Johannesburg - A city of Contrasts

Wayne and Calista's South Africa Safari by Wayne Herbert, Huston, TX, USA

Johannesburg is a dirty city in some ways... there is poverty, crime, unemployment. Yet, in other respects, it is a wonderful place to visit.

It is an amalgamation of numerous small communities.  Within walking distance, you'll find excellent restaurants and shops... just a few blocks from where we stayed there was a Portuguese restaurant with the best seafood I have ever eaten.

While there are lots of places that you shouldn't walk into at night, we found the area in which we stayed to be quite lovely, with friendly people and a close proximity of shops. 

Johannesburg is a huge city. The city proper is between 2 and 3 million people, and when you include the surrounding 8 townships (Soweto and Davietown are but 2), the population swells to between 10 and 11 million people.

This makes Johannesburg the second largest city in Africa, after Cairo. Exact population figures are hard to come by... most people aren't interested in answering government surveyors' questions.

More of  Johannesburg