On Friday, Sept. 12 we left Tremisana to return to Johannesburg. The trip took as through the Blyde River Canyon and a view of the Three Rondawels. The Wikipedia entry for the canyon tells us:
By some measures it is the third largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia but this depends heavily on one's definition of a canyon. By any definition it is one of the largest canyons on earth, unquestionably being the largest 'green canyon' due to its lush subtropical foliage, and it has some of the deepest precipitious cliffs of any canyon on the planet.
Unfortunately our viewing of the canyon and the Three Rondawels was hampered by the fact that it was a cold and cloudy day. Nevertheless it was certainly worth seeing. Eventually we left the canyon and headed back to Jo'burg, arriving there in the afternoon. It was at this point that our group broke up into two groups. Michael, Edward, Nicole and Brad proceeded directly to the airport to fly to Cape Town. The rest of us (Dennis, Wonnie, Deanna, Barbara, Robert and Kile) checked back in to the airport hotel.
The next day we took a tour of the administrative capital of South Africa, Pretoria. Pretoria lies about 30 miles north of Johannesburg and it's a really lovely city. It was too early in the season, however, for the famous Jacaranda trees to be in bloom. Our tour included the Voortrekker Monument. The monument (really more a museum and monument) is dedicated the the Afrikaner (Dutch) pioneers (voortrekkers) who moved into the South African interior after the British took over the coastal regions. The story seems very familiar to us Americans and comes complete with battles with the natives, covered wagons, disease and starvation. We also visited the home of the first president of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger, and the Union Buildings, the residence of the South African president.
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