mlhall

I visited South Africa and Mozambique in late March of this year and didn't encounter any overt racism. I met black, white and coloured South Africans and didn't feel any racial animus. However, it was interesting (and slightly disturbing) to view some of the prejudices that some tribes (Pedi, Ndebele) hold about other tribes (Xhosa, Zulu). It was also fascinating (and equally disturbing) to visit the Apartheid Museum in Jo'burg. I would also recommend the Hector Pieterson museum in Soweto.

MissingMN

Yes, we certainly have the Apartheid Museum and Museum Africa on our itinerary. We will also tour Soweto, and in Cape Town, visit Robben Island. A trip to South Africa would, for us, be incomplete without a look at the complex cultural history found there.
What did you like about the Pieterson museum?

caribtraveler

Wow MissingMN. Interesting combination with your parents. Love that.

Judy_in_Calgary

MissingMN, since it sounds as if you're interested in South Africa's society and history, you might enjoy one of Selwyn Davidowitz's small, personalized tours of Cape Town's Kayamandi Township.

Selwyn has provided many tips on Cape Town, the winelands and the Garden Route here at Fodors. His website is

http://www.ilovecapetown.com

His photo gallery includes a May 2004 outing that Kavey, Uhoh_Busted, AlisonC and their spouses (and Alison's kids) took with him.

http://www.ilovecapetown.com/tours/fodors/fodors.htm

These photos appeared fine to me the previous couple of times that I viewed them, but I notice that, on the monitor I'm using at present, they're very dark, so I probably have to crank up the light setting.

I don't know with whom you will be touring Soweto. I once did a tour of Soweto in a big bus with I forget how many other passengers. It was not at all personal. I think a tour of a South African township, be it Soweto or any other township, would be much more meaningful if one was part of a small tour group, led by someone who was personally acquainted with local residents. Selwyn's volunteer work in Kayamandi has earned him the kind of rapport that not every tour operator has.

uhoh_busted

Having visited the wonderful people in Kayamandi with Selwyn, I really suggest you see if you can arrange to spend a day with him -- I suspect if he is available when you are in town it will probably cost you less than you'd pay for a "canned" tour available through a hotel concierge service and far and away more personal an experience. After visiting Kayamandi, we really had a different impression of the townships and their place in the history and future of South Africa. It totally

uhoh_busted

gee, I just love getting cut off mid-thought...

It totally changed my whole understanding of what South Africa is "about" and reinforced my tendencies to believe that if we work together we can achieve wonderful things.