January 16, Tuesday

January 16,  Tuesday  

I spent a number of hours walking around downtown Pretoria.  I visited the National Museum of Natural History, pretty much your usual stuff, except for their South African bird collection.   Amazing !   It took up an entire wing and two floors.    Took pictures of the stuffed ones I had actually seen in the wild, or photographed, just so I had the correct information in my notes.    

 

National Museum of Natural History

 Tawny Eagle in Kruger

 Fish Eagle in Chobe

 Kingfisher in Chobe

 Hornbill at picnic area in Kruger

 Starling in Kruger

I finally learned the difference between horns and antlers (don’t laugh…. I honestly did not know !)   Horns last a life time and form part of the skull as they grow;  this is what most African animals have.   Antlers are bone outgrowths, covered in velvet skin that supplies blood and drop off after mating season is over  (deer, elk, moose, etc).  I therefore apologize for using the term antlers when referring to antelopes and boks.

 Pretoria City Hall in front of NMNH

  Native statue in front of City Hall

 I then went to visit the Museum of Culture, which housed some great San rock carvings as well as an exhibit on weaving.  Yvette you would have loved it. 

  San stone carvings

 

Weaving

Among the items were a pair of sandals made by Mahatma Gandhi in 1914 and given my him to President Smuts, his political adversary to symbolize the mutual respect the two great leaders had for each other.

From there I walked to Church Square where many of the historical parliament buildings are located. 

 Parliament buildings in Church Square

 Historic building in Church Square where I had lunch

 Another historical building in Church Square

 Monument to Paul Kruger in Church Square

 More historical buildings in Church Square

I had lunch at a local café and then went to visit Paul Kruger House;  the house he occupied with his wife in the latter years of his life.  I was quite surprised to see that he had been honoured by both France and Russia during his exile years, for his fight for South Africa against the British.

Somewhere along the way this morning, as I looked at the people in the streets, I realized that there was not one single white person among them.  First time this has happened to me and I found it very strange.  Not scared obviously, just a bit disconcerting and very interesting. By the end of the afternoon, when people started coming out of the government office buildings, I started to see some white people;  maybe 20 in total.   I’m definitely a minority here.

Got back to the hotel for a much needed shower.  I don’t know how hot it was today, but there was sweat coming out of every pore in my body.