Meeting people

‘Joburgers’ are renowned for their openness and friendliness, however it does take time to meet them as their lifestyle is centred around homes and focused activities.

The easiest way to meet people who share your interests is to join a society or club. The list here is by no means exhaustive, new clubs are always being started and new hobbies and interests demand different groups. Before you arrive it might be a good idea to check online to see if there is a group that caters for your interests.

Wits has its own extensive selection of sports clubs and groups where you will meet fellow students who share your interests. 

You are strongly encouraged to use the facilities at Wits which cater to a wide selection of interests. It is also an ideal way to meet fellow students.

Clubs not on campus

Hiking club
They have excellent information on where to go hiking and even if you do not join, their website is very useful, http://www.footprint.co.za/

Biodynamic society, South Africa
http://www.bdaasa.org.za/ 

Oldest bird club in Highveld part of birdlife South Africa
http://www.wbc.co.za/ 

Only dedicated bird conservation society in South Africa
http://www.birdlife.org.za/

Canoeing club Johannesburg
http://www.dabulamanzi.co.za/

Botanical Society of South Africa
http://www.botanicalsociety.org.za/SitePages/Home.aspx

Overarching flying club of SA covers all aspects of flying from ballooning to hobby plane flying
http://www.aeroclub.org.za/ 

Wildlife and environmental Society of South Africa
http://www.wessa.org.za/ 

Tree Society of South Africa
http://www.treesocietysa.org/

Although this website offers information on horse riding activities and tour operators countrywide it is so extensive it is worth including.
http://www.safrica.info/travel/adventure/horseriding.htm

The Johannesburg skydiving club
http://www.jsc.co.za/

The mountain club of South Africa’s Johannesburg branch
http://mcsa.org.za/jhbjoom/

The outdoor swimming society of SA – trains for wild swimming and places other than swimming pools
http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_tips

List of all the running clubs in Gauteng. There are so many groups and so many runners its best to find a group that suits your needs
http://www.runsa.co.za/cgi-bin/clubs.cgi

Johannesburg hiking club
http://www.jhbhiking.org.za/main/

Four wheel drive club of SA
http://www.fwdcsa.co.za/

Umbrella community theatre and amateur dramatic organisation
http://www.sancta.org.za

Johannesburg photographic club
http://www.jpscameraclub.co.za/pages/aboutjps.html

The Watercolour society of South Africa
http://www.wssa.org.za/

The Johannesburg Musical society holds regular classical music concerts at the Linder auditorium which is in the grounds of the Wits Education Campus
http://www.jms.org.za/

A book and movie club which organises many different activities. There are many more book clubs in JHB but usually you have to be invited to be a member
http://www.meetup.com/Johannesburg-Book-Club-meetup/ 

Overarching chess society for all chess in SA – you will find details about JHB clubs on their site
http://www.chessa.co.za/

Main source of information on all martial arts in JHB and elsewhere in SA
http://www.martialartsclubs.co.za/

Vegetarian Society of SA – useful for addresses of restaurants and resources if you are vegetarian or vegan
http://www.vegsoc.org.za/

A list of unusual clubs covering everything from forex to Java. Take a look and you might find something intriguing
http://www.meetup.com/cities/za/johannesburg/ 

The Astronomy Society of Johannesburg which meets twice a month
http://assa.saao.ac.za/html/assa_johannesburg_centre.html