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Gauteng - Pretoria |  |
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Gauteng Province, north of Johannesburg South Africa's capital (administrative capital, that is; parliament sits in Cape Town) lies in the pleasant Apies River valley, its central area overlooked by the heights of Meintjes Kop and the elegant, crescent-shaped Union Buildings that adorn the Kop's summit. It's a neat, handsome city of tall buildings and broad thoroughfares, one of which (Church Street) runs east-west for a full 18 kilometres. The city's hub is Church Square, around which it originally developed. Pretoria is famed for its parks and gardens, for its roses, and for the jacaranda trees that come into glorious lilac-coloured bloom in springtime. Pretoria is largely an administrative centre, but it is also the hub centre of an important communications (rail) network, and its advanced industrial complex (originally based on steel-making) includes engineering, food processing and diamond mining. Similar to that of Johannesburg, but Pretoria lies at a somewhat lower altitude than its neighbour - 1,370 as opposed to 1,740 metres above sea level - and its air temperatures are, on average, about two degrees higher. This is a summer-rainfall region; between November and February, in normal years, summer thunderstorms produce violent flashes of lightning and brief but torrential afternoon downpours. Summer days are hot, though rarely to the point of discomfort. Temperature: Summer (January daily average maximum 28.8 degrees Centigrade; daily minimum 16.4 degrees Centigrade; winter (July) average daily maximum 20.2 degrees Centigrade; daily minimum 2.6 degrees Centigrade. Temperature extremes recorded: 38.2 and -4.7 degrees Centigrade. Rainfall: January average monthly 134 millimetres; July 9 millimetres. Highest recorded daily rainfall: 125 millimetres. The first homestead in the area was that of a farmer named Bronkhorst, who settled in what is now Fountains Valley in 1840 (a few stones and fragments of his house can still be seen); about ten years later a few of the northern Voortrekkers (Dutch-speaking pioneers from the Cape, in the far south) began to put roots down in and around the nearby, tiny settlement of Elandspoort, which, in 1854, was proclaimed the 'kerkplaas' for the central Transvaal - the place where folk gathered for Communion, baptisms and weddings. Shortly afterwards the village was renamed Pretoria Philadelpia, or 'Pretoria Brotherhood', in honour of Boer leader Andries Pretorius. At that time the settlement comprised about 80 houses and some 300 white residents. Pretoria was declared the official capital of the independent republic of the Transvaal, more formally known as the South African Republic, in 1860, a change of status that had a dramatic effect on both its size and character. Some fine buildings were erected, most of them fronting on Church Square. Indeed, the square could have become one of the architectural glories of the subcontinent. Many voices were raised during the early 1900s in an effort to persuade the city fathers to create a gracious piazza of fountains and flowers and Continental-style paving, but deaf ears were turned to the pleas, and in 1910 the area was redesigned as a tramway terminus. Mourns historian Vivien Allen: 'Pretoria exchanged its heart for a public transport system.' For a long time, though, the town was noted more for its wealth of greenery than its structures. By 1860 it was already known as the 'city of roses' - its climate encouraged luxuriant growth, and in the very early days 'every garden, hedge, stoep and even water furrow' was festooned with ramblers. Later came the jacarandas, the first imported from Rio de Janeiro (at 10 pounds apiece) in 1888 by J.D. Celliers and planted on his Myrtle Grove property. About 70,000 of these lovely, feather-blossomed trees now grace parks, suburban gardens and about 650 kilometres of streets. Modern Pretoria retains many features that have significance in white South African history. They include the Old Raadsaal (parliament); the modest house where President Paul Kruger lived, the impressive Palace of Justice, the Voortrekker monument just outside the city, and on the hill above the city, as mentioned, the Union Buildings, which house key government establishments. Air Pretoria is served by Johannesburg International Airport, some 45 kilometres to the south-east. South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier, and many other airlines operate scheduled flights between the airport and all five continents; SAA and other (private) airlines offer frequent services to major regional and domestic destinations, including Sun City and the Kruger National Park. Road and Rail National highways connect Pretoria with Johannesburg, 60 kilometres to the south, and all other major Southern African destinations. Bus and train services link the city with Johannesburg, Durban and other major regional centres.
City travel As mentioned, the city's hub is Church Square, its principal thoroughfares Church Street (east-west) and Paul Kruger Street (north-south). The M1 motorway provides a fast route to Johannesburg. Parking can be difficult, but it's generally easier to find a space here than in central Johannesburg. Buses City transport arrives at and departs from the Church Square terminal. The service is adequate, fairly cheap, and reasonably comprehensive, though cross-suburb travel can be tricky. An hourly service connects city centre with Johannesburg International Airport. Taxis Conventional (metered) cabs can be found in ranks (they do not cruise the streets in search of fares); best option is to hire one by phone. Cheaper and faster are the so-called 'black taxis', which do ply the streets and can be hailed, but they're often crowded and have a somewhat tarnished reputation in terms of both safety and road courtesy. They are being phased out, country-wide, in favour of larger (18 seats and more) vehicles. Car Hire The major, internationally known rental companies are well represented in Pretoria and at the airport. Local car-hire services offer similar rates. Consult hotel reception or the Yellow Pages. Trains The main railway station is situated at the corner of Paul Kruger and Scheiding Streets. Suburban services link the city with the higher-density dormitory areas, with Johannesburg, and with the major Witwatersrand centres. Church Square The city's hub since its birth 150 years ago, its most prominent feature Anton van Wouw's striking statue of Paul Kruger, the 'father of Afrikanerdom' and Transvaal republican president from 1883 until his flight into lonely exile in 1900. The square's northern face is vaguely reminiscent of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the southern side has a hint of London's Trafalgar Square, though of course these two places are a lot grander. Buildings of note include the Old Raadsaal (republican parliament, completed in 1889 in a mix of styles, notably French Renaissance plus some classical elements); the splendid Palace of Justice; and the Reserve Bank building, designed (together with much else throughout South Africa) by the celebrated architect Herbert Baker. Kruger House The rambling bungalow on Church Street was given to Paul Kruger by his grateful subjects in 1884, and has been restored to serve as a museum of memorabilia. For years he kept open house on the spacious verandah. Furniture and fittings are much as they were when the old man was in residence. Voortrekker Monument The memorial, 6 kilometres to the south of the city centre and built between 1938 and 1949, commemorates the Great Trek - the migration of Boers from the southern coastal regions in the 1830s and 1840s - and its continuing status as both a shrine (in the eyes of many Afrikaners) and prime tourist attraction says much for the tolerant spirit prevailing in the new South Africa. The structure itself is impressive enough: it's surrounded by reliefs of ox-wagons; at the entrance is Van Wouw's moving sculpture of a mother and her children; inside are two great chambers, one of which (the Hall of Heroes) contains a 92-metre long frieze telling the story of the trek; the lower one a granite cenotaph on whose inscription the sun's rays fall at precisely noon each 16 December - the date of the rather one-sided Boer victory over the Zulu at Blood River in 1838. Across the road is the Monument Museum (costumes, tapestries, antiques, models). Union Buildings These were completed in 1913, three years after the former union of the four former South African colonies and republics, and served, 80 years later, as the scene of Nelson Mandela's inauguration as president of a fully democratic South Africa. There are good views of the city from the grounds, which are beautifully landscaped. The semi-circular structure, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, served as the model for the grander but no more elegant British imperial buildings in Delhi, India. There's some interesting statuary in the gardens; notable is the Garden of Remembrance, and a monument to the many who fell at the brutal first world war battle for Delville Wood. Groot Kerk The impressive Dutch Reformed 'Great Church', at the corner of Vermeulen and Bosman streets, is especially notable for its eye-catching, ornate tower, Museum of Culture At the corner of Visagie and Bosman streets. The museum is a showcase of the country's archaeological and anthropological heritage - it attempts to tell the region's cultural story over the past two million years, through the four million artifacts and other objects it houses. Museum of Natural History In Paul Kruger Street; overlaps somewhat perhaps with the Museum of Culture (see above) but here the focus is on 'Life's Genesis', a permanent exhibition depicting an integrated profile of life on earth. Space is also given the scientist Robert Broom's research into the world of the man-apes, and the bird life (depicted in the Austin Roberts Bird Hall). On offer are audio-visual presentations, and an excellent bookshop. Next door is Melsrose House (see below). Melrose House The place selected for the signing of the peace treaty of Vereeniging, which brought the Anglo-Boer war to an end, on 31 May 1902. It's a graceful Victorian building full of period furniture and memorabilia, sometimes used for art exhibitions and musical recitals. National Film and Video Archives Church Street. The archives preserve enormous collections of audio-visual material relating to South Africa past and present; screenings and exhibitions feature frequently on the programme. Sammy Marks Museum Marks, a 19th-century Lithuanian immigrant, became a leading entrepreneur, philanthropist, and friend to Paul Kruger. His home is now a charming period museum; viewing by appointment. Open-air Museum A largish area off Pretoria Street, on the banks of Moreleta Spruit (see further on); on view are various features of early white settler life, including a house and stables, mill, threshing floor, implements and so on. Pretoria Art Museum Schoeman Street; contains some Dutch and Flemish masters (part of the noted Michaelis collection) plus more recent works by some of South Africa's leading artists. The museum is also a good art library. University Art Collections The University of Pretoria has some fine pieces on display, among them modern sculptures and some exquisite17th-century furniture (the Van Tillburg collection). Also ancient (4,000-year-old) ceramics. Claude Malan Museum - a rather specialist art and craft showcase which features some fine gold, silver and antique jewellery. Coert Steynberg Museum This respected artist's one-time Pretoria home (he died in 1982) is well worth a visit. Steynberg, who studied under the celebrated Henry Moore, is widely regarded by many, and especially by the Afrikaans-speaking community, as the country's most talented modern sculptor, though he was perhaps rather more conservative, less innovative than many of his contemporaries. Among his best-known public commissions was the Blood River Monument, erected on the site of the historic but in retrospect somewhat unequal battle between the Voortrekkers and Dingane's Zulu army in 1838. Anton van Wouw House In Clark Street, Brooklyn. Van Wouw (1862-1945) was also a monumental sculptor, but very different in character and intent than Steynberg (see above). He spent some years in the artistic wilderness, which profoundly affected his work: Dutch-born, he came to admire the Boer people and many of his larger pieces, though representational, capture the rugged and often sombre essence of their hopes and struggles. Among his best-known sculptures are the statue of Paul Kruger in Church Square (see above), and the splendid Women's Monument in Bloemfontein. However, it is among the smaller works, many of them African figures, exquisite in their vividness, that his finest art can be found. Pierneef Museum In Vermeulen Street. Another local artist, and an outstanding one too: Jacob Pierneef (1886-1957) is generally regarded as South Africa's foremost landscape painter, many of his works reflecting the vastness and solitude of the highveld plains. He is also known for his large murals. A collection of his works is on display in this pleasant late-19th century house. National Zoological Gardens The zoo, in the heart of the city, is one of the southern hemisphere's biggest and best, home to nearly 4,000 indigenous and exotic species. Among them are the four great apes (gorilla, chimpanzee, orang-utan, gibbon), a host of other mammals, and what is thought to be the world's most comprehensive collection of antelope. The exotic animals are part of the breeding programme undertaken by the wider National Zoological Gardens network (which also runs research centres near Lichtenburg and Potgietersrus), and includes or has included such lesser known and endangered species as the pygmy hippo, the scimitar-horned oryx, the South American maned wolf, Indian gours, Polish przwalski horses and, of local relevance, the first aardwolf to have been bred in captivity. The area covers around 600 hectares of parkland; look-out points, strategically positioned, are accessible via cable-car; on offer are guided tours and various courses (bird identification, ecology and so forth). Aquarium and Reptile House Around 300 freshwater and marine species can be seen here, together with snakes and other reptiles. Of special note is the fine collection of sea-shells. Birds On Show The Austin Roberts sanctuary, along Boshoff Street, New Muckleneuk, hosts to some 170 different kinds of bird in its 11 hectares, among them such water-related species as heron, blue crane and sacred ibis. The bird-hide is conveniently placed beside one of the two dams. Botanical Garden Located along Cussonia Avenue some10 kilometres from city centre, the Pretoria National Botanical Garden nurtures more than 5,000 different kinds of indigenous plant in its 80-odd hectares, the various groups arranged intelligently according to type. Nearby, and of interest to the serious botanist, is the herbarium. On offer are guided two-hour tours and slide shows. Wonderboom Nature Reserve Also about 10 kilometres from central Pretoria, on Voortrekker Road, the reserve is unique in that its 90 hectares have been set aside to protect just one particular tree, the 23-metre high, 1,000-year old, 50-metre diameter wild fig known as the 'wonder tree', a species that self-propagates. This specimen has 13 'daughters' and 'granddaughters'. Visitors have a choice of picnic spots and pleasant rambles. Fountains Valley Nature Reserve Established around the source of the Apies ('little ape') River, the reserve, a tranquil, 60-hectare area is popular among leisure-bent Pretorians for its picnic spots, swimming pool, play park, lake (which hosts swans and other waterbirds) and restaurant. The adjoining 500 hectares serves as a game and bird sanctuary. Burgers Park An especially interesting reserve, set aside in 1882 and preserved as an example of Victorian outdoor elegance. Of note is the pavilion (tea on the lawns and brass-band concerts are features), the curator's house, and the florarium, a glass-sectioned structure that sustains different climate and vegetation types. Derdepoort Regional Park Yet another of Pretoria's popular recreation areas, a 115-hectare stretch of bushveld boasting a couple of dams, picnic-barbecue spots, a charming restaurant located in an early farmhouse, and a farmyard. Moreleta Spruit The spruit, or stream (and its accompanying hiking trail) winds its way through city suburbs, taking in the Faerie Glen Nature Reserve (110 hectares; the bird life is prolific), the Meyers Bird Sanctuary (more avian interest) and the Struben Dam (yet more birds, some of them rare species). Worth a day out is the delightful Magaliesberg range of hills to the west, a prime scenic and recreational area that embraces the Hartbeespoort Dam and a pleasant art route (see Magaliesburg). Among other attractive options are: Cullinan The small town, 50 kilometres to the east of Pretoria, is notable for its Premier diamond mine, where the world's biggest uncut gemstone was found (in 1905). The rough diamond, which is believed to have been part of a much larger stone, weighed 3,025 carats, measured a full 10 centimetres across, and was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, then chairman of Premier. It was bought by the Transvaal government and presented to England's King Edward V11 on his birthday in 1907, then cut into 96 small brilliants, seven gems and two of the best-known jewells in the Royal regalia - the Star of Africa (530 carats), a drop brilliant set in the Imperial Sceptre, and the Lesser Star of Africa (317 carats), a square brilliant that graces the Imperial State Crown. Much later, the mine yielded the beautiful Premier Rose stone. Tours of the open-cast workings are laid on; the town itself is worth an exploratory wander: many of the early miners' cottages lend a certain charm to the place. At Rayton, to the north of Cullinan, is the Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum, whose central feature is an early farmstead. Doornkloof Near the village of Irene, to the south-east of Pretoria, Doornkloof is the farm and family home of Jan Smuts, the widely respected statesman, politician and war leader who figured so prominently in South African (and world) affairs during the first half of the 20th century. His surprisingly modest, wood-and-iron house has been restored to its original condition and is open to the viewing public. Smuts's possessions - furniture, effects and appointments - were remarkably unpretentious for so prominent a figure. Tswaing Crater The 150-metre meteorite crater, among the world's most recent and best preserved, lies about 40 kilometres north of the city. The meteorite fell about 220,000 years ago; the deposits of soda and salt ('Tswaing' means 'place of salt') around the rim of the distinctive depression attracted early Stone Age folk, who left a legacy of stone tools and other artifacts. A 7-kilometre hiking trail leads to and around the crater. There's also a shorter walk. Ndebele Village About 10 kilometres to the west of Tswaing is the Mapoch Village, notable for the bright geometrical patterns that adorn the homestead walls. The early Ndebele people, who are Nguni by origin, divided into two groups and, in due course, the northern segment was absorbed by the Sotho. The southern Ndebele, however, retained their cultural heritage, which includes a highly intricate style of dress in which beads and tight metal anklets, bracelets and necklaces feature prominently. Ndebele art is as distinctive, the bold, strikingly vital murals, applied by the women (traditionally, with their fingers) depicting stylised animals and birds, abstracts and, more recently, city scenes. Lesedi Cultural Village Near Hartbeespoort Dam, off the R512 to the west of Pretoria. The place is in fact a cluster of four villages that take in elements of Zulu, Pedi, Xhosa and Sotho culture - huts, kraals, costumes and so forth. Traditional food is served. The Brits area to the north-west of Pretoria lies the town of Brits, on the way to which is the Herbal Centre, where an intriguing selection of medicinal, culinary and aromatic herbs are cultivated. There's also an apothecary's shop, herbarium, nursery and country kitchen (tours by arrangement). Closer to Brits you'll find the De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre, famed for its success in rearing these beautiful but notoriously fragile cats (together with other endangered species). Pretoria, like Johannesburg, is a comfortable and convenient base from which to make forays to the pleasure-palaces of Sun City and the next-door, game-rich Pilanesberg National Park to the west and north-west. Farther away, to the east (three to four hours' drive), is the scenically magnificent Escarpment, or Mpumalanga Drakensberg area and, on the plains below, the famed Kruger National Park. The roads east and west are in excellent condition; scheduled air services link Johannesburg International Airport with both Sun City and the Kruger National Park. The visual arts are well represented in Pretoria - see City Highlights above. Headquarters of the conventional performing arts (theatre, ballet, opera, orchestral music) is the State Theatre complex on Strijom Square, billed as 'the biggest cultural centre in the southern hemisphere'. A number of independent theatre companies present shows at other venues; consult the local newspapers for programme details. Top-quality rugby is played in the 85,000-seat Loftus Versfeld stadium; cricket at Berea Park and, more notably, at the excellent Centurian Park ground in Centurian, south-east of Pretoria. There are, generally, excellent facilities for golf and bowls (clubs welcome visitors), tennis, squash, watersports, walks and hikes, indeed for all the sporting disciplines and leisure activities. Pretoria, like any modern city, offers the full range of general and speciality outlets. Among the bigger and busier central malls are Sanlam Centre, at the junction of Vermeulen and Andries streets, and the Standard Bank Centre (Pretorius, Schoeman and Andries streets). Major suburban malls include the Arcadia Centre, Jacaranda Centre, Sunny Park and Menlyn Park. Worth a special visit are the imaginative Tramshed Shopping Complex at the corner of Van der Walt and Schoeman streets, and the grand development at Centurian, to the south-east of Pretoria, which incorporates a dam, 'musical' waterjets and a Water Park. Street markets are as much a feature of city life as they are in South Africa's other major centres; notable are the ones outside the State Theatre on Strijdom Square (Saturday mornings) and the arts and crafts on sale outside the zoological gardens. Most of these malls have an attractive selection of speciality stores of interest to visitors, stocking African crafts (beadwork, hand-woven goods, pottery, woodwork), hides, skins and so forth. Guateng Province is heavily urbanised; numerous residential and industrial areas are close to and easily accessible from Pretoria; Johannesburg lies a bare 60 kilometres to the south; between the two is the fairly recently established town of Midrand |
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PRETORIA Western Cape
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