It was a long trip from Chobe back to South Africa.
I had decided to stay in Pretoria rather than returning to Johannesburg.
I had booked into a hostel in the suburb of Hatfield. The mini bus dropped me off at the hostel. The place turned out to be yet another house that had be converted into a hostel. Others that I had stayed at were in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. It was a large rambling house with a pool and servant’s accommodation. I suspect my room was formerly a servant’s room. It was very small.
Delivered Meal
It was after dark by the time that I was checked in and settled into my room. The owners told me that “the best way to get a meal at this time of the night was to order a delivered meal…it was too dangerous to walk in the streets at this time”. I was getting used to this in the RSA.
Guard on Duty
I woke up fairly early. I noticed someone wandering in the yard outside my room. It turned out to be a security guard. It is so sad that the hostel sees the need for such measures.
Gautrain
The next day I decided to check out some of the city.
The hostel was very close to the Hatfield train station which is part of the Gautrain network. This is a very modern train line that links Pretoria with Johannesburg and the O. R. Tambo International Airport.
I walked up to the station. As was often the case in the RSA, I was one of very few people walking in the street. I was certainly the only white person.
I noticed that all of the houses had razor wire, electric fences and signs with the names of the 24-hour security companies that the owners had employed.
Downtown
I took the train into main Pretoria station. I was heading to Church Square which is the centre of the CBD – the Martin Place of the city.
I asked a bloke, who also got off the train, the way to Church Square. He told me that his car parked nearby and that he “would give me a lift”. I asked “how long would it take to walk?”. He said “it would take less than ten minutes”. When I said “I would walk”, he looked at me at little curiously.
I walked away from the station to the square. It was a crowded street. I felt safe, but I did notice that I was the only white person on the street. This is in city where ‘whites’ account for over 50% of the population.
At first sight, Church Square is impressive. Victorian era building surround the square – banks and public offices.
A closer look reveals that it is very ‘faded’. There were also a lot of seemingly destitute people lying on the grass.
I quickly walked around the square and the surrounding shops. I was a bit of a curiosity.
Forced to Eat McDonalds
I was hungry and needed to eat. The only place I could find was McDonalds. That about says it all.
Boer Monument
The next place I wanted to see was the Voortekker Monument. This was built by the Afrikaans South Africans to the commemorate the ‘long march’ of the Dutch Boers from the Cape Province to the Transvaal between 1835 and 1854.
The monument is not far from the CBD. Not surprisingly there is no public transport to the place. I ordered an Uber Taxis. The driver didn’t seem to be too keen to chat to me when I told time where I confirmed where I was going.
The Voortekker Monument is a strange place. There are strong religious over tones. As most know, the Boers were Lutherans. They were very pious and conservative.
Nearby to the Monument, there is a museum with exhibits about the Afrikaners time in South Africa. It covers the Apartheid period. There is one section the celebrates the Afrikaners ‘achievements’. These include being successful at rugby, Zola Budd (remember the girls who ran in the Olympics in bare feet) and the armaments industry that developed during the period of trade sanctions during the latter part of the Apartheid period.
Uber Drivers not Keen
It took me three attempts to book an Uber taxis from the Monument back to the railway station. The first two drivers called me and asked me to cancel my request. One said was “too far from where he was”. The App showed he was less than 10 minutes away.
The third driver seem to be pleased that I was Australian.
Good Restaurant
Back in Hatfield, I went to a restaurant that was recommended by the people who owned the hostel. Like many places I had eaten in while in the RSA, it was very good, and reasonably priced.
I walked back to the hostel in the fading light.
Old Lady fearful of the Future
The next morning, I walked to the nearest shopping centre for breakfast. I came across an older woman walking her Scottish Terrier. I was surprised to see a white person the street, let alone on older woman walking alone.
We had a brief chat. She told me that “she didn’t walk far from her house, but the dog needed to get out”. She said that “her children had moved to the UK, but she was too old to move”. She said that she “feared for the future of the country and the young people (take that to mean young whites) who could not leave the place”.
Train to Airport
The wife of the family that ran to hostel drove me to the Gautrain station where I caught the train to the O. R. Tambo International Airport.
Next was Doha en-route to Rhodes in Greece.
Flickr Link
About Church Square
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Square,_Pretoria
About Boer Monument
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voortrekker_Monument
About Gautrain
billrider2013 