Township tours in South Africa
 

I have seen many threads on Fodors about township tours. Being involved in township visits myself I have answered many mails on Fodors as well as privately to those who feel uncomfortable before embarking on one of these journeys. With that said I fully understand and appreciate why most people visiting my country will feel uncomfortable when doing these type of tours.

Today (Aug 19) Fred Khumalo, who is a respected journalist in South Africa, has published his views on township tours and I agree with him fully with what he has to say.

Please go to http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Columni...aspx?id=542751 where you will be able to read his thoughts. I do believe that his views are of importance to those wanting to visit townships while they are in SA. I say this because if you want to visit a township it is my opinion, just like Fred, that you either travel into a township so as to get right down to meeting the people in an unnanounced manner so as to share their culture with them as well as impart your culture to them with no one culture being better than the other. In the process you should start smelling as well as feeling what <b>real life</b> in a township is all about. If you are not prepared to experience all that is good and bad in a township then what I think Fred as well as I am saying is <b>DONT DO THIS JOURNEY.</b>

Fred is also saying that so called &quot;Zoo tours&quot; are an absolute no go zone and I could not agree with this more strongly than he states. There are however people who will visit SA who will do a township tour because it is one of the journeys that <i>&quot;has to be done&quot; </i> when visiting SA. Even though I have seen a huge sympathy by writers on this board to the fact that they want to avoid &quot;zoo tours&quot; I am quite sure that some folk who just want to go down the &quot;been there done that route&quot; frequent this board too and it is for this reason that I am suggesting that all who are thinking of this type of journey read Fred's article.

In addition to what Fred has said I would recommend that if you do a journey to a township try and do a <b>township visit</b> as opposed to a township tour. The difference is subtle in that the one journey is where you truly meet the people of a township whereas the other is one where you go to preset venues on a tourbus in a zoo like manner with a tour operator creaming off profits at the expense of the dignity of fellow South Africans.

I know that it is rare to find tour operators who offer &quot;the visit&quot; function however in Cape Town (I cant comment on other parts of SA as I dont know of any operators other than in Cape Town even though I am sure they exist in other parts of the country) I can suggest that one looks at Nthuseng tours (http://www.nthusengtours.co.za/)(try and travel with Nthuseng herself) as well as Nomvuyo's tours where Jenny Housdon provides and excellent visit to the township of Khayalitsha (http://www.nomvuyos-tours.co.za/index.shtml)

Another group that offers excellent, non zoo like experiences, is Ishabi ( http://www.ishabi.com/index.html)

Ishabi and Nomvuyo will also be able to help people with advice as to where to stay in townships if one wants to go through a total, real experience. As per Fred's article I would also highly recommend a township stay on a one or two night basis so as to find out what township life truly is about

I hope this helps those who are always in a quandry as to whether to do or not to do a township journey in SA.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r))nation of South Africa

Hi Selwyn

How is Cape Town ?

I have missed this forum I have been busy opening a restaurant and nightclub in Port Elizabeth to make sure there is somewhere for you to bring your visitors.

I work with Molo Tours who takes people on a visit or is it a tour to Walmer Township in P.E.

They visit an initation camp, a craft and community centre which would not exist if there were no visitors and on weekdays to a local school followed by dinner at the guides house.

The visitors get to see where most South African’s live the good parts and the bad.

In PE We also have Calabash tours with their Calabash Trust that has some great projects.

I think if you don’t visit a Township, you have not seen the real South Africa and with 80% unemployment in most of our Townships any form of income and employment is extremely welcome.

Thank you for sharing this article.

Hi Selwyn. I can tell everyone that reads on this board that the township tour that Selwyn took us to was one of the hightlights of our trip. I was not pretty, or exciting, but it was an amazingly moving experience.

The faces of the children with their smiles and laughter are still with me. If you have questions about townships just look at Selwyn's website and click on some of the township pictures and you will know that no trip to South Africa is compelte with an inside visit and not a tour is crucial.

We went to Kayamundi with Selwyn and to Soweto. In Soweto we took a tour in South Africa we saw the real life.

I cannot agree that the &quot;zoo&quot; thing is happening in Cape Town. Township tours are conducted by people from the townships. Therefore they decide the agenda.
Tour operators use vehicles from coach companies and people think that the coach company dictates the tour.

There are lots more fantastic companies who employ many, many guides who come from the townships. Companies like INKULULEKO TOURS, GRASS ROUTES, HYLTON ROSS TOURS, CAPE RAINBOW ETC.


I further suggest that peolple do a more complete cultural tour when visiting Cape Town. When you drive along the West Coast you will find a place called Khwa ttu!!
This is a place where you will engage the &quot;First People&quot; of South Africa. These are the Khoi and San people. They have been granted &quot;First Nation&quot; status in South Africa by the U.N.
This is probably the most &quot;threatened&quot; people group in South Africa. You will will also learn how these people have been disowned of their land (including diamond rich land)etc.

One thing I do not understand is why people feel the need to experience this side of SA. With so many beautiful places to see why someone who has travelled from the other side of the world feels the need to see a third-world slum is beyond me. THe people who live there are not &quot;all nice.&quot; They are dangerous and would not hesitate to kill someone they perceive as being a good potential target. Just a few weeks ago, someone was hiacked and murdered after dropping their maid off at a township close to Pretoria. One thing that Selwyn says that is true is that if you feel you have to do this then you need to go with a very reliable operator.

I agree that a tour of the township is in its essence a sanitised experience, wheras a visit that offers interaction is a down to earth exprience, but what is the purpose?

To return home having touched an African? Having seen and experienced utter poverty? To have looked into the hopefull eye of hopelesness? Or is it simply to have been where celebrated journalists have been, whose media we read and are influenced by, whose stories and pictures create awareness and awakening? I just don't get it.

If a visit (similar to a game reserve generates income that sustains the environment) contributes to the economy of the area and enriches the lives of the people you visit, then it gets my vote. If you as the traveller leave having made a difference while enriching yourself, then it again gets my vote. But if you are going in to wear the Noddy Badge of &quot;been there done that&quot; then, take Selwyns advise and stick to watching your TV.

I will add that an earlier poster has offered savvy advise: Go with caution, being a slum there are many low lives that will take yours for your money belt, watch or camera. It is NOT a safe environment for most and particularly the less street wise foreign traveller.

My last visit to Masakhane presented me with opportunities to buy used car stereos, cars, and even perlemoen by the KG.

I feel really fortunate to have been able to book and upcoming township visit with Selwyn. I feel it will be the educational highlight of my trip. See you in Nov.,Selwyn!

Dear Selwyn,

Who and what type of half day township VISIT would you recomend in the JNB area. We will be arriving midday for an overnight stop. Since we are only flying in from Madagascar no jet lag. So I would love to have a visit with the locals.

Any recomendedations are welcome.

Ilene

Ilene,

I wish I could help you but unfortunately I am not aufait with whose who on the Johannesburg township travel scene and can thus not make a recommendation to you.

Apologies that I cant help and hope that you do get sorted out in some way or other.

Julie, Looking forward to us meeting up in November.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r))nation of South Africa

spiegelcjs,

Unless I am mistaken, Selwyn would prefer you to say that you took a township visit, not a tour, with him.

Tuckeg

Just another reason I don't go on these township tours.

A group of 40 German travel agents were robbed at gunpoint in their bus in
Cape Town's Khayelitsha township on Wednesday night, SA Tourism said on
Thursday.

Two armed men stormed into the group's stationary tour bus and demanded that
passengers hand over their valuables and money, SA Tourism spokesperson
Shirley Motea said.

The travel agents, who are on a week-long educational visit to South Africa,
were in the country as guests of SA Tourism, she said in a statement.

&quot;The visitors had boarded the bus that was to move them from their afternoon
activities to dinner in Khayelitsha when at least two armed men allegedly
entered the bus and demanded ... valuables and money. No one was injured,&quot;
said Motea.

She said the group, which had been in Khayelitsha when the attack took
place, formed part of 300 German travel agent currently visiting South
Africa to &quot;learn more&quot; about the country &quot;in order to sell it more
effectively to German travellers&quot;.

&quot;All 300 delegates had been in Khayalitsha that afternoon but only one bus
was attacked,&quot; Motea said, adding the group's attackers fled.

This happened a couple years ago, but it was not an isolated incident.

In 2001 terrorists hijacked 3 planes. Do you no longer fly? Many banks get robbed each year. Is your money under a mattress, as a result? People get mugged in major cities all over the world. Should we all stay at home and just watch TV? Oops...home invasions happen.
Crime is a daily and very unfortunate part of most societies. We do need to be cautious. But do we miss out on educational, interesting, eye-opening opportunites as a result. I certainly hope not.

I fly because planes don't crash everyday. And the flight safety record is not growing worse every year as opposed to South Africa crime stats . And the pilots are stripped of their license so they can't fly again, whereas the crooks, murders, rapists and the lot often are released to commit crimes in SA again.

So why would one seek out to travel into 'the heart of darkness' and think they will be immune?

And these home invasions that you speak of. They often just don't rob. Oh, they are some of the most perverted people that ever walked the planet. If that happened just about anyplace else in the world as often as it does in SA, the military would be out in force.

But, I don't care what you do. Its just that some people don't present the other side of the coin when talking of the townships. I believe that people(targets or potential victims) should be aware of the risks.

As far as putting my money under a mattress, what a quaint idea. The federal gov't protects my deposits, so I really don't care if my bank is the only bank in the USA that gets robbed everyday and twice on Friday.

julienk,

Blondie has a point. There are places in my beautiful, peaceful city that I will not venture. But I continue to fly and don't put my money under the mattress :)

But his point is flawed. Why else would he drag up a two-year old event, not mention how dated it was until the end, then excuse that by telling us it was not an isolated incident? Probably it wasn't, but where's the report of a more recent incident, which surely must be required? (blondie has a strange news sense, as I have discovered in the past). I'm sure there must be plenty of incidents to recount, just as there are in my hometown (sometimes described as the kinky murder capital of Australia). I guess he'll now go looking for one.

But it won't stop me doing a township tour next year for the reasons you (julienk) give. Not one of Selwyn's &quot;visits&quot;, because although I appreciate his point, I go to Africa for the wildlife and nature, and have only mild interest in things such as human culture and little time to devote to that. Nothing against South Africa, Selwyn...human habitats would be at the bottom of my list in any country.

John

Laguna92698,

You are correct when you say that all sides of a situation should be reported such as the event that you have published on this board about the German tour operators who visited a township and were mugged. What you seem to have forgotten to mention in the report is that the event took place about a year ago and is old news and forgotten about because since then there has not been another incident of the same magnitude anywhere in SA.

In terms of offering both sides of the story, immaterial of what you say regarding plane hijackings, dont you think that every eticket that you obtain should then have a warning saying &quot;your plane could be hijacked and we wont take responsibility&quot; written on it. After all hijackings do take place and it is the so called other side of the story. Personally I dont believe this is necessary because it becomes a case of the amount of hijackings relative to flights flown are miniscule.

Now lets relate this to township tours or visits as I like to call what I do. I have done close onto 500 tours in my life as a tourguide of which most involve a township journey and I have not had one incident happen at all in close onto ten years. Furthermore there have been I dont know how many 1000's of these township journeys done over the past 10 years by many other tour guides and operators yet the amount of people affected by reported crime in these places are relative to the amount of people who participate vs crimes committed less than a minuscule of a percent. So what’s the difference between an airplane hijacking or a township visit in SA?

Let me tell you where I see the difference between the average visitor to SA and some of those writing on this board. Its call wanderlust and if you dont know what this means go look it up in a dictionary. In this world there are those who have the wanderlust to accept airplane hijacking or so called township crime statistics or whatever but travel nonetheless basing their travels on &quot;watching their back&quot; and you know what they generally all live to tell the tale; then you have those who dig out a single newspaper report and scare not only from the content but generally from their own shadow too. These type of reports result in them losing their wanderlust. The Fodors Africa travel forum seems to be made of people who love to travel and by far they all seem to have wanderlust or should I say &quot;Africalust&quot; -:). Then there are some people who remain permanent doomsayers who have full rights to be on this board too. Needless to say their attitude is somewhat different to the first group I spoke of. It all comes down to what side of the line you fall on and what you then take cognizance of whether it be a township visit or anything else. I fall into the category of unless their is an official warning sent out by the LOCAL community I travel wherever I possibly can as long as my pocket allows me to do this no matter what the doomsayers predict (which I might add never seems to happen) :). I will NOT lose my wanderlust! You on the other hand might feel differently and you have full rights to do so. I think you should do yourslef a favour and go and look back at your writings on this board so as to see whether you generally fall onto the negative or positive side of travel i.e whether you have or dont have wanderlust or to be more specific to this board africalust. ;-)

Makes one think does it not!

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r))nation of South Africa

My point was not that crime doesn't happen in SA. I would not be foolish enough to wander in a township alone....just as I would not wander in parts of LA, NYC, Paris, Rome,etc, alone.
To base my traveling decisions on an incident, however scary, dangerous and outrageous, that happened once, several years ago, doesn't make sense to me. Even if it was a current event, I would go but be extra cautious.

To avoid traveling to places that have high crime rates, would limit my destinations, dramatically. I don't want others to dictate my options to me.

I am a novice traveler, when it comes to SA, which is why we are putting ourselves into the hands of guides with good reputations. I am careful not to wear good jewelery, flash money and I keep close watch on my purse and my surroundings, wherever I travel.

I appreciate being warned of dangers in Capetown. We will take precautions. But we fully intend to enjoy, learn and soak in the culture and beauty. Seeing a township seems to be the best way to understand how much of the population lives. I don't want my visit to be in a big busload of people, staring out at the inhabitants which is why I am thrilled to have discovered Selwyn on this site.

julienk,

You certainly have wanderlust and it seems as if you are very rapidly developing africalust too. :) Cant wait for Nov 5.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r))nation of South Africa

afrigalah

I choose that particular one because of the irony of having a bus load of TAs robbed in a township on tour

laguna92688

HUGE APOOLIGIES. The mail that I addressed to you in this thread Re (wanderlust) was meant to be addressed to Luangwablondes. My apologies. With that said you might as well read it anyway as some of the content does pertain to some of your writings too.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r))nation of South Africa