Lots of tourists come for the day, but if you really want to get under the skin of the South West Township, then staying over is a must.
Soweto is a sprawling labyrinth, so getting lost is a distinct possibility. Your tour guide can drop you off at the guest house and arrange transport to one of the funky restaurants where an extensive wine lists sit comfortably alongside samp and beans, tripe, mutton curry and other Sowetan favourites.
There are, of course, many shanty dwellings and extreme poverty, but there are also tree-lined streets, impressive houses and bustling wide roads. As you’d expect in a place crammed with an unofficial total of more than four million, there’s a lot to see.
Greenwood Guides selected three B&Bs to review. They are within 20m of each other in the heart of the Vilikazi district of Orlando West, a vibrant, culturally rich destination.
Vhavenda Hills
11749 Mampuru St, Orlando West
Call 011 936 4275
Soweto-born and bred, Kate lives just down the road from Nelson Mandela’s former house in the Vilakazi precinct of Orlando West – one of Soweto’s numerous suburbs, better known as the Wild West during the apartheid years.
The great man himself popped round for tea after his release from Robben Island. Clean, white art deco lines make Vhavenda one of the standout properties in the neighbourhood.
It is very much a family home with pictures of Kate’s children propped around the TV and friends of various offspring popping in and out. Kate’s husband, David, grew up on the property, which they converted into a B&B more than 10 years ago.
He runs Vhupo Tours from his office in a back room. The bedrooms are comfortable with magnolia walls, baby-blue hues and multi-coloured coverlets. They have new beds and dazzling custom-made checkered headboards to complement Kate’s dashing decor.
Ask for the palatial double room with its bath on a plinth and pair of double beds. Fall asleep to the sound of cicadas and the buzz of distant Joburg traffic, before waking to the smell of sizzling bacon.
It’s an easy stroll to the Hector Pieterson museum, Mandela House and the superb Sakhumzi and Nambitha restaurants.
Dakalo B&B
6963 Inhlwathi St, Orlando West,
Call 011 936 9328
The term “township chic” was invented for Dolly’s B&B. I loved the bathroom tiled with blue-spotted mosaics and the rooms with their red quilts, mini-Zulu shields, strawberry tablecloths and zebra print curtains, hand-made by Dolly.
Not only is she a wizard on the sewing machine, but she is also heavily involved with the local tourism association, setting a high standard with her own guest house.
She and Kate were off to a hospitality seminar at a Southern Sun hotel on the day I arrived. Not that these women need any tips. With opera playing in the background and freshly-cut arum lilies on the front table, the house exudes calm. Guests can sit under the lapa or admire Dolly’s garden, where geraniums sprout from potjie pots and pink bougainvillaea crawls up the walls.
You are right in the heart of where history was made in Soweto, particularly when Dolly can count two Nobel Peace Prize winners among her neighbours. She has some astonishing stories herself of the Struggle.
The guest house is a short walk from the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum.
If you’re interested in the latest chapter in this area’s history, the impressive Soccer City stadium, which hosted the World Cup final, is a 15-minute ride on the new Rea Vaya bus service.
Nthateng’s B&B
6991 Inhlwathi St, Orlando West
Call 011 936 2676
Snappily dressed in tight jeans and gold jewellery, the glamorous Nthateng took the time to talk to me about the history of Soweto before insisting that I accompany her to a wedding down the road taking place between a Zulu man and a Swazi woman.
“Everyone’s invited,” Nthateng said.
Between the tribal colours and shaking dancers, she sat me down with some fried chicken and samp, washed down with a glass of sparkling ginger beer.
Then it was back for a tour of her own place. Optical lighting illuminates the up-to-the-minute sandy-coloured rooms that boast carved wooden bedheads inlaid with red and gold mosaics.
One double room also houses a vast Louis XIV-style dressing table; it’s not hard to imagine Marie Antoinette perched on the ornate seat, powdering her wig and applying beauty spots.
See Soweto in style – not only is Nthateng’s B&B close to the
museums and restaurants, but insist that she takes you backstage on Soweto TV.
It’s a hub of creativity. The crew are really friendly and their studios are just a couple of blocks up adjacent to a talented seamstress and an inspiring art school for children.
Nthateng says “people must stay in Soweto for two or three nights to get the full experience”. Later, after revelling in an evening of live music and high-energy dancing at the Soweto Beer Festival, I’d gladly move in for a week. - Cape Times