Pretoria

Day 2More than half an hour late, we enjoy a simple breakfast. The owner of the backpackers hotel expresses his regret for not picking us up from the airport. The receptionist thought we would arrive the fourth in stead of the second of January. Strangely enough he had reserved our appartement for the correct period!After breakfast we explore Pretoria on foot. On the way up, we take a glance at the Unity buildings, the government center of South Africa.

Unity Buildings, Pretoria

In the center of Pretoria we buy some simcards, an adapter for sockets and the like.  For lunch we take coffee and sweets at Church Square, well-known for the Kruger Monument.

Krugermonument, Church Square Pretoria

After lunch we visit the nearby located home of Kruger. Very interesting. An exhibition, drawn up in a barn, makes it clear that the Boers had much more support than the British. Paul Kruger, president of Transvaal, visited Europe to find sponsors for his fight against the British and their allies. He also called on clergymen and teachters to join the farming communities. That was the reason why my great-uncle Hendrik van Putten, a teacher, emigrated to South Africa.

Home of Kruger in Pretoria

Back in our appartment we stay on the terrace and at the swimming pool. Use of the adjacent fully equipped kitchen is included, but this first night we go out for dinner to a pancake house nearby.

Albertien on the terrace next to our selfcontained appartment

View from the terrace on the swimming pool

 

Day 3On the way towards the center of Pretoria, we pay a visit to the Pretoria Art Museum. Mostly graduation work of students, actually not bad at all, but also landscapes and streets of Pretoria by Peerneef: beautiful water-colour paintings. For lunch we take coffee and ice cream. Clearing through to the National Cultural History Museum. A very large building where most of the rooms are empty. Looking like a hodge-podge, hardly worth
the visit. We return to our hotel by bustaxi, standard rate 10 ZAR. At our hotel we join the evening meal. They promised lamb chops, jacket potatoes and salad. Instead we get mashed potatoes (out of a packet), carrots and peas from the freezer and pork chops. The house wine tasts awful. Otherwise an average hotel for a reasonable price, 400 ZAR per night.

 

Day 4We pick up our rental car, a Toyota Corolla, in the center. We have rented the car for the rest of our holiday. Albertien drives back to the hotel with sweaty palms. Driving on the left side of the road in a busy city in a strange car stays a challenging experience. Fortunately our TomTom showes us the way, thanks to the fact that we downloaded the road map of South Africa in the Netherlands. After checking out  of the hotel our first stop on the way to Magaliesburg, is the Voortrekkers Monument.

The Voortrekkers Monument in Pretoria

A very interesting place to be, but it shows only the view of Afrikaanders and Boers. Also an overview of the Great Migration in the 19th century. We also visit the fort Schanskop, a rampart.

Fort Schanskop, Pretoria

View over Pretoria from the Voortrekkers Monument

Barely on the way to Mageliesburg we drive right into a thunderstorm. Hendrik sends us a text message that his house is out of power and his lands are flooded. We wil be picked up by his sister Elena who will wait for us near the gasstation.

Elena and Hendrik in Matlapa Lodge

She speaks rapid in incomprehensible Afrikaans, but fortunately also speaks english. Accompanied by her grandson Heinrich, she escorts us to our accommodation: the Matlapa Lodge. The lodge is owned by Gustav and Rika (sister of Hendrik) who are at the Cape for a short stay. Their youngest daughter, Elmi, welcomes us. Elmi turns out to be very nice company, a producer of children tv, and last but not least an excellent cook. She makes us lemon chicken, salad, butter nut and asparagus. In her hometown Johannesburg she cooks at peoples home and also gives cooking lessons. See Cook-sister. We can get along very well.