#Tours

My quest to visit all the places in the Hidden Johannesburg book – which began with my pilgrimage to the Lemon Squeezer Church and then a [visit to the Lions Shul](http://lions shul) – continues. I recently went to Glenshiel, a historic mansion designed by renowned architect Herbert Baker, on a tour with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. This brings my total number of Hidden Joburg places to 17, with 11 left to go.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Gail and I went on a walking tour of art galleries in Rosebank with Thabo the Tourist. I had never met Thabo before, but I was excited to do his tour because Thabo the Tourist is such a catchy name for a guide. (The “h” in Thabo is silent, for those of you not from South Africa, so the alliteration is strong.)

On Saturday morning, I hosted a jacaranda walk through Rosebank with Johannesburg In your Pocket and the Radisson RED Johannesburg.

The jacaranda blossoms aren’t peaking yet in most of Joburg’s inner suburbs. There’s some speculation this could be an off-year or, more worryingly, that Joburg’s jacarandas might finally be reaching the end of their life spans. But my unfounded panic last year – which turned out to be a great jacaranda year despite a late-ish start – taught me not to count the jacarandas out too soon.

Last weekend I did something I used to do all the time but haven’t done for ages: An art and graffiti walk through downtown Joburg. The walk was hosted by Goethe-Institut Südafrika and a group of Joburg graffiti artists, led by Dr. Foodz.

Last weekend I was invited to attend Honest Travel’s inaugural “Organic Vegan Experience” tour in downtown Joburg. We met in the afternoon at the Windybrow Theatre in Hillbrow and meandered around town until nightfall, visiting various urban gardens and greenhouses. Then we enjoyed a vegan meal at a surprise location overlooking the city skyline.

Last weekend I attended my second #SpazaShopTour of Katlehong and Thokoza (see my post about the first tour), and visited the Thokoza Memorial for the first time. The Thokoza Memorial, opened in 1999, honors the people who died in this area during the violent political conflict in the years leading up to South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.