EXPERIENCE SOWETO WITH BEAUTY QUEENS THOBILE STEYN AND ANATHI CONJWA
Catch up with Miss Soweto’s Thobile Steyn and Anathi Conjwa.
We spend a day in the iconic township of Soweto, Gauteng with reigning Miss Soweto 2020, Thobile Steyn, and First Princess, Anathi Conjwa, and explore the history that’s made this area an international tourist destination.
Thobile Steyn is the reigning Miss Soweto 2020, and Anathi Conjwa First Princess of the Miss Soweto pageant that has for over 40 years celebrated the beauty, grace, self-motivation, and resilience of the women of Soweto and launched many prominent careers. including those of renowned businesswoman Basetsana Kumalo and media personality Lerato Kganyago.
The first stop off was at Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers, a one-stop-shop for accommodation, tours and food that proudly represents the rich diversity of the neighbourhood.
There the girls saddled up for a bicycle tour with Philly Malepa – the tour guide who submerged us all into the rich culture of Soweto.
On the itinerary was the Hector Pieterson Memorial. A museum and national heritage site that is located in Orlando West. The site of the 1976 youth uprising that’s two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed on June 16th – a day that is crucial to our democracy, and is now commemorated by Youth Day.
The stop was followed by a visit to House Number 8155 on Vilakazi Street – A museum that’s owned by the Soweto Trust and is located on the road where former president Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, two Nobel Peace Prize winners, had homes. House 8155 has deep roots as it is the house that Tata Madiba lived in and also wrote about in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.
Upon return to Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers the opportunity was seized to tuck into traditional South African cuisine in the vibrant setting of the outdoor restaurant. The meal was lovingly prepared by Chef Duduzile ‘Mama Dudu’ Duru, on an open fire and consisted of a chicken stew with chakalaka, traditional spinach and pap – all firm favourites.
