Tours and Safaris

Bed & Breakfast at Ted's Place

Contact Information

Telephone

+27 (0) 12 807 2803

FAX

+27 (0) 86 515 8095

Mobile

+27 (0)73 387 0762

Email

ted@mweb.co.za 

Address

961 Wagon Wheel Ave 

Wapadrand 

Pretoria 

SOUTH AFRICA

TED STILWELL is a knowledgeable qualified tourist guide 

Tourist guide registration GP2037

Alive with excitement

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.

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 tower.

The 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

Paul Kruger 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. 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 Sterkfontein Caves. Stalagmites and stalactites are to be seen on the cave tour.