South Africa diary: Day one

BBC Africa correspondent Barnaby Phillips spends a week testing the mood in South Africa a decade after the end of apartheid and ahead of elections. His first stop is at a gold mining town to look at the industry that once powered the economy.

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My South African safari begins in the town of Welkom. To be honest, its not the most beautiful of places. Welkom is a mining town, in the midst of the flat plains of the Free State, to the south of Johannesburg.

Try and discuss Welkom at smart dinner parties in Johannesburg, and you will probably provoke a few sniggers. Built in the middle of the twentieth century, when gold was discovered in the Free State, Welkom was once a boom town.

Today, most of the mines have closed; Welkom, and the surrounding settlements, have lost a devastating 120,000 jobs in the past 10 to 15 years.

And that's why I have come here; Welkom is not glamorous, but its problems neatly encapsulate many of the challenges facing the new South Africa.

Boom time over

Gold mining is on the retreat, and South Africa is struggling to diversify its economy.

Five places in five days

And, at the same time, the ANC government is trying to bring improved services to millions of poor black people- housing, water and electricity.

So how is Welkom doing? Well, I spent the morning at a paprika farm, enthusiastically tended by a group of formerly unemployed young black people.

New directions

"I want to become the most successful farmer in the Free State," said Joseph Maokhati, brimming with confidence.

Ten years ago commercial farming was almost exclusively the preserve of white people, but Joseph and his friends appeared to be motivated and bright.

Next stop, a gem factory, run by a burly Afrikaner, Jan Bezuidenhout.

Like everyone I've met in Welkom, Jan used to work on the mines. Now he is exporting semi-precious stones to Europe and the United States, and employing 32 people.

Mr Bezuidenhout is fluent in the local Sotho language, and he seems to have an easy rapport with ANC Mayor Serake Leeuw, who drops in to see us.

Race is still an issue

Maybe this is another encouraging sign of the new South Africa. I ask the mayor about race relations in the town.

He laughs, and picks his words carefully.

"There are some areas where we are still going slowly. But other areas, where we expected violent resistance, things have gone very smoothly".

So how is the mayor going to revive the local economy? He has many plans, including an international cargo airport to serve Johannesburg.

But his most intriguing idea is gold mine tourism. "You know, Welkom is the only place in the world where you can find a wine cellar at the bottom of a gold mine".

A wine cellar down a gold mine? I'd love to go and see it, but there's no time......there's a plane to catch, and Cape Town beckons.