R550 per person. Half day tour. On demand. No minimum numbers. Collections: Guests staying within the City Bowl and Atlantic Sea Board, up to Sea Point, will be collected at hotels or guest-houses. Guests outside of these zones, or guests staying in apartments, meet at our office, 70 Wale St at 1840 and are returned to same.
This is a trip to the future of the townships. It was created for the visitor who wants real insight, and different thinking.
You will hear a lot of things said about the Cape Flats and the Townships.
"The other side of town" "The danger zone" "Are you crazy, don't go there!"
These are just some of the mild things said.
Consider the facts:
Of Cape Town's population, the majority of us live in townships. Which means that the largest distribution of the city's spend comes from the townships.
Of families living in houses, the majority are owned by the residents. Which means that there is very very little home loan debt, if any. Compare that with suburban areas, where the majority of residents are NOT homeowners, and where the majority of people have major debt.
Consider that Khayelitsha is the fastest growing suburb in the country, with a large middle class.
And finally - at least for the purposes of this writeup - consider that the future of Cape Town lies in the townships. That as the city grows and expands, it is expanding into the townships.
So what does the future hold?
On this four hour excursion we take the visitor into several of our townships, looking at some major sites and projects of transformation, and meeting some of the people that are making this change. We look at how the city and its townships were formed, and how the townships are being shaped into the future. It looks at models for economic and social integration. It looks at major transport changes. It looks at ways that townships might connect to each other and to the city as a whole.
And most importantly, this tour looks at the townships as the centre of the city, and not some fringe section. That is the most crucial difference in thinking. Check out this video below, a little peek at the Manenberg Waterfront, one of the innovative un-engineering projects of the townships.
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The trip takes in very different areas, such as Langa, Manenberg and Khayelitsha, sometimes Mitchells Plain, Athlone and Guguletu. Guests discover incredible innovation and opportunity, through places such as the Manenberg Waterfront, the Khayelitsha CBD, and the new Langa train station.
Guests have the opportunity to walk. To meet people. To sample township foods. And to see examples of the future.
Meet musicians, artists, storytellers, poets, business women, sportsmen, spiritual leaders... Plug in to the depth and diversity of perspective that makes up urban Africa.
