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Originally imported from Rio de Janeiro in 1888, 70 000 jacaranda trees line the streets of this city, hence Pretoria’s moniker, “Jacaranda City”.
The National Zoological Gardens – known to the locals simply as “the zoo” – is a fetching stretch of greenery located right in the heart of the city, on the banks of the Apies River. Rated one of the top 10 in the world, the Pretoria Zoo is internationally linked to worthy conservation efforts and breeding programmes.
The Transvaal Museum in Paul Kruger Street tells of the area’s natural history with animal, bird, archaeological and geological displays – “bones and stones”, if you will.
The Rietvlei Nature Reserve and Rietvlei Dam, off the road that links Pretoria to Oliver Tambo International Airport, is home to small antelope, lovely trees (including the remains of a historic fig tree over 1 000 years old) and scenic picnic spots.
The Wonderboom Nature Reserve borders the Magaliesburg area and is rich in historical artifacts.
The Dinokeng conservancy, close to the mining town of Cullinan, provides choice accommodation and houses a great variety of animals.
Just outside the city on the R101 is South Africa’s first enviro-museum, the Tswaing Museum, which is located in the Tswaing Nature Reserve at the site of a crater lake that was formed some 200 000 years ago, when a blazing meteorite slammed into the earth’s surface.
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