Ek Sê is one of those unique South African-isms that has managed to escape the co-optation of the mainstream and hasn’t been diluted by Chakala TV commercials looking to cash in on some ‘cred’. It’s a fitting name for Lesika Matlou’s Ek Sê Tours. To think that the phrase in this instance is applied simply to connote its usage as an everyday slang greeting is to miss the point altogether. Ek Sê, literally translates to “I say”, a powerful proclamation with both flavour and bite.

This is a phrase for someone brave enough to tell it like it is and who wants their voice heard, but only on their own terms. And one of those terms is “telling different stories,” a slogan-cum-mission statement adopted by Matlou.

There’s very little doubt that what Matlou is after most is to change people’s perceptions of Johannesburg and Soweto. But he does this not so much by trying to cast them in a “new” light but shedding light on the many hidden corners of the city. Not a second is wasted as things get underway as soon as the shuttle starts moving. He breaks the ice by encouraging audience participation by teaching us the words to Shosholoza, the ol’ crowd favourite at rugby matches all over the country. But he doesn’t leave it at that and goes on to enlighten us about the song’s migrant labour roots. You can’t script this stuff: just then the golden mounds of the mine dumps come into full view and if we had any doubts earlier, those disappear with the city’s skyline behind us and we know from that point on that we’re in for one helluva ride.

We make a brief stopover at the FNB stadium where we have a conversation about the symbolism and national significance of the newly styled arena. No moment seems more appropriate than this to discuss the cultural and linguistic diversity of the country. He gives us a brief overview of the Nguni and Sotho languages before coaxing a Xhosa click out of each of us.

From here we head further south towards the Orlando Cooling Towers. This leg of the tour isn’t for the faint hearted. A cage elevator wheezes up the side of the 100m towers transporting us to the top where a view more breathtaking than we could have ever imagined awaits. At this height we realise the sheer magnitude of the township, rivaled perhaps, only by its historical significance.

Minutes later we end up in Kliptown, where Lesika hands over the reigns to a local resident interested in operating his own community tours after he graduates from high school. Before we conclude our trip with a visit to the famous Vilakazi Street, we go to the Hector Peterson memorial to reflect on the events of June 16 1976 that would force martyrdom on an unsuspecting victim, not much younger than our guide through Kliptown. It’s a sobering moment, but one that Matlou handles with a delicate balance between a keen awareness of the historical facts, and a care and charm that is rare to find, but which he no doubt possess in spades.