Three Perfect Days: A trip to Johannesburg

Johannesburg is 600 square miles, so there’s no way to see it all in one day. But we’re going to try to do as much as we can. First up is Soweto, a township created in the 1930s when the government began separating Black residents from white ones. Also known as “a city within a city,” Soweto has everything from red slate-roofed homes, to barbershops in tents and goats for sale on the side of the road.

The Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto honors the more than 170 students killed in the 1976 Soweto Uprising. This event started as an organized, peaceful protest by students who wanted classes in their own language, but it suddenly turned into violence. The museum is filled with photos, oral testimonies and historical documents.

Also in Soweto is the Mandela House. Now a museum, this two-room structure was originally where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 until he was imprisoned in 1962. Also near Soweto is the Apartheid Museum, which opened 10 years after apartheid ended. Inside there are works symbolizing political prisoners executed by the government, photographs of the reality inside Black classrooms during this timeperiod and artifacts from protests.

After taking in the history of Joburg and South Africa, it’s time to see its creative hub. In Maboneng (a neighborhood downtown) you can go on a street art tour with One Day Africa. There’s art of Black freedom fighters, of King Goodwill Zwelithini (the late monarch of the Zulu nation) and of pop singer Simphiwe Dana by the artist Dbongz.

For food throughout your day of museums and walking tours you have a few options: Proud Mary inside the voco Johannesburg has modern eats like oxtail croquettes and lamb kofta. For a fancier meal, Les Créatifs turns South African ingredients and French inspiration into a fine dining experience.

For your stay on day one, head to the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa in Sandton. Past guests include Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela. Mandela stayed there to finish his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, after being released from prison in 1990.

Head to Kruger National Park via a short, 75-minute flight on a nine-seater prop plane. Where you land depends on which safari you booked. We recommend &Beyond Ngala Safari Lodge. Ngala is a 37,000-acre privatized game reserve within Kruger National Park’s 4.9 million acres.

Before heading out to see the animals, you have to go through orientation first. Then you’ll be loaded onto a Land Cruiser with a driver and a spotter looking for animals. When you go on safari there’s usually one specific animal your group looks for, but those plans can change depending on a lot of factors like weather, prey and predators, and migration patterns.

The most common animals you come across on safari in South Africa are lesser-known than the big cats: wildebeests, kudu, Southern yellow-billed hornbills, impala, warthogs, zebras, elephants, giraffes and hyenas. Another thing worth looking at on safari? The night sky. The stars light up the dark just as much as the moon.

Safari isn’t all about driving around and looking at animals, though. You also stop for cocktails, or sundowners. Try a glass of Amarula, a South African cream liqueur made from the fruit of the marula tree.

Also, meals are all provided by your safari. So, you’ll get the chance to sample local favorites from top-notch chefs. They also provide your accommodations for as long as you’re in the bush.

Ngala’s wake-up call is early, 5:30 am. The sun is still creeping up over the savanna and this is your chance to catch sight of some animals early. African wild dogs, one of the world’s most endangered animals, and the lions of Ngala (also known as the Birmingham Pride) both tend to be up at dawn. The Birmingham Pride has a pride male, several females and cubs (including three rare white lions).

Before heading to the village your guide may invite you to take part in an antelope dung spitting contest. And they’re not joking, it’s a real thing. There’s even a world championship. The rules are pretty simple: the farthest spitter, wins.

Nearby &Beyond is the Shangaan village of Welverdiend. There are several shops, but one is a craft market where 14 women make jewelry (including brightly colored necklaces made from telephone cords), carved wooden animals and more.

You can also see a rhythmic, acrobatic muchongoyo dance performance. One man plays drums, while a dozen boys and young men in traditional attire stomp and clap and kick their feet high in the air.

For your final night’s stay you can book &Beyond’s Treehouse. It’s 4-stories, solar powered and has a retractable roof giving you a good look at the stars. You’ll enjoy the stillness and silence, interrupted only by the occasional sounds of animals.