Ted’s Place Tours

Public Liability Insurance R10 million SATIB underwriters

Customised tours to suit you !

Contact Ted on mobile 073 387 0762

Day Tours not to be missed !!

Historic Pretoria

Pillanesberg National Park

Soweto Tours

Soweto and Apartheids Museum

Cradle of Humankind ~ Maropeng

Walk with the Lions ~ Uthakula Lion

Elephant Intercation ~ Elephant Sanctuary

Cheetha Sanctuary ~ De Wildt

Johannesburg

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These rates are subject to change without notice.

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

Excludes: Portage, Meals and Refreshments

Tours are subject to availability

Tours can be altered or combined to suite guests' requirements

Ted's Place Tours

Contact Ted on mobile 073 387 0762

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Pillanesberg National Park is one of the larger national parks in South Africa> the park covers 500 square kilometres. The park is encircled by four rings of hills, a geologically fascinating alkaline complex, one of the largest of its kind in the world, which was produced by volcanic action 1,200 million years ago! Home of Big Five in 125,000 ha volcanic crater

Soweto is a city of contrasts: luxurious mansions across the road from tin shanties, green fields and streams around the corner from piles of garbage. Baragwanath Hospital the biggest public hospital in the world . Soweto, an acronym for South Western Township, was begun in 1904 and from the 1950s, became the government's dumping ground for unwanted black settlements in white suburbs. Regina Mundi Catholic Church played a significant role in the South Africa of the 60s, 70s and 80s, when political parties were banned. Orlando West, and Vilakazi Street, the street of two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Hector Pieterson Museum . Hector, 12, was one of the first casualties of the Soweto uprising of 16 June, 1976, when over 500 people were killed Famous Vilikazi Street, houses of Mandela and Tutu, 1976 uprising and Hector Pietrsen Square, Regina Mundi, Freedom Square and township life

Walk with the Lions

Half day private city tours are customised to suit the guests’ needs.  The tours last 3-4 hours and prices include entrance to two venues. Standard tours will include the Voortrekker Monument, a walk around Church Square, the Old Raadsaal and Union Buildings. If tourists have a particular interest the tour will incorporate that particular site, monument or museum. Pretoria is also renowned for its status as garden city of the world and for nature lovers a tour of four of its famous parks showcasing indigenous flora can be arranged.

The Voortrekker Monument was built to commemorate the Great Trek from the Cape of Good Hope into the interior of South Africa from 1835 to 1852. 1938. from the top of the monument you can enjoy panoramic views of the city bowl. Ted will also show you the landmarks of the earth when it was still verry young before there were living organisms and tell you about the catalymitic events that shaped the ancient land and brought forth South Africa's abundant mineral wealth of gold, platimum and daimonds.

 The Union Buildings are the administrative headquarters of the government and stand majestically on Meintjieskop, overlooking Pretoria. This magnificent, crescent shaped red sandstone edifice looks over the city from the heights of Meintjes Kop, from where there are panoramic views.  Features of note are the statues, the Garden of Remembrance, the Delville Wood memorial and the Pretoria war memorial.  It is here that President Mandela was inaugurated in 1994.

 Pretoria is the only city in South Africa with a proper city centre - Church Square 
West facade 
Old Capitol Theatre - One of the few examples of Gauteng 1930s theatres 
Old Netherlands Bank
Café Riche - Erected in 1904 with the doorframes and window sashes from the old church that stood on the square. 
Post Office   Designed by John Cleland.
Zuid Afrikaanze Bank 
Mint
North facade
Palace of Justice Dating from the end of the 19^th century designed in typical Italian Renaissance Style by Sytze Wierda. Famous for the Treason Trial. The Rivonia trial in Pretoria followed in 1964 and Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Amhed Katrada and others were incarcerated on Robin Island with life sentences.Old Reserve Bank  Classical style of the 1930s
Old Mutual Classical style of the 1930s
Eastern Facade
Eerste Volks Bank A good example of Cape architecture 
Barclays Bank FNB was designed by George Essemont Lieth, one of the masters in the traditional style in SA 
Tudor House Owned by George Hays. Designed by John Ellis
Southern Facade 
Standard Bank  Originally the Grand Hotel
Old Raadsaal Designed by Sytze Wierda from Friesland, educated in Amsterdam. Erected by Kirkness a Scot from the Orkney Islands in 1887 Ionic and Corinthian pillars. Four bells were cast in Germany for the clock towerThe Square
Originally wagons camped here for nagmaal. Like most European Towns a church stood in the centre of town. There was dissent amongst the church and it split into three. The church was broken down and some materials reused in the construction of the three sister churches. Paul Kruger’s statue was moved from the Station to its present place in 1954. 
Paul Kruger’s Statue by Anton van Wouw and cast in Italy

The Kruger House was the home of President Paul Kruger for the last 16 years of his life as President of the Zuid Africaansche Republiek. The museum at the back is of particular interest to tourist from the Netherlands as it depicts the rich relationship between the old President, Paul Kruger, and the young monarch, Queen Wilhelmina.
The building of the Pretoria City Hall was inaugurated in 1935. The designing architect, Joseph Lockwood-Hall (1873-1941. The building follows the semi-Italian classical style, which was popular for public buildings during the 1920’s and 1930’s and has a carillon of 32 bells. The front of the hall is graced by statues of Andries Pretorius, after whom Pretoria is named, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, founder of the city and President of the ZAR. To the rear is the statue of Chief Tshwane after who the metropolitan city of Tshwane is named

The Transvaal Museum was founded in 1892 by the government of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, and moved into its current premises in Paul Kruger Street in 1912. The museum is a wonderful place to take a stroll through the exhibits. Part one of the Genesis of Life traces the origins of life on earth, from the simplest to most complex life forms. Part two looks at the prehistory and early life of man, and at prehistoric creatures including whales, hoofed mammals and primates.

Melrose house is a Victorian mansion, with its balconies, verandas, gables and turrets, was built by businessman George Heys in 1886. The Peace of Vereeniging, ending the Anglo-Boer War, was signed here in 1902. The house is now a museum.

Sammy Marks Museum, the former home of magnate Sammy Marks has been restored to its exact condition in 1886 and includes beautiful collections of furniture and decorative objects from the 1880s. 48 grand rooms filled with fine furniture, paintings, glassware and porcelain, mostly from England The furniture reflects late Victorian and early Edwardian tastes - heavy, dark and very solid.

Cullinan Diamond Mine, original stone miner’s cottages, a turn-of-the-century station and authentic trading centre buildings flank the jacaranda and oak lined streets. The Big Hole One cup of diamonds a day still mined. The Volcanic pipe 1,2 million years old and 32 ha largest in the world.. In 1905 that the Cullinan diamond was found, and at 3106 carats in its uncut state it was, and still is, the largest diamond ever discovered in the world!

The National Botanic Garden hosts the National Biodiversity Institute and depicts the biodiversity of South African fauna. It is set up into plant and tree species of the seven bionomes in South Africa from the succulent Karoo, the grassland savannah to tropical rainforest. Of particular interest are the cycads, living fossils from the Jurassic period and the Ndebele Sangoma (Medicine persons) medicinal gardens. 

The Tswaing Meteorite Crater is one of three pristine meteorite  impact craters in the world. 220,000 years ago Homo sapiens witnessed this 'messenger from space'. The impact blast was equivalent to one thousand atomic bombs. The crater hike is 7km and follows the rim of the crater before descending into the brine filled lake below. Bushveld trees and small animals can be seen.

 For those that missed these two of the big five the Rhino & Lion Park   offers the opportunity to catch up. You can also cuddle a lion cub and have your picture taken with a real live cheetah. The Wonder Caves in the park are also worth a visit.

Pilanesberg National Park is one of the larger national parks in South Africa> the park covers 500 square kilometres. The park is encircled by four rings of hills, a geologically fascinating alkaline complex, one of the largest of its kind in the world, which was produced by volcanic action 1,200 million years ago! Big five country in a malaria free area.

Sun City is a theme resort including the Palace of the Lost City, the Valley of the Waves with a beach and waves, the Sun City Golf course, a rain forest, casinos and much more. Worth doing is surfing in the Valey of the Waves and strolling through the sun drenched tropical forest.

The Cradle of Human Kind is unique in the world because of its hominoid fossil treasure. Maporeng is an interactive museum dealing with the origins of earth and mankind, our ancestors, people of South Afric, the environment and the future of earth. The first complete skull of a mature Austalopithicus, the world famous Mrs. Ples was discovered in the SterkfonteinCaves. Stalagmites and stalactites are to be seen on the cave tour.

SOWETO is a city of contrasts: luxurious mansions across the road from tin shanties, green fields and streams around the corner from piles of garbage, the biggest public hospital in the world with the world's highest HIV infection rate, and a friendliness and cheerfulness that disguises a high unemployment rate.

Soweto, an acronym for South Western Township, was begun in 1904 and from the 1950s, became the government's dumping ground for unwanted black settlements in white suburbs. Its first houses were made of tin and wood, the township only getting brick houses in 1933, built by Edwin Orlando, who gave his name to the first suburb of Orlando. Soweto is huge, stretching across a vast area 20 kilometres south west of the city. Its people speak nine of the country's 11 languages. The tour covers only the eastern suburbs of the township, namely Diepkloof, Orlando, Dube and Pimville. Baragwanath Hospitaltakes its name from a Welshman, John Albert Baragwanath ("bara" means bread, "gwanath" means wheat), who started a refreshment post and hostel for wagon drivers travelling to Kimberley, soon after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand. He called it the Wayside Inn, but it became known as Baragwanath's Place. Orlando East and to the famous Regina MundiCatholic Church, built in 1962. This church played a significant role in the South Africa of the 60s, 70s and 80s, when political parties and gatherings were banned. The church became a meeting place of people fighting to overthrow the apartheid government. Orlando West, and a drive past Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's mansion, with security cameras at the gate and each corner of the high walls and bullet-proof windows. Around the corner is Vilakazi Street, the street of two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Tutu's house has blue-grey walls and electric fencing with a white house peeping over the walls. It has a neat pavement garden with shrubs and trees. Up the hill is the Mandela home from the 1960s, now a museum It's a matchbox house comprising four interleading rooms, containing memorabilia from the short time they had together before Mandela went into hiding, was arrested and eventually imprisoned for 27 years. Hector Pieterson Museum Hector, 12, was one of the first casualties of the Soweto uprising of 16 June, 1976, when over 500 people were killed as they protested over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools. A news photograph of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. Shortly afterwards journalists approached the Pieterson family for pictures of Hector.

  Apartheid Museum lets you feel that you were in the townships in the 70s and 80s, dodging police bullets or teargas canisters, or marching and toy-toying with thousands of school children, or carrying the body of a comrade into a nearby house. This extraordinarily powerful museum has already become the city's leading tourist attraction, an obligatory stop for visitors and residents alike. The Museum, with its large blown-up photographs, metal cages and numerous monitors recording continuous replays of apartheid scenes set in a double volume ceiling, concrete and red brick walls and grey concrete floor. Black people were displaced from the land through colonial wars and the imposition of poll taxes, and white farmers were displaced through the Anglo Boer War. The Museum occupies approximately 6 000 square metres on a seven-hectare site which consists of natural recreated veld and indigenous bush habitat containing a lake and paths, alongside its stark but stunning building. The synergy between the natural element and the building finish of plaster, concrete, red brick, rusted and galvanised steel, creates a harmonious relationship between the structure and the environment.

The SAB World of Beer ranks as one of South Africa’s top two tourist experiences, offering nearly 50 000 visitors a year a uniquely memorable encounter with the magic of beer and brewing...SAB World of Beer … is like nothing you’ll experience elsewhere...

Gold Reef City is a recreation of turn-of-the-century Johannesburg, when prospectors flooded the area following the discovery of gold in the 1890s. With its Victorian houses and geological displays, it offers many fascinating insights into life in Johannesburg long before the technological age. In the centre of Gold Reef City stands Shaft No 14, opened in 1887 and only closed after 84 years of operation in 1971. Underground tours are offered, taking the visitor beneath the surface to see original mining techniques as well as more modern methods. Back on the surface demonstrations of gold pouring can be viewed and tours taken with multilingual guides dressed in period costumes. There are some more contemporary attractions too - the longest rollercoaster in South Africa and the largest big wheel in Africa, rising 60 metres high.