apartheid story. Private transfers are provided from your hotel to the Museum and back. Your guide will accompany you on your walk through the various exhibits, or you are welcome to experience the Museum on your own.

This tour provides the visitor with an opportunity to take an in-depth look at South Africa’s turbulent past. We first travel across Johannesburg to the south of the city to visit the Apartheid Museum (closed on Mondays!), which opened its doors in 2002. Here visitors embark on a historical voyage of discovery, a personal exploration of the past that examines the story of apartheid right up to the first democratic elections held in 1994. The tour of the museum lasts approximately two hours. We then continue to the Constitution Hill precinct, bordered by the inner-city neighbourhoods of Braamfontein and Hillbrow. It is here that South Africa’s new Constitutional Court opened in March 2004. The new court building is, most appropriately, established on the site of the Johannesburg Fort, built as a fortress in 1898 and later converted to one of the country’s most notorious prisons – popularly known as “Number Four”. The Fort closed its doors in 1983. Your visit here includes the museum that has been established in the old prison and will bring home the significance of this development and what it means for the future of Johannesburg.

Our tour is designed to give first-time visitors to Johannesburg an overall impression of "Egoli" - the City of Gold, South Africa’s commercial and financial capital. We first take a look around the northern suburbs, then continue to the hustle and bustle of Hillbrow and Braamfontein, home to the Constitutional Court of South Africa. We drive through the downtown area to the Carlton Centre, for a view of the city from the enclosed deck on the 50th floor. Onward to Soweto (South Western Township), largest black residential area in South Africa, where we see a fascinating contrast to Rosebank and Sandton in the north. This sprawling “city within a city” is home to approximately 2-million people, many of whom work in various parts of the greater metropolitan area of the Witwatersrand. Our tour includes all the major points of interest, such as Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Baragwanath taxi rank, Freedom Square, Hector Pieterson Memorial and Nelson Mandela’s former home.

Cycle through historical landmarks of the 1976 student uprisings and visit the memorial site of Hector Pieterson. You will also cycle down Vilakazi Street where Nelson Mandela used to live and where Bishop Desmond Tutu has his home. Stop for a local lunch – Kota (township burger) and finish the tour off at the local shebeen, have a drink, play pool and dance to kwaito music.

The Sterkfontein Caves were discovered in 1896 by an Italian gold prospector and are now regarded as one of the world's most important archaeological sites. The caves lie in the Sterkfontein valley which, together with the nearby sites of Swartkrans, Drimolen and Kromdraai, make up the recently proclaimed World Heritage Site known as the "Cradle of Humankind". Dr Robert Broom of the Transvaal Museum (Museum of Natural History) began excavations at the cave in 1936 and in 1947 discovered a well-preserved complete skull of a species of early man known as Plesianthropus Transvaalensis. This later became known as the famous "Mrs Ples".

Your tour will start at the newly opened 260m˛ exhibition. This scientific exhibition consists of four large show cases which include life like models of hominids, a sabre tooth cat, a reconstruction of a mined cave vs. a pristine cave, cave formations and geologies, early life forms, fossils in general (mammals and homo), specific finds (like Mrs. Ples, Taung Child, Little Foot), details of fossilization, paleo botany and landscapes.

From there you will make your way up to the limekilns, past the sundial and then underground into the depths of the caves. Beneath the dust of millions of years you'll see for yourself the resting place of some of the most important fossils ever found and you'll hear the magnitude of their significance to the world! After proceeding over the walkways to view the excavation which was Mrs. Ples's final resting place, the trip will continue past the fossil prep where scientists continue to investigate the clues to our past.

Your visit to Sterkfontein will include a guided tour of the Caves and time to visit the scientific exhibition.

Enjoy a short walk with the elephants trunk-in-hand, see where the elephant sleep at night in their stables and assist in feeding the elephants. On some hot days you may even see the them swimming.

After the tour, enjoy lunch on the main deck overlooking the elephants.

When diamonds were first discovered in about 1888 in the river systems east of where Cullinan is today, a fascinating history began which led to the discovery of Premier Mine (now Cullinan Diamond Mine). In 1905, one of the greatest events in diamond history took place when an enormous diamond, weighing 3106 carats, was found. It was named after Thomas Cullinan and still remains the largest diamond ever found.

After the horror of World War 2 came to an end in 1945, Premier was reopened but took 10 months to pump out around four billion litres of water that had accumulated in the mine’s 189m-deep pit over it’s 14 dormant years. The mine is still fully operational today and Cullinan Mine, owned by De Beers, is the source of some of the world's largest gemstones such as the Cullinan, Premier Rose, Niarchos, the Centenary and the Golden Jubilee.

The City of Tshwane, formerly known as Pretoria, lies only 58 km (36 miles) north of Johannesburg and provides a complete contrast to the City of Gold. South Africa’s administrative capital was founded in 1855 and named after the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius. Often referred to as the “Jacaranda City”, this nickname refers to the thousands of trees lining the streets, their purple blossoms heralding the approach of summer each October.

The tour begins with a visit to the Voortrekker Monument, a striking memorial built to honour the early pioneers. We then continue to the central part of the city which has retained the name of Pretoria, visiting Kruger House Museum and Church Square, where the statue of Paul Kruger looks down on the passers by. Melrose House is a classic example of a Victorian suburban townhouse and a visit can also be included, subject to time permitting (closed on Monday!). We then continue to the imposing Union Building, which houses the offices of the State President, Deputy President and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Our stop here provides an impressive view over the city and completes the tour, before returning to your hotel.