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    Attractions

Attractions in Sandton and Johannesburg

Sandton City/Sandton Square

The Sandton City/Sandton Square complex provides throngs of visitors with luxury and utility shopping, cinemas and numerous restaurants. It is also home to the highly successful Liberty Theatre on the Square. Other important upmarket malls, each with a wide range of restaurants, are found in Rosebank, Hyde Park and Killarney, all of which also have cinema complexes. Hyde Park has an Imax cinema. Smaller centres and individual venues are found throughout the area. A few blocks along the main road of Norwood have become a major restaurant and entertainment strip.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg, also nicknamed Egoli (place of gold), is the capital of the Gauteng. Here, mine dumps stand firmly as symbols of its rich past, while modern architecture rubs shoulders with examples of 19th-century engineering prowess.

Gleaming skyscrapers contrast with Indian bazaars and African 'muti' (medicine) shops, where traditional healers dispense advice and traditional medicine. The busy streets ring out with the call of fruit sellers and street vendors. An exciting blend of ethnic and Western art and cultural activities is reflected in theatres and open-air arenas, throughout the city.

Soweto

Soweto is the largest black city in Africa, the city has a population numbering an estimated 4.5 million; it has the largest general hospital in the southern hemisphere. Other attractive sights are residences of famous anti-apartheid activists. Just a few kilometers drive from Diepkloof, you arrive at Orlando, the first township of Soweto. Here, you can visit Nelson Mandela's first house which is a popular tourist attraction. Mandela stayed here before he was imprisoned in 1961. You can also have a glimpse of the mansion belonging to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in an affluent part of Orlando West. Archbishop Desmond Tutu's house, the Sisulu residence and the Hector Pieterson memorial museum are in the same neighbourhood. The museum offers a detailed account of the events of 1976, including visuals and eye-witness accounts.

The Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid: The racially prejudiced system that blighted much of its progress and the triumph of reason which crowned half a century of struggle.

The Museum has been assembled and organized by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, film-makers, historians and designers. An architectural consortium comprising several leading architectural firms conceptualized the design of the museum on a seven-hectare site. The museum is a superb example of design, space and landscape offering the international community a unique South African experience.

The Rhino And Lion Nature Reserve

The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve is set in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, west of Johannesburg. This private game boasts more than 600 animals, the more than 30 species in the reserve include buffalo, lion, white rhino, wild dog, cheetah, hippo, crocodile and more than 20 antelope species The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve has a breeding centre where visitors can learn about the reserve's efforts to preserve endangered species. Among its successful breeding programs is that of the wild dog, which saw the reserve expand the program to include Bengal and Siberian tigers and the white lion. You can visit the snake and reptile park, go on game drives, night drives and horse trails.

Sporting Grounds And Golf Courses

There is no shortage of sporting grounds and golf courses. Well-patronised facilities include the Johannesburg Country Club in the far north of the region, and the Houghton Golf Course towards the south. Wanderers is a cricket mecca of international fame.

Montecasino

To the north, a major recent addition to the region's attractions has been the Tuscany-styled Montecasino centre with its casino, luxury hotel, restaurants and cinemas.

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