Pretoria is South Africa's administrative capital, and it gets less attention than Johannesburg and Cape Town, which is part of its appeal. In October the city is painted purple by thousands of jacaranda trees, introduced from South America in the late nineteenth century, and the fallen blossom carpets the pavements. It sits in a warm valley under the Magaliesberg ridge, a little over fifty kilometres from Johannesburg, and its centre mixes Afrikaner history, colonial buildings and a lively black African present.
The Union Buildings, designed by Herbert Baker and finished in 1913, stand on a hill above the city with a famous view and terraced gardens. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president here in 1994, and a large bronze statue of him now stands on the terraces, arms outstretched. In the centre, Church Square has a statue of Paul Kruger and a set of imposing old buildings, while the Voortrekker Monument on a hill to the south tells the story of the Afrikaner trek in granite, a controversial but striking structure. The old Kruger House museum shows how the Boer president lived.
Rides from Pretoria go in many directions. North and east, the road leads toward the Magaliesberg hills, with their rock outcrops, dams and weekend retreats, and toward the Cullinan diamond mine, where the largest rough diamond ever found came from in 1905. Johannesburg and Soweto lie south, the latter reached on busy motorways such as the N1, which can be fast and dense with trucks and minibus taxis. Treat the minibus taxis with respect, as they stop and swerve without warning. The best months are April to October, dry and sunny, whereas summer brings short, violent afternoon thunderstorms, with hail on occasion.
Fuel is easy: petrol stations are everywhere, open at all hours on main roads, and attendants fill the tank, clean the windscreen and expect a small tip. Be careful about security in any large South African city, keep valuables out of sight, park in guarded areas and avoid riding late at night in unfamiliar districts. Food ranges from braai, the South African barbecue, with boerewors sausage, to bunny chow and Cape Malay curry, and the city's coffee shops are good places to rest before the road.