Destination: South Africa

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: The Road to Freedom

Following in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters provides an excellent overview of recent South African history.



There are far too many names and sites to list here, but an essential introduction is Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated for so long, together with Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) founder Robert Sobukwe. Nearby in Paarl is Victor Verster Prison (now known as Drakenstein Prison), from where Mandela walked to freedom.

The Eastern Cape was the birthplace of some of the anti-apartheid struggle’s most famous figures, including Sobukwe, whose house in Graaff-Reinet’s Umasizakhe township can be visited; Oliver Tambo (born in Pondoland); Govan Mbeki; Walter Sisulu; Chris Hani; and of course Mandela. Eastern Cape also has the moving Mandela Museum; Qunu (Mandela’s boyhood home and current residence) tiny Mveso village (his birthplace) ; plus the University of Fort Hare near Alice, where Mandela, Sobukwe, Tambo, Hani, Steve Biko and many others studied. Just outside King William’s Town is Ginsberg cemetery, with Steve Biko’s gravesite.

From Eastern Cape, head to Soweto, passing near Sharpeville, site of the Sharpeville Massacre, en route. It was in Soweto that the African National Congress (ANC) resistance to apartheid reached its fullest voice. The ANC’s Freedom Charter was declared in Soweto’s Kliptown (Freedom) Square, and the Soweto Uprising was ignited here (at Orlando West Secondary School on Vilikazi St). It was also to Soweto that Mandela and Sisulu returned after being released from prison, and where many other ANC activists lived. The excellent Hector Pieterson Museum gives a good overview of the history of the independence struggle, plus insights into life in Soweto. Nearby is Regina Mundi Church, a central rallying point in the apartheid struggle and, later, the site of several Truth and Reconciliation Committee hearings.

In Johannesburg, you can see the law office Mandela shared with Oliver Tambo (on Fox St, just off Ghandi Square), City Hall, and various jails, including the notorious Old Fort. Museum Africa is a worthwhile stop for its exhibit on the infamous 1956–61 Treason Trials, in which Mandela testified. It was in Pretoria’s Palace of Justice that the Rivonia Trial was held in which Mandela, Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and five others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Travelling to South Africa?
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