Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is name the Jacaranda City after the springtime sea of purple blossoms. It is the administrative capital of South Africa. Pretoria's roots and traditions lie in the mid-1800's. It was the capital of the Boer Republic, the heartland of the Afrikaner Volk. Today, it is the academic capital too, with a student population of 76 000.

Pretoria is only 30 minutes away from Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Activities and sightseeing

Union Buildings

America has the White House and Britain has the Houses of Parliament. South Africa has the Union Buildings. It is the seat of government and the house of the presidency. Here on May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the president after the country's first free elections.

Voortrekker Monument

This grey colossus was built in the honour of the Afrikaner pioneers who journeyed inland from the Cape in the mid-1800's.