Philipp Tobias
CityLodge Johannesburg Airport
Sleepy Lions
I've got a layover in Johannesburg - a day at either end of a trip to Botswana. I get in fairly early in the morning, and I'm staying near the airport, at the Safari Club. I won't have a car, but I think there are tours that will pick us up there. Any recommendations for tours? Other things to do? Is it safe to wander around on our own?
Thanks
There really is no point in wandering around close to the airport. You can easily do a daytrip to the Pilanesberg game park for example or one of many places of interest around Gauteng. What are your interests and we can make some suggestions?
Dear Anton,
My interests are primarily cultural (the game park would be great, but I'm going on a safari in Botswana.) My favorite thing to do in a strange town is to wander around and see how people live. I like cultural museums, crafts shopping and local music.
Thanks for getting back to me.
acprincess
The best VT member to answer your questions is travelmad478.
The Safari Club is in a semi industrial area close to the busiest airport runway in Africa. Not a nice location. However, from their 4-star Tourism Council grading, they do look after their guests. I am sure the staff there will give you a lot of options of things to do if you e-mail them with your query.
A reaaly great museum to visit is teh Africa Museum in Newtown and for craft shopping I suggest you go the market at Rosebank where you can get crafts from all over Africa at very reasonable prices.
That sounds like a great experience to me. I would ask at Wits and the hospitals for advice on where to live that is safe and convenient for you and your wife. It would be ideal if you could introduce her to some wives at the university and/or hospitals who could show her around and make her feel comfortable.
South African doctors are very well thought of. Most of our GPs in my town are from South Africa.
Although I am not a huge sports fan, there are day/night cricket matches at the Wanderers Sports Stadium in Illovo, JHB. These are like an institution, and a great way to spend an evening - park off on the grass with a beer and soak up the vibe with a few locals. This was the home of the Cricket World Cup 2003.
Wetherlys is quite a popular home furniture shop. Most of our furnishings and soft furnishings we have bought at Wetherlys.
This tip is for members who might one day be re-locating to South Africa.
A lot of the items are imported from the East, mainly Indonesia.
I love browsing through Wethelys. Sofas, coffee tables, dining room, frames, picture prints, lamps, bedroom furniture, cabinets and linens as well as upholstery materials which Wetherlys will do the upholstering for. If you see an item and you dont like the upholstery, you can choose something else. A bit pricey
Please bear in mind at the time of writing (March 2010) that the Jo'burg road system is currently in a state of chaos due to upgrades in anticipation of the World Cup, and some roads have also been further disrupted by construction of the Gautrain (a rapid transit rail system that will ultimately link OR Tambo airport with the Johannesburg CBD, Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand, Centurion and Pretoria). Courtesy of a truly South African piece of planning, everything is being done at once, rather than finishing one section and progressing to the next, so virtually all of the major highways and arterial routes are afflicted with roadworks at at least some point along their length. This inevitably leads to delays - especially if the situation is compounded by accidents (which is often the case), so if possible, avoid travelling in rush hour (07:00-08:30 and 16:30-18:00) and ask your hotel for information on roadworks on your intended route. In particular, allow ample time to get to the airport - ideally 1.5 hours from Sandton, Rosebank or the Johannesburg CBD - it's worth it to minimise the possibility of missing your flight due to traffic delays, and if there are no problems and you get there early, then reward yourself for your wisdom and forethought with a celebratory drink!
This is a Johannesburg instituion.
The a la carte menu is diverse and caters for all tastes, and if you enjoy meat you will have a tough time deciding what to eat.
Roasted beef fillet, with foie gras butter comes well-recommended.
Some very extravagant seafood dishes, you can get anything from Lobster bisque, right down to prawn, langoustine and green curry.
On the expensive side, but good value for your money. I choose the fillet, but not with foie gras butter.....dont like the way ducks livers are pumped up to expand....just for a little bit of foie gras..I think it is cruel.
I like a good black pepper sauce.
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