Page 283 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

THE WILD C O AST , DR AKENSBERG AND MIDLANDS  281

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST Exploring Pietermaritzburg
The town is a treasure trove
Practical Information of architecture and lends itself
Road map: E3. * 223,500. well to walking excursions.
n Publicity House, 177 Chief One of the oldest quarters, the
Albert Luthuli Rd, 033 345 1348. Lanes – a labyrinth of alleys
Open 8am–5pm Mon–Fri, between Church and Langa-
8am–1pm Sat. _ Royal libalele streets – gives visitors an
Agricultural Show (May). idea of what Pietermaritzburg
∑ pmbtourism.co.za
was like in days gone by.
Transport
k Durban, 80 km (49 miles) SE. Environs
~ Pietermaritzburg Airport, S of Midmar Dam, a weekend and
the city. £ Top of Church Street. holiday venue for water sports
@ Cnr Burger and Chief Albert enthusiasts and fishermen, lies
Luthuli streets.
. City Hall 27 km (17 miles) north of Pieter-
This edifice, the largest brick maritzburg in the Midmar Dam
building in the southern Nature Reserve, which is home
hemisphere, was completed to red hartebeest, blesbok,
in 1893. The clock tower, a reedbuck, black wildebeest,
later addition, rises 47 m oribi and zebra, which can be
(153 ft) above the street. seen from the gravel roads.
The origins of Howick, 18 km
(11 miles) north of Pietermaritz-
Publicity House burg, date back to 1850. In the
town, a viewing platform and
restaurant over look the beautiful
Howick Falls, equal in height to
0 metres 50
the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
C 0 yards 50 On the R103 just north of
H
I Howick, the Nelson Mandela
L U
E
Capture Site marks the spot
T
H F A
U where Nelson Mandela (see p61)
L
L
was arrested by security police
B
E
I S
R on 5 August 1962. The museum
T T
and its huge sculpture of
Mandela’s face, made up of
9 m (30 ft) steel columns, was
opened in 2014.
L A N G A L I B A L E L E S T R E E T The Church of the Vow, built by } Midmar Dam Nature Reserve
R617. Tel 033 330 2067. Open 24
Msunduzi Museum Complex
hours daily. & = - s 
∑ kznwildlife.com
the Voortrekkers after the Battle of
Blood River (see p55), is the focus of
this complex on the corner of E Mandela Capture SIte
R103. Tel 071 834 4349. Open daily.
Langalibalele and Boshoff streets. & 0 - ∑ thecapturesite.co.za
J A B U N D L O V U S T R E E T
. KwaZulu-Natal
Museum
Displays include African
mammals, birds and
dinosaurs, San rock art
and a gallery focusing on
Portuguese shipwrecks. The Howick Falls

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