mzanzi addition 6 digital text2

Discover South Africa
before again being renamed after 1994 to its current name. Located here
are, among others, the SA Army College, SA Air Force College, the Air Force
Memorial, and 1 Military Hospital. On nearby Bays Hill in Swartkop, overlooking
Air Force Base Swartkop, the first air force base of the SA Air Force, is the Air
Force Memorial.
Driving down the hill into the city you will pass the majestic old buildings of
what was once the barracks of the Transvaal State Artillery, built in 1896 in the
neo-Renaissance style with red brick and yellow sandstone. It was later used by
the British occupying forces as their headquarters during the Anglo-Boer War,
then used as the Union Defence Headquarters and still later as the SA Defence
Headquarters. Keep on driving north and you will pass the Kgosi Mampuru II
Correctional Centre, one of the largest prisons in the country previously known
as Pretoria Central Prison. When South Africa still had the death penalty, its
gallows were housed here. Mampuru II, after whom the prison is named, was
hanged here in 1883 after he killed rival leader Sekhukhune.
Pretoria city centre, in the heart of Tshwane / mage: Francesco Dazzi, Shutterstock
Staying in the hills, you can visit four military forts built on surrounding
hills by the Boer republic’s government to protect the city, just before the
outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. Three of these - Fort Schanskop,
Fort Wonderboompoort and Fort Klapperkop - were designed and built by
the German engineering company Krupp. The fourth, Fort Daspoortrand, was
built by a French company. Of these Klapperkop and Schanskop are the most
impressive, having been meticulously restored, with Klapperkop housing a
military museum with life-like exhibitions and relics from the Anglo-Boer War.
On another hill south of the city, is the huge, impressive building of the
University of South Africa, with a view to the city’s oldest higher education
institution, the University of Pretoria. The city is also home to the Tshwane
University of Technology. Numerous research centres are found across the city,
making it South Africa’s research capital.
Museums are plentiful, depicting every facet of South Africa’s history, from
natural to military, and everything in-between. Museums include the National
Museum of Cultural History; Freedom Park; SA Air Force Museum; Geoscience
Museum; Kruger Museum; National Film, Video and Sound Archive; Pioneer
Museum; SA Air Force Memorial; Sammy Marks Museum; Science and
Technology Museum; Pretoria Art Museum; Melrose House Museum; Smuts
House Museum; National Museum of Natural History; Voortrekker Monument
and Museum; Correctional Services Museum; and the Willem Prinsloo
Agricultural Museum.
Freedom Park, Tshwane / Image: Neha Hrovat, Shutterstock
Natural attractions
Just north of the city centre lies the Dinokeng Big 5 Game Reserve, prompting
the city’s claim that it is the only city in the world that has a Big 5 game reserve
within the city. Here, living in close proximity to human city dwellers, you will
find elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo roaming freely within the reserve.
And a few street blocks north of Church Square are the National Zoological
Gardens with its zoo, the oldest and largest zoo in South Africa. The 85-hectare
zoo houses 3,117 specimens of 209 mammal species, 1,358 specimens of
202 bird species, 3,871 specimens of 190 fish species, 388 specimens of 4
invertebrate species, 309 specimens of 93 reptile species, and 44 specimens
of 7 amphibian species.
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For nature lovers these there is much more than just these two attractions,
such as: Luton Valley Bird Sanctuary; Moreleta Kloof Nature Area;
Pierre van Ryneveld Nature Area; Struben Dam Bird Sanctuary; Austin Roberts
9m tall Nelson Mandela looking over the city / Image: Susan Schmitz, Shutterstock