Pretoria Things to Do

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It took me a quarter of a century to visit the Paul Kruger House in Pretoria, and even then, I visited on a whim because I had an hour to kill over lunchtime between business meetings. So, faced with the choice between feeding my face and feeding my mind (and VT pages), I decided that I would finally address this oversight.

Paul Kruger House was where Kruger lived before he fled from the British (and ultimately went into exile) after the fall of Pretoria in the Anglo Boer War. It is an attractive single storey house built in the Cape Dutch style, and is of surpringly modest proportions considering that it was used for State as well as personal purposes (for an interesting contrast, have a look at the Old Presidency building in Bloemfontein, which housed the leaders of the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State - Kruger's contemporaries - amid much more imposingly elegant surroundings). It is also endearingly homespun in certain aspects: for instance, the ceilings in the main reception rooms are made of plain wood planks, but have had strips of wood somewhat inexpertly applied to the surface to give them a more ornate, moulded appearance.

The interior is furnished in a characteristic gloomy Victorian style, complete with stiffbacked chairs and framed samplers featuring inspirational texts, and it's difficult to imagine anyone ever relaxing there. But then relaxation wasn't part of the strictly Calvinistic ethos that the Kruger family espoused, so that wouldn't have been a consideration. The Krugers were deeply religious - even by the religious standards of the time - and even the guards that were posted at the entrance to the house were required to stand up when the family was at prayer inside. The photos convey a sense is one of a closeknit and unostentatious family who did not court the limelight - indeed, there is a distinct sense that Kruger disliked being an international figure and would much rather that he and his people had been left alone to focus on their farms and traditional way of life.

The house is fairly interesting, but what I found far more absorbing were the exhibits that have been established in a series of outbuildings at the back of the house. These include the railway carriage from which the Transvaal Government operated in Machadodorp after the fall of Pretoria (see my other Pretoria travel tip and my Machadodorp page) and also document Kruger's period in exile. The exile material is particularly poignant, as it conveys a sense of earnest desperation as an ageing Kruger tried to muster support and resources for his cause to unseat the British against a backdrop of general apathy, with his only real champion being the young Queen of the Netherlands.

Paul Kruger House is located on the western edge of the Pretoria CBD, and there is some street parking outside the house. It is directly opposite the Paul Kruger Church, and it is located between Kruger's grave in the Church Street cemetery (a short drive to the west) and Paul Kruger's statue in Church Square (an even shorter stroll to the east), so you could easily combine all of these into a morning or afternoon, after which you would be all Krugered out!

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Heroes' Acre in Pretoria's Church Street cemetery is a fascinating place which is almost impossible to write about without risking the ire of the VT censor.

Heroes' Acre is the last resting place of some of the most influential figures in South Africa's pre-democratic history. And therein lies the rub, as - other than Paul Kruger - its most (in)famous 'resident' is HF Verwoerd, the architect and instigator of Grand Apartheid. He is perhaps the most reviled figures in South African history, and frankly, I'm quite surprised that his grave has survived so long without being vandalised. And, as I discovered when researching this tip, to add insult to injury, the man who unleashed such catastrophic social engineering on South Africa wasn't born in South Africa at all!

It is difficult to find anything positive to say about Verwoerd: perhaps the best that can be offered in mitigation is that racial segregation in South Africa dates back to the initial period of European colonisation in the seventeenth century, and became progressively more rigidly enforced from the early 20th century when the British colonial 'pass laws' were enacted. However it was Verwoerd who provided a coherent vision for segregation, codified apartheid and put in place the lumbering administrative and legal machinery that was required to enforce the apartheid creed of 'separate development'.

Verwoerd was born in Holland, but emigrated to South Africa with his parents when he was a young child. He became an academic who was first appointed a Professor of Applied Psychology and then branched out into Sociology and Social Work - hugely ironic considering the disastrous outcomes of the social engineering that he implemented. One of the biggest influences on his politics (and his subsequent political vision) was the social work that he undertook in the poor white community during the Depression of the 1930s.

His first Cabinet appointment was as Minister of Native Affairs. As part of his portfolio, he was also responsible for education of the black population, and laid the foundation for the notorious 'bantu' education system. Verwoerd maintained that blacks should only receive education to a level which would enable them to perform their appointed role in society - which he notoriously defined as blacks being destined to be ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ - thus condemning most Africans to an education that consisted of nothing more than basic numeracy and literacy. The disastrous outcome of this decision was the creation of several generations of black South Africans who were appallingly badly educated - irrespective of their potential - and is perhaps the single most destructive legacy of apartheid, which still blights South African development half a century on.

Verwoerd was Prime Minister of the South African Republic from 1958 until he was assassinated in 1966 by a parliamentary messenger, Dimitrios Tsafendas, who stabbed Verwoerd whilst he was sitting at his desk in Parliament.

Leaving Verwoerd's politics aside for a moment, even his grave is unsettling. I don't recall ever seeing a grave which featured the 'autograph' of the person it commemorates, and I find it hard to understand why anyone would think this appropriate for a gravestone.

Across the way from Verwoerd lies JG Strijdom, one of his mentors, and the man that he succeeded as Prime Minister

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The Vredefort Dome, to the south of Johannesburg is a meteorite impact crater that has been granted World Heritage status in the last couple of years: however, very few people are aware that there is a second meteorite crater in the area, which is, for my money, much more worthwhile.

Tswaing is a meteorite impact crater north west of Pretoria. It is less than an hour from Pretoria, but because it's well off the beaten track, it is seldom touristed, and feels rewardingly remote. If you like visiting offbeat locations, are crowd-averse and have an appreciation for the natural environment and disaster movies, then Tswaing's definitely the place for you!

The meteorite which created Tswaing is estimated to have been 30-50m in diameter and the impact left a crater over 1km wide and 100m deep - talk about creating an impact (sorry!) In geological terms Tswaing is brand spanking new, since it's estimated to be only 220,000 years old: as a result, it is remarkably well preserved, and much more recognisable as an impact crater than the older, larger and much more famous Vredefort Dome impact crater (a recently created World Heritage area about an hour's drive south of Johannesburg).

Wikipedia says the following: "The name Tswaing means Place of Salt in Tswana and was previously known as Soutpankrater in Afrikaans (which still appears on some of the road signs). Stone tools from the Middle Stone Age show that the crater was regularly visited by people from as far back as 100 000 years ago in order to hunt and collect salt. Water in the crater comes from surface springs, ground water and rain water and is rich in dissolved carbonates and sodium chlorides. Tswana and Sotho people harvested the salt by filtering and decoction between 1200 AD and 1800 AD. Between 1912 and 1956 brine was pumped from the floor of the crater by the company SA Alkali Ltd. in order to extract soda and salt" (by the way, you can still see the remains on this infrastructure on the crater floor).

By far the best way to appreciate Tswaing is to hike the circular 7.2km crater trail, which follows the perimeter of the crater and allows you to descend down onto the crater floor along a section of the route. Quite apart from the unique scenery (there are, after all, less than 200 of this type of terrestrial meteorite crater in the world), this is a lovely walk through pristine indigenous vegetation - see my photo of gorgeous aloes in bloom during winter - that is energetic but manageable for the moderately fit. Be warned that it can get very hot in this area, and that there is relatively little shade along some sections of the route, so come prepared with hat, sunscreen and plenty of water. I would recommend starting the hike as early as possible to avoid the midday heat, which will also give you a better chance of seeing the mammal and birdlife (the latter is particularly rewarding, since the juxtaposition of woodland and wetland ecosystems means that you have a chance to see species from both).

There is a 'museum' by the parking area where the trail begins - to be honest, this makes it sound rather grander than it is, but the poster displays on the formation of the crater and the attendant wildlife are worthwhile perusing before you set forth to explore. There are four other trails in the 2000ha surrounding conservation area and some group accommodation (I have no idea what this is like).

From Johannesburg, take the N 1 north towards Polokwane. Take N 4 west towards Rustenburg at next off-ramp (signposted Bakwena Platinum Freeway). Drive through the Doornpoort toll plaza (19 km) and take M 80 Pretoria/Soshanguve off-ramp towards Soshanguve. Drive north along M 80 (Mabopane Freeway) until a point where this freeway stops at three-way stop-sign intersection (about 18 km) and turn right towards M 35 (signposted Soutpan Tswaing) at this intersection. Turn left at T-junction with M 35 Soutpan or Tswaing Road and drive on for about 15km north past Soshanguve’s informal settlements. Watch out for game fence (left) and Coca-Cola sign indicating Tswaing Crater 2.7 km and turn left at brown tourist signs after 2.7 km into gravel road leading to main gate - keep a sharp eye out, as when I visited, this sign wasn't very obvious (easy, eh???)

Anyone who has read some of my other pages will know that I have a particular weakness for municipal art, and that sculpture is the form of artistic expression that I like and understand best.

I am saddened that I have yet to find out anything more about this huge metal sculpture at the back of Hatfield Plaza in Pretoria, a short stroll from the Hatfield Gautrain station: I would say that there is a reasonable chance that it depicts Nelson Mandela, but even if it doesn't, it's a very striking piece of art, and well worth a look if you're in the area.

The grotesque holds a particular appeal for me, so when I saw the opportunity to photograph the two ugliest buildings on the Pretoria skyline in a single frame, I grabbed it with both hands!

I find that I'm unwittingly writing quite extensively about TV towers in one context or other - maybe because they are so very visible on a city skyline - but even by the low aestethic standards that one comes to expect from these structures, the Pretoria tower does represent the scraping of the proverbial barrel. If I had my way (and sufficient budget), I'd import David Cerny to cover the thing with marauding, crawling, bronze babies as he did in Prague, but I doubt that it would go down well with the honest burgers of Pretoria!!!

The UNISA campus building is arguably an even uglier structure. A veritable celebration of the great Afrikaaner love affair with concrete, this structure always reminds me of a space ship that has mistakenly landed in the southern suburbs of Pretoria, especially late in the afternoon when all the lights are blazing. For the unitiated, UNISA stands for the University of South Africa, and is a distance learning institution. It has over 200,000 enrolled students, and is therefore happy to describe itself as 'one of the world's mega universities'.

For those eager to similarly abuse their visual senses, this photo was taken from Freedom Park!

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Church Square is one of the few places in the Pretoria CBD where you can get a sense of how Pretoria must have looked a century ago, and, as a result, is often used as a set for local period movies and TV series.

The Square is surrounded by important civic buildings, including the Palace of Justice, the General Post Office, the Old Council Chamber and the Old Capitol Theatre and its importance was underlined by the erection of a statue commemorating the iconic President Paul Kruger.

Church Square has seen some turbulent events over the years. The Palace of Justice (see photo) was the location for the Rivonia treason trial, in which Nelson Mandela and other notable figures in the liberation struggle (including Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki - father to former President Thabo Mbeki who succeeded Mandela as South Africa's second democratically elected president) were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment on Robben Island.

Today Church Square is a bustling green enclave in dilapidated and unlovely downtown Pretoria. There are hawkers selling snacks such as peanuts and fruit, and provided that you are sensible and haven't brought your valuables with you, it would make a good spot to catch your breath and imagine how Pretoria must have looked in its heyday.

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The Transvaal Museum (now Ditsong) is chronically underresourced, and has clearly seen much better days. Which is a great pity, as some of the exhibits - such as the coelocanth and the hominid exhibit- are world class but time worn, and deserve to be displayed in a manner that does them justice.

I have to give the cash-strapped curators credit for having done as much as they can with the limited funds at their disposal. One aspect of their display material that really appealed to me was the innovative use of batiks by an artist (who signs their work as 'L. Steyn') to enliven the exhibits. The photo, which illustrates the transmission mechanism of the bilharzia parasite is an excellent case in point, and illustrates that when the going gets tough, the tough get creative!

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Pretoria Zoo is located just north of the CBD and is a good zoo, particularly by developing world standards. However, over the past couple of decades, seems to have been somewhat left behind by its southerly neighbour in Johannesburg. Whereas Johannesburg Zoo seems to have managed to attract significant funding and has developed new exhibits which have allowed it to move with the times, by contrast, Pretoria Zoo seems to have been caught in a time warp, and probably still reflects its heyday in the 1970s. The Pretoria site also feels more constrained spacewise than Johannesburg (not sure whether this is perception or reality?) which probably limits opportunity to develop extensive new exhibits, and because the enclosures are quite closely spaced, it has less of a 'park like' feel.

The zoo is located on the southern slope of a ridge, and walking up to the northern section can be quite energetic, particularly in summer (remember that Pretoria is on average at least 2 degrees C warmer than Johannesburg, despite the fact that they are only 60km apart). One of the nicest features is a cable car which transports you to the highest point and provides a panoramic view of the zoo (note that this is not included in the admission price, but is not expensive at less than R10). From this point you can look over the rather unlovely 1960s concrete monstrosities of the Pretoria CBD and have an unusual view of the infinitely more attractive Union Buildings along the ridge to the east as well as the marvellously menacing Voortrekker monument which lurks on the horizon.

Pretoria has a successful breeding programme for a number of threatened/endangered species and boasts some types of animals that are not present in Johannesburg - the Komodo dragons are a bit of a draw card. Unlike Jo'burg, it also has a small aquarium.

Small boys in particular will be fascinated by the huge old army Llama helicopter which is displayed in the grounds.

The Pretoria Zoo can get very busy on weekends and public holidays - I was there in December 2009, and the security guard told me that they had had over 37,000 visitors on the Day of Reconciliation public holiday earlier in the month! On weekends, the zoo is a popular destination for bus tours organised by church and school groups from the surrounding townships, who come for the day with picnics. This can make things very crowded and rather noisy, and whilst it provides a fascinating opportunity for people-watching, it can restrict your access to the animals. I would therefore suggest visiting during the week, or early in the morning before the crowds arrive.