No matter what you call it; Joberg, Jozi, eGoli, JNB or Johannesburg, it is known as the city of gold. Founded in 1886 as a dusty mining town when an outcropping of gold bearing rock was discovered on the “Witwatersrand” or white water ridge, The discovery was erroneously attributed to George Harrison, an Australian prosecutor, in an effort to reinforce Anglo/British claim to the area. According to now accepted history , gold on the Witwatersrand was discovered 2 years earlier by Jan Gerritse Bantjes. The government of the day fearing a massive influx of fortune seekers ordered him to keep quiet about it. 2 years later, said George Harrison made his discovery , the word got out and the rush was on. By the mid 1890’s the population had reached 100,000 and today the greater Johannesburg stretches from the Soweto township in the south to Pretoria in the north, a distance of 82 kilometers.
At one point in the early 20th century, SouthAfrica was responsible for 25% of the annual gold production in the entire world. The world’s deepest gold mine is about 50 kms from Joberg. At a maximum depth of 4, yes that’s FOUR kms, it takes one hour for the lift to reach bottom where the temperature at the seam face is a staggering 60 DEGREES CELSIUS. Talk about a sweat box.

Starting in the old Central Business District or CBD is the main north south line of the Gautrain rapid transit system. Pronounced “howtren” it is named after the province of Guateng of which Joberg is the Capital. It runs north past Pretoria to the community of Hatfield. It is truly a marvel of modern engineering. Manufactured by Bombardier, a Canadian company, it moves people about efficiently and safely.. it really works. With security guards on the platforms and in most cars we felt completely safe. At the station nearest our hotel we were either drop off by our hotel shuttle or used Uber which is very inexpensive here.

On Saturday we took the Gautrain to the Rosebank area and boarded the Hop on Hop off bus for a city tour. Rosebank is a modern new city area of expensive shops and business towers. One of our hosts works in this area for Standard Bank of South Africa. The bus tour took us past Wanderers Stadium, home of many SA cricket wins. Through the walled and gated community of Melrose Arch, past Nelson Mandela’s last house, now housing the Nelson Mandela Children’s Foundation. Next is the Houghten district, once home to the rich “Randlords”, beautiful old homes and imposing buildings of the private schools like St John’s School for boys and the Rodean School for Girls. Even though it was a Saturday morning, the school playing fields were alive with the sights and sounds of cricket and rugby games.

As the Captains of Industry and Commerce built their homes near their places of work, we were soon into the CBD. By 1896, a mere 10 years after of news of the discovery got out, there were over 100,000 people in Joberg. The CBD is or was home to the many mining, banking and industrial concerns that flourished in Johannesburg throughout the 20th century. The streets are narrow and the buildings tower over, sometimes blocking out the sky. In September 2000 the Joberg Stock Exchange relocated to the Sandton area. This was the death knell for the CBD as the prominent business center of South Africa. The once bustling streets and buildings are now largely deserted with broken glass in the windows. Once the businesses moved out the squatters moved in and gangsters began charging the squatters rent. To overcome this and preserve some value in their buildings, the owners came in and bricked up the lower floor entrances. The commentary on the tour bus suggests that a revival is underway but I saw little evidence of same.
The original mines on the Witwatersrand are nearby. There are many displays and exhibits of mining equipment and processes. You can still see the piles of mine tailings in the inner city. With the dramatic increase in the value of gold over the last 20 years and the developments in processing techniques, the old tailings are being reworked to extract minute quantities of gold. It is a dangerous occupation due to the presence of cyanide it the original processing of the ore.

An interesting development recently has the the influx of Chinese business interests. The Chinese are investing considerable amounts of money in resource extraction and infrastructure development. Highways, ports and a new airport at Stellenbosch. If the road you are on is smooth and free from potholes chances are it was built by and is maintained by the Chinese. The highways are choked with fleets of trucks carrying tons of minerals, especially coal. Almost all of SA’s power is from coal fired plants spread out over the country side, especially to the south west of Joberg. There is even a plant within the city limits.
Along with the Chinese comes a massive influx of Chinese consumer goods. To get these to the public there are giant malls and marts concentrated in one area of the city. On Sunday we visited one such place. If you are in need of retail therapy theses are the places to get your fix. The China Mall we visited has over 500 shops and stores. Everything from electronics, furniture, luggage, clothing, shoes, household goods to cell phone accessories, perfumes, and the like. The Chinese invasion has also extended to automobiles. Apparently there are over 20 makes of Chinese imports. Names such as Chery, Haval and GWM ( Great Wall Motors) are very common sights. One of our Rotary hosts drives a seven year old GWM SUV diesel. Over 300,000 kms, great shape and runs very well.

So to cap our visit to Johannesburg off we had to visit this very famous steakhouse, Trumps Griil. Highly recommended by Vicki’s brother Brad who enjoyed it’s sumptuous menu when he would fly into O R Tambo International Airport, we had to try it. Located in the upscale business and shopping district of Sandton we sat down and chowed down on thick juicy steaks. I had a 600 gram rump steak, about 1.5 “ thick. Vicki a more modest 250 gram strip loin. We managed to take our time and eat it all.
We rolled into and out of our Uber at our hotel. Up early this morning for the 2 hour flight to Cape Town. We are here for the next week. I look forward to sharing the experiences of our last few days in South Africa.