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Sunday 22 September 2019

South Africa Part 8: My fleeting Visit To Pretoria


My encounter with Pretoria was just a fleeting one. It was just enough to visit the Union Buildings and the park in front of it to take photos with the biggest statue of Nelson Mandela, to catch glimpses of the city's busy streets, to dine in one of its Chinese restaurants and to see its majestic sunset. Pretoria is quite a beautiful city and it definitely offers a lot more.

My Photo Gallery
The Union Buildings is South Africa's national heritage. It houses the offices of the President of the country. This British Colonial semi circular building is 285 meters long and is located high on a ridge overlooking the city. This was our first stop in Pretoria and the only attraction we visited.

Fronting the Union Buildings is a beautiful park.
A 9 meter tall bronze statue of Nelson Mandela is the main landmark of the Union Buildings Park. 
Another prominent monument seen at the Union Buildings is the statue of General Louis Botha (first prime minister of the Union of South Africa) on horseback.
 The Police Memorial Monument lies not too far away from the Union Buildings.
Pretoria is a typical modern city and it is good to catch glimpses of its busy streets and shops.



We passed through the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History which is a natural history museum.
A number of streets are lined with the Jacaranda trees which are known to produce a vibrant purple bloom during the months of October and November, during which time the beauty of Pretoria is personified.
There are many migrants from China dwelling in South Africa so finding Chinese food is not a problem here. We patronized Jasmine Palace Restaurant that specializes in Cantonese cuisine. It is a lovely restaurant with great tasting food.




Getting to see a Pretoria sunset was a bonus considering the short time spent in this city.














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