Secret Johannesburg: An Unusual Guide

The magnetic pull of a rock which is so strong that a coin sticks, a Miniature Railway track, a lighthouse in the sky, get Married in a Boeing 747, the very first example of ＂Victoria’s Secret＂, a fantastic private garden open one day per year and whose address is given by request only, a very surprising fine dining home restaurant in Alex, fly over the city in a plane that served for WWII in Egypt, South Africa’s oldest monument, a waterfall in the concrete jungle, a fantastic private art collection that can be visited by appointment, the private home of one of South Africa’s most prolific and famous artists of the 20th Century....

Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Johannesburg is still a reserve of well-concealed treasures that only reveal themselves to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Johannesburg well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.

Lisa Johnston is a writer and photographer who was born and grew up in Johannesburg. She has worked variously as a travel, design and art journalist and is drawn to the unique creative pulse of the city and its people. In her early adult years, Johnston tried on various occasions to leave Johannesburg for a quieter life, both locally and abroad, but Joburg’s combination of grit, green and glamour kept calling her back. She has lived the past 15 years in Johannesburg and has given up her quest for a country life, focusing instead on growing an urban farm in her small garden not far from the city. Claire Bell grew up on Johannesburg’s East Rand, and fell in love with the city at the age of 5, when she first caught a train downtown. A journalist and investigative researcher, she has a masters degree in philosophy from Birkbeck College in London and writes the blog UnpopularEssays.com. She loves how Joburg is at the epicentre of social, political and cultural change. Bell is part of the team that runs Consciousness Café, a pop-up dialogue café that brings South Africans together in galleries, community centres and gardens around the city to have uncomfortable conversations about how the politics of the past still overshadow the present and to encourage deep democracy - where every voice is heard and valued.