From Jozi to Wembley: A South African in the Shadow of the Arch

TOUR DIARIES, WEEK ONE: Heathrow Airport is colossal. Arriving in London at 04.30 and having to navigate my way to Wembley, a few hours west, was a daunting task for a true-blue Gautenger.

With the trains not yet running, my only option was to brave the bus system – the more affordable, if less glamorous, route. Three buses and three hours later, I finally arrived at my hotel, greeted by the sight of Wembley Stadium’s iconic arch framed perfectly in my hotel window.

Recently named one of The Sunday Times’ “Best Places to Live 2025”, Wembley is a vibrant hub of restaurants, hotels, homes, and green spaces, anchored by the London Designer Outlet and BOXPARK.

The culinary scene is a global affair – from bustling coffee shops and artisan bakeries to restaurants serving flavours from every corner of the world, with prices to suit every traveller. Around the neighbourhood, free activities abound: the leafy seven-acre Union Park and the colourful outdoor Wembley Park Art Trail offer a taste of London’s creative pulse.

Sustainability is a recurring theme throughout the city – electric cars glide silently through the streets, while cyclists and scooters zip by in impressive numbers. Seeing joggers out after eight at night felt both refreshing and strange to me, having spent most of my life in Johannesburg, where nighttime runs aren’t exactly the norm.

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Every day I travelled to Kensington – home to royalty and, for last week, the Springboks – for their first press conference ahead of the Test match against Japan.

I decided to splurge on my first real outing and ordered an Uber. To my surprise, the electric option cost the same as UberX, so I thought, why not? When a sleek black Mercedes-Benz pulled up, I was floored. My driver, Sampson, a fellow African from Ghana, and I shared an easy, engaging chat about life in London and the political frustrations of our motherlands.

Pulling up at the Boks’ luxury hotel in the shadow of Buckingham Palace, I experienced a first — having a doorman open my car door.

Inside, navigating my way to the private suite for the press conference, I was surprised to discover I was the only journalist in attendance. It turned into an unexpected opportunity for a relaxed conversation with assistant coach Jerry Flannery and Kwagga Smith – a player I’ve known since his Lions days.

It was disappointing, though, to realise how little local media interest there was ahead of the clash against the Brave Blossoms — especially at such an iconic venue.

Afterwards, I wandered through Notting Hill toward the train station, nostalgia kicking in as scenes from Notting Hill replayed in my mind. I couldn’t resist scanning for that famous blue door – the one where Julia Roberts’ character confessed she was “just a girl, standing in front of a boy”.

I managed to fit in a walk through Kensington Gardens on the Boks’ media-free day, where a golden statue of Prince Albert overlooks the Royal Albert Hall, and the Princess Diana fountain is.

Matchday was a mixture of awe at the magnitude of Wembley Stadium, watching a game from the most state-of-the-art media tribune I have ever seen, and a little disappointment at the ease with which the Springboks defeated the very young Japan side.

Sunday, it was up at the crack of dawn to catch a train to Heathrow for my flight to Paris, France, for the second chapter of the five-week tour.