Soweto, is the largest township in South Africa. It is located in the suburbs of the city Johannesburg. Over three million people are living there and it is supposed to be really dangerous. What can be so good about the Orlando Towers?
What are the Orlando Towers?
The Orlando Towers were part of the Orlando Power Station and were used as cooling towers. The power station was used for over then 50 years and the part of the towers is now something else.
In recent days the company Soweto Towers was taking it over. It is an adventure company, with whom you are able to do some fun stuff in the area.
What can you do there?
The most famous thing over there is basically doing bungee and base jumping from the top of the towers. It is around 100 m high and costs around $35, which is compared to many other bungee jumping opportunities. In Germany for example it is most of the time three times as much.
Besides that you are able to play paintball in a quite nice location and even climb the towers.
When I was visiting the towers, I just came to see it and flew with my drone around it. The owners were really down to earth and were totally fine with me doing that, without purchasing anything there.
They have the highest possible SCAD Free falling is possible there, that is basically a freefall into a net. It is supposed to be an unnoticed fall into it, but it was for me the first time hearing about this opportunity. That would cost a bit more than $20.
How to get there?
You can take a local bus there, even though it is not highly recommended to explore it by yourself. When I was visiting it felt safe though.
There are buses going every 5-10 minutes from Johannesburg to Soweto. Also it is possible to go there with a rental car or by taxi, which is obviously more expensive.
My experience
When I arrived at the Orlando Towers, it was a great moment, with the art on the towers itself. The region around is not the most pretty, but that is just a highlight in the region. The towers stick out of the region and it is nice seeing them.
I took my drone out of my backpack and started flying it over the towers. It was a lot of fun, also knowing the owners are okay with it, so it was possible to take time for it.
I didn’t book any of the activities, because that was not the idea, when coming there. Probably it would have been fun trying out some of the things, but much better, when being in a group, to also get a discount.
Summary
The Orlando towers are something special in Soweto, yes it is basically owned by an adventure company. That doesn’t mean that you have to book anything to just see it.
When you want to do activities, that is of course something doable there. The area is not that big and besides this little park, I haven’t seen much to do in the close distance from it.
When you have a little bit of time in Johannesburg, you should visit that place for sure, just to see something different. If you don’t have time, then I guess it will not be the biggest thing on your list, for things to do in the city.
When thinking about how many Nelson Mandela things are there, due to the fact that he died in Johannesburg. You need to decide for yourself what you want to see during your time there.
It is a cool place to see, but not the most fascinating, because there are not that many things to do besides that part in the close surroundings.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
Leave a Reply