Elephant in the Pilanesberg

An elephant family in the Pilanesberg during a visit with the Daubert family from Texas. A feeling of peace and tranquillity with a tinge of excitement to see these magnificent beasts!

Day Tours

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Mobile+27 (0)73 387 0762Email ted@mweb.co
Telephone +27 (0) 12 807 2803FAX +27 (0) 86 515 8095

Guest-house Association of Tshwane East Walking Tour of Historic Church Square

We spent a delightful Sunday morning visiting the Heritage Foundation tagged buildings on Church Square. Pretoria is the only city in South Africa that has such a historic city centre.

There are many facts and fables about the old building. Just one of the interesting buildings is the National Bank and Mint - 1893:

• Erected on ground owned by John Struben
• ZAR Mint first mint in the Southern Hemisphere
• Neo-Renaissance building
• Frank Emley designed the array of capitals, pediments, pilasters, round arches and ornamental friezes. Anton van Wouw, sculpted decorative friezes and capitals for the façade
• The Corner stone contains  with a a lead casket a copy of the Bank Concession, Bank Statutes, Bank Note Law, Prospectus of first State Loan, various newspapers of the 6th of July 1892, £1 bank note, gold and silver coins, and signatures of the Pretoria staff of the bank
• The mint produced the famous Kruger sovereigns
• A famous coin is the ‘Sammy Marks Tickey’. Sammy Marks was 'given' the mint for a  day to show appreciation for the donation of £10, 000 made by Marks towards the statue of Paul Kruger commissioned for the city
• Sammy Marks produced 215 of the smallest coins in the country, the tickey, in gold
• Only one of the three printing presses brought from Berlin by Freiderich Munscheid in 1891 remains and is still in working order, it was moved from the ZAR Mint to the new location in Midrand
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

Walking Tour of Historic Church Square

DATE; Sunday 4 March

TIME: 10 for 10.30

Meet: @ Café Riche, Church Square

Cost: Bring along R50 for Coffee and Cake + Tip for Waiter

Booking: Essential to reserve tables

RSVP: Ted Stilwell ~ ted@mweb.co.za ~ Phone 0733870762

 

Did you know?

• Most buildings on the West Facade of Church square date back to the 1890s
• Their architecture is Flemish renaissance
• The East Facade consist of buildings dating back to the 1930s and are Art Deco
• The Raadsaal was completed in 1893, designed by Zylsta Wierda and built by John Kirkness. The materials and furnishing except the brick and mortar was imported by ship from various countries in Europe, landed at the Cape and transported by ox-wagon all the way to the old Transvaal.
• Most of the statues on the Square were by Anton van Wouw. Have you seen the clock in the entrance to the old Post office
• The Kruger Mint was empty when the British marched into Pretoria in June 1900.

I have arranged a walking tour of the Square. We will meet at Cafe Riche for a meet and greet, and some “boere troos”, 'coffee for the Souties' with a slice of cake. Then we take a stroll around the Square and if time permits maybe Burlington and van Erkom arcades.

FAQ:

How long will the tour last? “We will be finished by 1.30pm”

What about parking? “There will be lots on a Sunday”

Is it safe?: “Been doing this for years and never had an incident, as long as we stay together and don't wander off on our own”

By when should I RSVP/book?: “Please let me know by 2 March so I can book the venue at Cafe Riche”

Road Rage in the Game Reserve

Ted’s Place Tours
Private VIP tailor-made tours to suit you!Pretoria! Johannesburg! Soweto!Gold! Diamonds! Culture! The ancient land! Off the beaten track! Pilanesberg! People, Planet & Prosperity!
Cell +27 (0)73 387 0762 Tel +27 (0) 12 807 2803ted@ mweb.co.za

Never argue with someone who is a whole bunch bigger than you...and is coming toward you in “his” lane...

These photos were taken by visitors to Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa.
The guy in the silver Volkswagen (second photo) was hoping to get past the elephant unscathed.

Just as a matter of interest: This specific Elephant’s name is Amarula. He can be recognised by his short tail (Photo 6).

If you look carefully at his temporal glands in the 4^th photo, you will see ‘tears’ running down his face. The inside of his hind legs are also wet: both clear signs that he is in MUSTH – and then you MUST steer well clear of him (pun intended J)

A Bull Elephant in musth can be even more unpredictable than your wife/girlfriend/sister at the wrong time of the month, so keep your distance! (Edna de Beer. Honorary Ranger, Pilanesberg National Park, NWPTB)

Tour rates

Ted’s Place Tours

Private VIP tailor-made tours to suit you!

Pretoria! Johannesburg! Soweto!Gold! Diamonds! Culture! The ancient land! Off the beaten track! Pilanesberg! People, Planet & Prosperity!

Cell +27 (0)73 387 0762

Tel +27 (0) 12 807 2803

ted@ mweb.co.za

DAY TOURS:	1	2	3	4
Pretoria City Tour	700	850	1050	1250
Botanical Garden Tour	550	600	700	800
Cullinan Diamond Mine Surface Tour	750	900	1100	1300
Pretoria & Cullinan Diamond Tour	1100	1300	1500	1700
Tswaing Meteorite Crater 7km hike	900	1100	1300	1500
Rhino & Lion Park Tour	950	1100	1350	1600
Pilansberg National Park Tour	1450	1750	1950	2150
Pilansberg and Sun CityTour	1550	1900	2150	2400
Maropeng Tour	900	1150	1350	1550
Maporeng and Rhino & Lion Park Tour	1150	1350	1550	1750
Soweto Tour	950	1150	1350	1550
Apartheids Museum Tour	950	1150	1350	1550
Soweto and Apartheids Museum Tour	1150	1350	1550	1750
Gold Reef City Tour	950	1150	1350	1550
Johannesburg City Tour	950	1100	1300	1500
Johannesburg and Pretoria Tour	1350	1500	1700	1900
Johannesburg and Soweto Tour	1350	1500	1700	1900
Lesedi Cultural Village Tour	1500	1800	2050	2300
Cheetah Project Tour	1200	1300	1550	1800
Elephant sanctuary	2400	2600	3100	3600

These tours require a minimum of 2 pax.

A single supplement is required for 1 pax.

These rates are subject to change without notice.

Includes: Driver/ Registered Guide. Fuel, Toll Fees and Entrance Fees.

Excludes: Portage, Meals and Refreshments

Tourist  guide registration  (GP2037, Gauteng , Mpumalanga and North West)