A Blackout in Johannesburg – Indie Traveller

An approximation of how I experienced Johannesburg

My objectively best experience in South Africa?

That must have been scuba diving with sharks or maybe seeing Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain.

But my favorite experience?

That was quite possibly when I was in the sprawling capital of Johannesburg just as the power went out all across the city.

Suddenly it’s dark everywhere. Suddenly, seemingly all you hear is the distant barking of dogs.

Joburg doesn’t have the best reputation for safety, so it’s slightly creepy to be there when the lights go out. Maybe I would have just stayed in my hostel for the rest of the evening, safe and comfortable within its walled garden. But I simply got too hungry, there was no food at the hostel, and so I went on an expedition to find some.

The hostel owner gave me instructions on how to reach a bar that could maybe make me a pizza in a wood-fired oven. I went out into the un-lit streets and wandered for a while, before finding the…