Even though I’ve toured the Soweto area of the Johannesburg metropolis before, today was the first time I’ve had the time to visit the Apartheid Museum. Before jumping off to our safari in Botswana, I took most of my group over there as part of our larger city tour. It is incredibly well done, exhaustive, and very moving. We could easily have spent all day there. As informed as I might I thought I was while the events were unfolding, none of us had any idea exactly how far-reaching the system was, and how prolonged and complex the unraveling process was.

We were not allowed to photograph in the museum itself, but the attached photograph shows the spooky entrance design – an echo of the prisons used to hold many Africans who protested. The feeling of isolation is amplified by separate “white” and “non-white” labeled entrances (ticketholders are randomly assigned to one group or the other) with plenty of authentic signage recreating part of a past that South Africa has worked to put behind it.

As a special treat, there was also a Nelson Mandela exhibit at the museum. His amazing leadership, patience and tolerance were definitely instrumental in the ultimately peaceful transition to a true democracy in South Africa. I highly recommend spending a few hours here if you’re ever in this part of the world. Now off to Botswana for the critters…