Most groups visiting South Africa base themselves in a nice suburb of Johannesburg, near a big shopping mall, and get their "township experience" in on a half-day package tour, driving to a few select spots and then returning to the hotel by lunch. It was critical to us that we stay in Soweto for several days; we were struck while there by how much more comfortable we felt in the township than we did in Pretoria. Nonetheless, while we were based in Soweto and had cars available to us, we wanted to see the city through local eyes and at the ground level. Enter Charmaine Dlamini, a dynamic local guide who led us through Soweto on bicycles.