Originally there were only temporary living quarters for the mine workers, before Soweto was declared a ghetto for the black population of Johannesburg by the infamous “Urban Areas Act” in 1923. Although the government had a housing program to build hundreds of thousands of plain two-room houses here, the illegal squatter camps kept on growing and spreading.

Still Soweto is by no means only an accumulation of tin shacks. There are also better suburbs and a number of well functioning social institutions like schools and hospitals. The main impression though is that crowding and poverty, and Tour Guides often refer to it as the ‘Good, the Bad and the Ugly’. The home that Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela shared is based in Soweto.

‘By using bicycles we easily move between the various neighborhoods making it easy to experience life and culture and to interact with people and at the same time learning about Soweto’s rich history….Visit the formal migrant workers’ hostel and be introduced to conditions of male mine workers and meet the families that live here today. Cycle through the vibrant community of Meadowlands, and continue to the Hector Pieterson Memorial, the historical landmark of the 1976 student’s uprising, proceed to the famous Vilakazi street where Nelson Mandela used to live. Cycle back to Lebo’s (backpackers) where we invite you to taste our home brewed beer learning more about African customs and traditions.

Lunch is served at our “Outdoor Restaurant” with seating in the community park.