Pretoria is just 50km north-east of Jozi and is the administrative capital of South Africa. Since the abolishment of apartheid the government has changed several town, street and city names to make them 'more African' (only to cause confusion amongst the locals!). Pretoria is one of the cities to undergo a name change. Pretoria is now merely the central zone of the City of Tshwane (ie. the CBD area only). Signs are slowly being changed around the area however I suspect it may take some time before the area is known as Tshwane.By 2025 it is expected that Tshwane and Jozi will form part of a megalopolis of 20 million people! At the moment there are some paddocks separating the two cities.
The city has a very different feel to Jozi, partly due to the architectural influence by Afrikaans. Jacaranda trees line nearly every street in the city, old Victorian buildings are plentiful and there is fewer modern sky-scrapers. What also remains in Pretoria is a lot of ugly, communist looking 70's building!
We visited early in the new year to see a few of the sites and pass an afternoon. The Voortrekker Monument looms over the town. The monument was built in 1949 during Afrikaner nationalism to commemorate their achievements and dominance. It celebrates the Afrikaans founding of independent republics which formed the current South Africa. To a foreigner it does seems a bit ironic that the structure still exists given the existence of race issues in the country over the last 80 years. Nevertheless, an interesting visit and good to get an understanding of the history of Afrikaans.
Voortrekker Monument & bas-relief in monument depicting Boer stories
View of Tshwane from Voortrekker Monument
The Union Buildings in Pretoria are the headquarters of government. The red sandstone buildings are positioned on the side of a hill and surrounded by expansive floral gardens. The president's office is within these buildings. The gardens are a very popular spot for blacks to have picnics and relax in the sun.
Whilst Pretoria seems like a nice city, we wouldn't want to live there. Crime is supposedly just as bad as JHB and it has a 'sleepy' feel to the city. Not enough action compared to JHB!