Val is the first stop in my #10SouthAfricanTowns campaign, for which I’m visiting ten small towns across South Africa in 2020.
After months of talking about it, my #10SouthAfricanTowns campaign has finally begun. I visited Val, a tiny hamlet in Mpumalanga province, on the third weekend in January.
The moment I saw the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation announce this tour – even before I read the description – I signed up.
Last week I did an all-day tour of Soweto with Eenblond Tours. “Eenblond” means “a blonde” in Afrikaans, which makes sense because that’s exactly what Gilda Swanepoel is.
Gilda and I are kindred spirits – we’re the same age and our life stories have many parallels. Gilda spent lots of time traveling solo around southern Africa and used to write a travel blog. She loves getting to know Joburg’s people and cultures in a very intimate way. I’d been meaning to take one of her tours forever and she does lots of different ones, around Joburg and all over South Africa. But I was particularly keen to go to Soweto with Gilda.
Eighth in an occasional blog series called This Is the East, about hidden spots on Johannesburg’s East Rand. This edition features the Deliciously Greek Coffee Shop and Deli, a cheese shop and Greek grocery store/deli in Elandsfontein.