Lesedi Village: An Introductory Tour of Africa

My daughter missed her flight to Joburg, so I was started my South African sojourn alone. Instead of locking myself inside my hotel room, I decided to take a tour of the Lesedi Village, which was one of the top day tours for visitors to Johannesburg. The others were the Apartheid Museum and Soweto tours.

I decided to take this first, since I was dying to get a taste of Africa. Johannesburg was beginning to bore me, so I wanted to see some action, even though it wasn't authentic. The tour price was also quite expensive, so I decided to take the 30-minute drive up north from downtown Johannesburg to Lesedi.

I expected it to be a tourist trap, since it's part of the usual tours so didn't expect that much. We were welcomed by the cast of characters of the village. They were intimidating at first, but I realized that it was all part of the "show".

The place actually looked promising. There was a cafe near the entrance. I started to wander around, while waiting for the tour guide to release our tickets.

Beside the cafe was a stocked up souvenir shop. It was full of interesting items, and all tell me that I was indeed in Africa. I gave into the temptation and bought my first very first African souvenir, a small wall mask.

Lesedi Village was a place that showcased the different tribes of South Africa. The tour guide rounded us up, and led us into a theater which had the feel of a warehouse. We watched a film about the history of the people of South Africa. 

Lesedi was built like a theme park of South Africa's tribes, so you actually get to see what a village of a particular tribe looks like. Now, I will not write down which tribes I visited, so I will just leave you to send your comments on these pictures. The one above is the first tribe that we visited.

Our informative guide explained the tribe's activities in the village and showed how the members of the tribe interacted with each other.

We moved from one tribe to another as the tour progressed. This particular tribe lived in stone houses, and there was an air of mystery to the place. For our next stop, we were actually allowed to enter the houses.

Inside each house, men and women were asked to sit separately. They explained that the women were situated to the right side of the door for them to be protected from sudden attacks from invaders. You see, the door swings to the right, so naturally, the attacker will face the left side, where the men slept.

The houses also had horse dung spread across the front of their doors. This was meant to keep insects and other wild animals away. Needless to say, the smell was very unpleasant, so we didn't stay long here.

We visited a total of 7 villages. It was indeed like a theme park. At the end, we were brought to the main theater, where all the cast members performed various dances.

At the end of the tour, we were treated to a buffet of African cuisine. The dishes included crocodile, deer, ostrich and even snakes. I tried all the dishes, and found the crocodile to be the most unsatisfying of them all.

The Lesedi Village actually was a lodge as well where visitors can opt to stay. They can choose which of the houses they want to sleep in, and you even get to live with the tribe itself. I thought that it was quite interesting. If you want to get more immersed in the culture, I suggest you do spend a night here. I wonder what other activities can be done.

The tour took around 4 hours in total. The drive back took longer, since we had to drop off some other guests in other hotels. I was tired, and eagerly awaiting for my daughter's arrival so I decided to just grab a drink in my hotel. My trip to the Lesedi Village was satisfying. I was now anticipating more of what africa has to offer.