It’s 6pm and we finally arrive in Soweto. We’ve been travelling since 4pm in typical Johannesburg peak-hour traffic. Each time we pull away we think to ourselves, this is it, we’re free… only to see that further down the road cars are backed up again.

“That wasn’t too bad,” our guide says afterwards. “We must have just missed the after-work rush.” She’s pulling our legs, of course, but she assures us the traffic is not always this bad.

The streets of Soweto are busy too, busy even though it is already dark. People are walking home. Taxis are disgorging passengers. Young children are kicking soccer balls or are standing around braziers chatting to friends. The scenes that play out aren’t exactly typical of life in the suburbs.

If you live in the ’burbs you probably drive home, alone in your car, stop off at the local Spar perhaps, but when you arrive home you go inside and shut the door on the world outside. You don’t interact with your neighbours or stop off to find out what’s going on in the lives of the families around you.

That’s not the case in Soweto. Life here is about community. Everyone talks to everyone else. The intimate close-knit character of the place is obvious. You see it the minute you arrive. That’s all very good and well, but what about crime?

That’s one of my first questions to Nombeko Rwaxa, head of the Soweto Bed & Breakfast Association, and an obvious issue with a ‘tourist’.

“There is crime in Soweto, without doubt,” says Nombeko. “But the morning after something happens everyone knows who the culprit is. People are aware of what is going on around them. The community looks after each other.”

Soweto (an acronym for South Western Townships) lies just southwest of Johannesburg city and is made up of approximately 30 townships, and, according to the 2001 Census, about 900 000 people.

Don’t come here expecting to find five-star hotels and gourmet restaurants. The places to visit for both food and accommodation are private homes that have been converted into restaurants or accommodation establishments by enterprising families who see giving up their personal spaces to tourists as a source of income. It’s a business, like any other.

"Don’t look for underdone fillet drizzled in a red wine reduction"

But for the visitor, the difference is it gives you a way of discovering the sense of the place, what makes it tick. You get the opportunity to meet and see people going about their everyday lives. You witness them in the context of their community, their work and home lives. It’s not something put on especially for tourists, which is what one so often finds overseas where hotels in glass towers shield you from the everyday lives of the people who live there.

There’s no pretension in Soweto. Don’t look for underdone fillet drizzled in a red wine reduction. The food is meat, starch and veggies—plain, simple and wholesome. It’s how the people eat, and the chefs take pride in how they cook and present their fares.

Depending on where you are in Soweto the streets can look very different. It ranges from crowded squatter camps to plush Orlando West—the ‘Beverly Hills’ of the area — and everything in between. The Baragwanath taxi rank sees over 2000 taxis a day and wherever you go there’s the sound of another taxi hooter or the wave of yet another hustling street vendor.

The Johannesburg Property Company has set up the Orlando Ekhaya project that aims to create a place where people can work, shop and be entertained, without having to travel northwards. They are proposing a R400-million shopping and entertainment mecca, as well as recreational facilities, business nodes, and hotel and conference facilities. They hope to change the way people view Soweto and they want to develop about 90 000m² of land that will also include agriculture projects, wetland conservation areas and parks. Everywhere Soweto is being restored, and many other upcoming projects also promise upliftment.

"Your guests have arrived"

We make our way to Masakeng Pub & Grill, in Mofolo, for a traditional meal in a not-so-traditional pub. The owner, Godfrey Mautloa, overwhelms us with a sumptuous dinner. It’s typical: a vast array of barbecued chicken, ribs, steak, boerewors and pap, mushrooms, salsa, cheesy spinach and spicy atchar. It’s hearty and delicious.

We chat around the fire and when it’s time to retire we head for our B&B, Nthateng, in Orlando West. No one hears us knocking on the door but a neighbour sees us and quickly steps in. He opens the door and yells inside.

“Your guests have arrived.” We are welcomed warmly by the host and are impressed with our accommodation — a family home converted into a B&B. Everything is neatly laid-out and fully fitted. There’s all one needs for a good night’s rest: clean sheets, clean towels, soap, heaters, all the mod cons. And breakfast the next morning is fit for Nelson himself.

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