As yesterday was my final day in Johannesburg before flying to Cape Town, and because I had a reasonably free morning ahead of the Brazil game last night, I thought I'd better return to Soweto to visit some of the cultural highlights South Africa's most evocative location has to offer.

It was the best decision I've made all trip. As someone who was still reasonably young in the 1980s, I tend to think of the apartheid era as a moment in history rather than something people lived through as part of their day-to-day existence.

It was there on the news as I was eagerly waiting for the evening television to start as a child, and I've obviously become subsequently aware of just what a brutal and repressive regime it was, but at the time I was too young to be politically energised by events on the other side of the world.

So Soweto's Apartheid Museum was a genuine eye-opener, with its detailed portrayal of life under apartheid and the protests and riots that ultimately hastened the system's abolition.

Some of the pictures and video footage was incredible, particularly from the 1976 Soweto uprising in which thousands of blacks took to the streets to protest about the government imposition of Afrikaans as the sole language in all South African schools.

The 1980s State of Emergency, in which government forces brutally crushed a series of violent demonstrations on Soweto's streets, is also relived in video form but, for me, the most powerful image was a simple one.

Upon arriving at the museum, you are faced with two doors. One is marked 'Whites', the other is marked 'Blacks'. As someone who has been raised amid the relative tolerance that exists in Britain, it is hard to imagine a society in which every aspect of everyday life was separated along racial lines.

It was pleasing to note that there were World Cup visitors from all corners of the world taking in the museum, and, about a mile or so away, there were hundreds more tourists strolling down arguably the most famous street in South Africa.

Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners -Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Mandela lived in a bungalow on the street with his wife, Winnie, in the late 1950s and early 1960s before he was arrested and imprisoned on Robben Island.

He briefly returned following his release in February 1990, but security concerns meant he had to move out of Soweto shortly before he was elected as president.

Today, the bungalow doubles as the Mandela House Museum. It contains some interesting pictures and video footage charting Mandela's life, but is notable largely because it is so unremarkable.

It is a Sowetan house like any other, containing furniture, ornaments and trinkets that could no doubt be found in any other house along the street.

Yet it was once the home of arguably the most famous political figure of the second half of the twentieth Century.

Perhaps it is because it was so ordinary, that Mandela was able to captivate the hearts and minds of black South Africa.

** Mandela is still the most revered figure in the whole of South Africa, and if television and radio stations are not commenting on events from the World Cup finals, it is a safe bet they will be discussing the former president's health and well being.

It is a national obsession, and when the frail 91-year-old does eventually pass away, the outpouring of grief that will sweep across South Africa will stop the country in its tracks for weeks on end.

Initially, there was a massive sense of disappointment that Mandela was unable to attend the World Cup opening ceremony last Friday, but that quickly turned to sympathy when the details of the car crash that killed his great-granddaughter, Zenani, became clear.

A man was arrested following the accident on possible charges of drunken driving and culpable homicide, but will not be charged until July 26.

Normally, anyone arrested for drunken driving in South Africa appears in court within 24 hours, but there is much speculation over here that the case has been delayed to avoid public fury overshadowing what a majority of South Africans feel has been a thoroughly successful World Cup finals so far.

** After leaving Soweto, I headed straight to Ellis Park for Brazil's encounter with North Korea.

The stadium, which is one of two grounds in Johannesburg being used in this World Cup, holds a special place in South African sporting folklore as it was the venue for 1995's unforgettable Rugby World Cup final when the Springboks triumphed over the All Blacks.

It is markedly different to Soccer City, as it is an established stadium that received a pre-tournament facelift rather than a brand-new ground built specifically for this World Cup.

So whereas Soccer City boasts extensive grounds and surrounding areas, Ellis Park is hemmed into central Johannesburg, with shops, businesses and houses on all sides of it.

As a result, it feels much more like a traditional English football ground, and as I headed towards it yesterday, I was reminded of the walk through the streets leading up to Hillsborough, the old Highbury or the present-day Villa Park.

The Aston Villa connection is an interesting one, as the club's former chairman could have done worse than purchase the naming right for the ground when they were on offer a couple of years ago.

Imagine the kudos in staging Brazil vs North Korea at Doug Ellis Park.