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Zandile Dhlamini, Product Owner
 


Soweto Zantha Tours

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Gatecrashing a wedding is not something most tourists include in their plans – but if you book a weekend tour with Soweto Zantha Tours, that is precisely one of the experiences you can expect.

Founded in 2007 by school friends Zandile Dhlamini and Nthato Korolosi, Soweto Zantha specialises in giving clients meaningful interaction with the people of Soweto. As Zandile says: “We let you see Soweto through our eyes, through the eyes of proud Sowetans.
“I love being an ambassador for my country and for Soweto,” smiles Zandile. “We have so much to show visitors but at Soweto Zantha we believe it’s the people that leave a lasting impression on visitors.”

The business packages half-day, full-day or evening tours to clients’ precise requirements, for groups of anything between two and 60. A tour might take in the sprawling Thokoza Park (recently voted one of the best parks in Africa) or even be themed around birding. Regular stops include the Regina Mundi Catholic Church – just around the corner from the Soweto Zantha offices – Freedom Square, where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955, and the Hector Pieterson Museum recalling the bloody student riots of 1976 that shook the apartheid government to its foundations.

Another stop popular with clients is the Orlando Towers, the cooling towers of the Orlando Power Station, now disused apart from the “vertical adventure experience” created there in 2008. More adventurous visitors can enjoy a power swing – the only such swing between two cooling towers anywhere in the world – while everyone can take in the breathtaking 360 degree views of Soweto and Johannesburg from 100m above the ground.

A tour distinct to Soweto Zantha tours will include interaction with a troupe of drummers, in which tourists can hear and experience top-class drumming, while picking up some tips themselves. Often the business hires a local hall, for Ubuhle Besintu cultural show, to experience the various multi cultural diversity of Soweto through a 50 minutes breathtaking theatrical performance, to relax tourists after they visit the Hector Pieterson which, Zandile says, “usually leaves them a bit emotional”.

A visit to a local sangoma (traditional healer) offers a fascinating glimpse into the traditions and beliefs of many Sowetans – and perhaps a glimpse into the visitor’s future.

A regular pitstop is to an informal roadside diner where meat is braaied for patrons who might or might not be employed but who seem to have all the time in the world to swap gossip and jokes.
Zandile, 31, was working at a Johannesburg based Advertising Agency when she realised that she “wanted to work with people and have my destiny in my own hands”.

She and Nthato are relatively newcomers to the business but are determined to be the best (and hopefully the biggest) at what they do. “After we came into tourism TEP have really helped us with skills development,” says Zandile. “Through the training we’ve learnt a lot about marketing, about what tourism actually is, and just understanding the industry better.”
The Soweto Cluster, she predicts, will help Soweto Zantha “reach many people we could never reach”.

Is she excited about the Fifa 2010 Football World Cup being held at two stadiums either in or very close to Soweto? “Of course we are but what I’m really excited about is what happens after 2010. We expect that many people are going to come to South Africa, wish that they had seen more, and come back. And when they go home they’re going to tell their friends all about South Africa and about Soweto.”

The thing most visitors to Soweto tell their families and friends about the township is the friendliness of the locals. “The attitude of Sowetans is that their home is your home,” says Zandile. “Visitors are honoured and everyone wants to welcome them.”

That welcoming attitude even extends to events like weddings. Zandile explains that a normal Soweto wedding takes at least two days, with a church and a traditional wedding. Festivities usually start at the home of the groom’s parents and end at the house of the bride’s mother and father. In between it is impossible to restrict the celebrations to just a few invited family and friends. Almost always the whole street gets invited and Sowetans take the view that “if they invite 500 people they can expect 1,000 so they might as well cater for that many”.

And if a few visitors from outside the township happen to drop by, they’ll be as welcome as anyone, especially if they’re with Soweto Zantha Tours.
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