The Blue Train (1)

A highlight of this holiday is a trip from Pretoria to Cape Town on the luxurious Blue Train. The train takes 27 hours and travels at a top speed of 90km.

We arrived at the station lounge, 5 minutes walk from our hotel, just before the appointed time of 7.30. Having checked in, we were given the number of our suite and a cup of tea. Our luggage was delivered to our suite for us.










We were welcomed by the train manager and then escorted to the train by our coach attendant (our butler Albert).












Our suite is one of 4 in a carriage. There are 29 passenger suites.







A bath on a train is a first for us.
















The train has an observation car at the back so that you can see where we have been and a couple of lounges where snacks and drinks are served. The maximum number of passengers on this train is 58 and it is not quite full. There are a number of Brits and South Africans with a few others.








There are two sittings for meals and we selected the first. Brunch was at 10.30 but turned out to be more of an early lunch.



Wine is plentiful, if you ask for a glass, a new bottle is opened for you. Business was good even at 10.30 in the morning, but that's a bit early for us, we waited until the main course!


A little rest was clearly in order after getting up at 6.15 and eating a large brunch, so we sat back and watched the countryside go by.


A shanty town by the side of the railway, not far from Jo'burg.



There was a lot of empty space along the way. We have seen a few animals around, a Thompson's gazelle, warthog, water buck, ostriches, storks,



The ground here was very red, almost like Northern Territory in Australia and there were lots of termite mounds.




This is a slag heap from a mine .... a gold mine. Years ago the method of extraction of gold was not as efficient as it is today, so there is still gold in the slag and we understand that it will be reprocessed as part of the relandscaping of areas like the centre of Jo'burg.



At about 3pm we drew into Klerksdorp station and sat there. Our second locomotive had put its brakes on and wouldn't let go. Fortunately, the train has a mechanical and electrical technician and even a wheel tapper on board! We sat in the station for 2 hours while the problem was solved. The result of the delay was that we were unable to go to the Kimberly great hole diamond mine because it would have been dark by the time we reached it.


Dinner is smart affair- men are expected to wear a jacket and ladies should be elegant! We all did our best.













When we returned to our suite, it had become a bedroom.

Pat and John on tour

Pretoria

After our disturbed night, we were pleasantly surprised with the excellent breakfast the next morning. Packed lunches were available, so we decided to have two for our day out.
The over ambitious plan was to see the Voortrekker monument, botanical gardens and the Union buildings. We set out for the monument by foot towards Freedom Park from where we would continue to the monument. We passed what appeared to be a market which was all but closed being Sunday but at one stall people were preparing food which looked delicious.




This house was a little different but next to a major road




We then passed through a residential area of small houses some with nicely kept gardens




When we got to Freedom Park, we realised that this would be interesting to see and not just a walking route to the monument. A tour was about to start, so we joined that. We were six, a Welsh couple and a South African couple.
Freedom Park is a monument to ALL who fought and died for democracy throughout South Africa's history. It is a presidential initiative which came out of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The view from the entrance over Pretoria, the closest red roofed building being the railway station




The Sanctuary area which looks out to the amphitheatre and the eternal flame








The amphitheatre




The gallery of leaders




The "Reeds"




The wall of names, here the names are listed by event, WW1, Sharpeville etc but the names are random thereby mixing racial origins.








The boulders of the sacred area, one from each provence of South Africa




The lekgotla, seating area for elders, by tradition always next to the sacred area so that the spirits of the past can guide the leaders of the present.




Moshate




The area for contemplation where we ate our lunch








The grasses on the verges made interesting shapes but who or what had knotted the grass heads together that we saw in great numbers as well?




This was our first chance to get close to a thorn bush. We must have been too high to see these when we went walking in the Drakensberg mountains. The large thorns make a pretty picture.




We didn't reach the Voortrekker monument, but here it is from the Freedom Park.




We had been walking in 30+ degrees for 4 hours and it was time for a rest so we set off back to the hotel rather than heading for the Voortrekker monument which we photographed from afar. Fortunately, on our way back, John spotted a track that the locals were using that he thought might be a short cut and indeed this came to a long footbridge over the railway tracks which gave us a much quicker way back to the hotel, we were very happy. The shortcut did not feature on any maps.
Later in the afternoon we took a taxi to see the Union Buildings a very imposing building with terraced gardens overlooking Pretoria.












Pretoria from the Union Building.




In the evening, we ate a great meal in the hotel restaurant buffet before we packed ready for an early start the next day.
Pat and John on tour

Taxis and Buses

John's cousin Georgina talked about the taxis and about how powerful they were as a lobby group - blocking or going slow on the motorways. Gradually we came to realise that these were not taxis as we knew them but privately owned minibuses. When some urban areas introduced "proper" bus services the "taxis" felt threatened and took industrial action which resulted in their service been properly recognised and included with in transportation planning.

This shows two taxis picking up passengers in the centre of Pretoria.




It seems a good model to us rather than the gargantuan buses in the UK which are so heavy that they destroy the roads. Clearly a taxi takes people from one locality to do their shopping and then takes them home again. We have seen the lines of minibuses waiting by the shops.

Each taxi seems to specialise in a particular area or route. There are the occasional turf wars and bizarre compromise agreements that are not always in the best interest of passengers but the system seems to be well used and must be efficient and dynamic.

The taxis come in many states of condition some old and battered but many are quite new as there are incentives to trade in older minibuses for larger modern cleaner minibuses. Many carry this South African sign which shows they are a taxi. The taxi owner's details are also written on the taxi.




On our tour of Soweto our guide Agnes explained a bit about the way you use the taxis. You stand by the side of the road. If a taxi comes along it will hoot if it has some room. You then respond with a hand signal that shows where you want to go. If the taxi is going that way it will stop. The route to your destination might not be completely direct as the taxi will drop people of at their houses. We passed this set of sculptures which show some of the hand signals used in Jo'burg.




In towns there are areas that act as taxi stations. This station in Pretoria was full and many taxis had to park along the adjoining street. Inside the Station there was shade and stalls selling food and drinks.




I hope that we have understood this all correctly. If not please let us know.



Pat and John on tour

Jo'burg to Pretoria

We had planed that Saturday would be move city and relax day.

We checked out of our hotel in Johannesburg and wandered along to the mall, called into a Woolworths (not the same as our old Woolies) and bought a few things for Ernie, took a few photos then sat down with a drink of tea and iPad and iPhones for an hour or so. Although it is not obvious in the photos, the mall was buzzing.




The night before we had trouble finding the mall on any map. In day light we were able to see that it is an area rather than a specific building. The whole complex was very large.




We made our way down to the Gautrain station across the road from the Mall and whizzed along to Pretoria. We thought that we should find where to check on for the blue train on Monday morning. it was right next to the Gautrain station. Our hotel is also very close, so we can just walk there.

This is the main station and the gardens. While taking the photo of the station, John was accosted by a man in a tatty orange visibility vest who told his that he needed a permit to take the photo - we assumed that this was a scam, and a local told us to ignore him.










Immediately opposite the station is the Victoria Hotel, the oldest hotel in Pretoria. It looks interesting but Pat had rejected this as a place to stay having read reviews. Having seen it, we think that this was the right decision.





After the usual rest, we set out to see a little of Pretoria and find a meal.

This is Church Square





This is the City Hall in Paul Kruger Street





We had skipped lunch and so by now it was getting towards eating time. John had found a likely restaurant on TripAdvisor and so we set out to find it but never did. We then looked around for other restaurants and eventually came to the conclusion that Saturday evening was not the time to eat unless you were in search of KFC, Chicken-Licken, Wimpy, McDonalds etc, etc. We eventually found a pizza takeaway where we could eat in.

We returned to the hotel and retired to the bar for the rest of the evening.

Along with other residents, we had a disturbed night. Some bikers staying in the hotel decided to ride fast around the city on their very powerful bikes between midnight and 3am. They revved them hard before setting off and screeched back into the car park on a regular basis. If you ever get to hear a large Harley Davidson being revved hard it is unbelievably loud. The hotel staff were no pleased either when they had to deal with the complaints.



Pat and John on tour