Ormonde, Johannesburg

Leave Marshalltown in Johannesburg’s CBD and head off along the M1 in a south westerly direction and Ormonde lies just five minutes from the centre, a little beyond Gold Reef City in the southern reaches of the bustling city, its nearest neighbours Mondeor and Soweto.

Whilst the name may or may not derive from either one of the Earls of Ormonde - they were Scottish and Irish respectively - Ormonde is an ideal place to stay if you’re visiting Gold Reef City, Alberton or need to get to OR Tambo Airport in a hurry; it is a quick 15 minutes along the N12 that lies in a crescent along the southern and eastern suburbs of Johannesburg, and an alternative route into Johannesburg during peak hour traffic.

Ormonde sees its shares of visitors to Johannesburg. Gold Reef City, the historical amusement park set on an old gold mine, is not only themed around the gold rush that took place here during the 1880s, but there is also a museum dedicated to gold mining, where one can learn much of the history that led to the emergence of Johannesburg. But most people head for the theme park for the entertainment that comes in the form of water rides, roller coasters, live shows, the ‘hippodrome’ and the casino.

The Apartheid Museum on Northern Parkway and Gold Reef Road in Ormonde documents the whole story of apartheid. Taking the form of a series of photographs, hundreds of hours of television footage, exhibits and symbolic features, laid out over 22 separate exhibition areas, the visitor is led sequentially through apartheid to the new South Africa.