‘Just’ in Jozi? Here are five things to do over the Easter weekend

1) VISIT THE RAND SHOW 

Cancelled by Covid-19 since 2020, the Rand Show is back and it’s on now until April 18 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. Time-honoured traditions will be maintained, so expect all those product exhibitions and things to buy, plus a beer garden, old school carnival rides, train rides, a go-karting track and food, food, food.

Extra-special events include a Motocross FMX Activation, dog shows, brass-band parades  and helicopter flips. Fancy a selfie at the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower? For the first time, the show will feature a “Travel Experience” featuring sculptures of landmarks from around the world.

A music festival will feature some of SA’s best-known artists, including the Ndlovu Youth Choir, who will perform on April 16 at 3pm. There will also be a reality cooking competition. 

Organisers say it has been designed to go down as the best Rand Show in the past few decades, but note you will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to enter. 

• Open daily 9am—7pm. Tickets are R95 for adults, R60 for pensioners and children aged three to 12. R170 includes access to the music festival. Book online or get tickets at the door. 

2) MARKET IN THE GARDEN

A green oasis in Johannesburg, the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort offers a welcome reprieve from bustling streets and overcrowded buildings — just what you need if you’re staying home over the Easter weekend.

Adding to the allure of a stroll through nature, the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens presents Market in the Gardens this Easter weekend. Held at the Walter Sisulu Imbizo Training Centre, visitors are invited to enjoy live music and stalls selling local products over three days.

Once you’ve made your rounds, explore the park, take a walk to the top of the waterfall and enjoy a picnic on the lawns of gourmet food and craft drinks straight from the market.

• The market will be open from 9am to 5pm from Saturday April 16 to 18. Entrance to Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens costs R70 for adults, R40 for students and R20 for children six years and older. Children under six enter for free. Entrance to the market is free but space is limited so it’s advisable to book a ticket through Quicket. A booking fee of R5 per adult will apply.

3) RIDE THE RED BUS

If you live in Jozi, chances are you’ve never experienced the city like a tourist. Ever stood on the “Roof of Africa” viewing deck at the Carlton Centre or admired the flame of democracy that constantly burns at Constitution Hill? These are just two of several experiences offered by Jo’burg’s City Sightseeing bus. 

Even if you’ve lived in Jo’burg your entire life, you are likely to learn something interesting with stops at more than 20 top attractions and narrators who touch on the entire history of the city, from its inception to the so-called melting pot that it is today.

For an additional fee, you can opt for a two-hour Soweto tour extension which passes the colourful Orlando Towers, the FNB Stadium, the Hector Pietersen Memorial and the famous Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world in which two Nobel prize winners have lived.

Tours start from the City Sightseeing office at The Zone in Rosebank, from where you will be led to the bus. Sightseers then embark on one of two loops: the green route, which winds through Jo’burg’s leafy suburbs; or the red route, which stretches from Constitution Hill through the gritty inner-city.

• A one-day hop-on, hop-off ticket is on special for R199 per adult and R100 per child. A special family ticket, available for South Africans only, is R519 for two adults and two children aged five to 17. Only available online. Multi-day options are also available, as are specials for students, pensioners and online bookings. Visit the City Sightseeing website here.

4) CONTEMPLATE OUR HISTORY

A little over a year ago, the Apartheid Museum announced it was temporarily closing its doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Having sold few tickets the year before during SA’s hard lockdown, and having had to let its permanent staff go, it seemed a real possibility the museum might close its doors permanently.

For this reason, the announcement by the museum that it will again open at of the beginning of this month was welcome.

A rich cultural and historical landmark, the Apartheid Museum illustrates in detail the rise and fall of apartheid, but it does so in no ordinary terms.

The space demands attention, from your first step into the museum and as you make your way through an interactive exhibit that serves as the entrance, through the emotive displays, panels with detailed information, moving film footage and photographs and items of historical importance on display throughout the museum.

To see the permanent exhibition, Mandela exhibition and temporary exhibitions, you will need to put aside at least two hours for your visit but you can easily spend half a day exploring all the facets of this historically rich and well-executed space.

• The Apartheid Museum is open Thursdays to Sundays and public holidays from 9am to 5pm, except on Good Friday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Tickets are available at the door and cost R150 for adults and R100 for students, pensioners and children.

5) DRIVE INTO THE SUN

If the adults in the family are up for a drive, a quick breakaway to the Sun City Resort near Rustenburg might be just the thing. After all, it was named Africa’s Leading Family Resort in the 2021 World Travel Awards. 

Leave early, but just over two hours’ driving will get you to this “surf and safari’ Shangri-La, which abounds with adventure for the family. 

Special events over the Easter weekend? There’s a photo opportunity with the Easter bunny and his helper from April 15 to 18 at Sun Central and on April 16 there will be three Easter egg hunts on the lawns at the Cabanas Hotel, which got a refurb during lockdown.

There is also much to do for both day visitors and guests at the hotels, including taking on the 2m-high waves and myriad slides at the Valley of Waves; Segway tours; ziplining over a 2km-long slide; quad biking; golf; and getting “lost” in The Maze of the Lost City (one of the largest permanent mazes in the southern hemisphere).

At the man-made Waterworld lake, enjoy parasailing, jet-skiing, wake boarding, water-skiing and more, or, for total relaxation, enjoy a sundowner cruise.

The resort has more than 30 eateries and, if you want to stay on, there is a wide range of accommodation: the three-star Cabanas Hotel, the four-star Soho Hotel (formerly the Sun City Hotel); and the five-star Cascades and The Palace of the Lost City. Another option is the self-catering Sun Vacation Club.

• Day visitors pay R395 per adult and R290 for children aged three to 12. For last minute accommodation, check here.