Johannesburg - Pretoria - Soweto - South Africa - November 2021

 Johannesburg is informally known as Jozi, Joburg or "The City of Gold". It's the largest city and the financial capital of South Africa. Our hotel, the Marriott Melrose Arch is located in the center of  Birnam, a trendy suburb of Johannesburg.  

Brand new Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch in Birnam, Johannesburg

Pedestrian Mall by the hotel 

A half day city tour took us to Pretoria for its famous landmarks and a stop at the Union Building/ Parliament. Pretoria is one of the South Africa's three capital cities serving as the seat of the executive branch of government. It has a large settlement of Botswanans and serves as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. 

Kruger's house and museum.

Dutch Reformed Church (Bosman Street Church) in Pretoria.

High Court 

Tudor Chambers - Southeastern corner of Church Square in central Pretoria

 

Old Bank Building next to Palace of Justice - Church Square

Famous intersection @ Pretoria Central: Madiba & Mandela

A short drive from Pretoria Central and the historic Church Square is the Union Buildings, Pretoria. The Union Buildings are impressive and well designed, form the official seat of the South African Government. It also houses the offices of the President of South Africa. The surrounding grounds are huge with perfectly manicured lawn and terraced gardens. 

 

The Union Buildings in Pretoria

Delville Wood South African National Memorial @ The Union Buildings

The Union Buildings viewed from the steps leading to the gardens and grounds

The gardens.

Group picture @ statue of Nelson Mandela - the Union Buildings in the background

 

There are many embassies located in Pretoria, near the Union Buildings

US Embassy front gate.

US Embassy in Pretoria

The purple Jacaranda trees line the Pretoria streets.  
 
From Pretoria, we headed south toward Johannesburg to make our last stop in Soweto, a township of the City of Johannesburg Municipality in Gauteng.   

Former De Beer's company headquarter in Johannesburg.
The building has 28 facets like a diamond.

Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque in Midrand, a suburb of Johannesburg

Evans Park Mosque in Gauteng, Johannesburg 

Bleached mine waste (tailings) all over Joburg's landscape

Soweto is an abbreviation for South Western Township. It is an incorporated municipality in the City of Johannesburg. Soweto is famous since it's home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu's home in Orlando West neighborhood of Soweto

Nelson Mandela National Museum (Mandela's home) 

Photo of Mandela in the museum

Famous photo of Nelson Mandela taken by David Meyer in front of the house.

Soweto also is known for its riots in the morning of June 16, 1976.

16 of June 1976 Memorial Park

Antoinette Sithole standing by the photo that made her an icon of the Soweto's June 1976 uprising. On June 16, 1976, she ran beside her brother who was shot and being carried. He was declared dead on arrival.

With Antoinette at the June 16 (1976) Memorial Park.

 

 

Blyde River Canyon Natural Reserve - South Africa - November 2021

We're on our way to Johannesburg after leaving Kruger National Park. It's about a half day bus ride. We made a stop at Blyde River Canyon Natural Reserve in Eastern Mpumalanga. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of geological formation around Bourke's Luck Potholes where the Treur River merges into the Blyde. 

Bourke's Luck Potholes entrance.

On the pedestrian bridge with another pedestrian bridge in the background

Pedestrian bridges connect various overlooks of the potholes and the gorge downstream

A beautiful lizzard.

Potholes and plunge pools of the Treur River

God's Window, a popular vantage point, in the background

A southward view from God's Window 

God's Window in the background

We stopped for lunch at Dullstrom, a charming village nestled in the Mpumalanga Highlands. It's the highest village in South Africa with altitude of 2,100m above sea level and a popular destination for trout fishing and outdoor activities. 

A fruit stand in Dullstrom

A main road in Dullstrom

Our restaurant for lunch

Group lunch

Kruger National Park - South Africa - November 2021

 The long day of our luxury African safari adventure came to an end. Our Big 5 safari game drives in Hluluwe Game Reserve and Kruger National Park were fun and great success. Besides the Big Five, we were pleased to see many other magnificent wildlife in their nature habitats.  

Blue ball monkey

Mycteria ibis (yellow-billed stork)

Crocodiles by the water's edge/riverbank 

in the lake

Crocodiles found in Kruger National Park is the largest species of crocodile in Africa and the second-largest in the world. Only the salt water crocodile is bigger

More elephants

Giraffe crossing

Back to the hotel, I took a leisure walk to the Kruger Gate. On the way back, I stopped at a street vendor to buy a few tourist souvenirs before getting ready for dinner at the hotel. The buffet dinner was a fun get-together with our group. We were outdoors under the clear beautiful night with firepit nearby and various stations for food, just like the evening before. Then came an intense rainstorm with fierce thunder and lightning that lasted for a long time. We took refuge inside the restaurant to finish our dinner.  We were lucky and grateful that the rainstorm had waited until the evening so that we had a dry, beautiful day in Kruger National Park. 

In the hotel ground

Time to say goodbye to Protea Hotel at Kruger Gate. We had a very nice stay!