Pretoria has long been known as the administrative capital of South Africa, and indeed, visitors will experience this beautiful city (also known as the Jacaranda City named after the purple blooms in Spring) from an historical point of view. The tour includes the Voortrekker Monument, Church Square, the Union Buildings (eclectic architecture), Paul Kruger House, and a South African barbecue (locally known as a braai) at Heia Safari Ranch. The Mzumba Tribal dancers will enchant you with songs and music reminiscent of an African operetta.

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Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.

Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. Andries Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Britain acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. It became the capital of the South African Republic  (ZAR) on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.

The majestic Voortrekker Monument is situated in the northern part of South Africa in the Pretoria (Tshwane) region in a nature reserve. It is a unique Monument which commemorates the Pioneer history of Southern Africa and the history of the Afrikaner and is situated in a beautiful setting. This massive granite structure, built to honour the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854, was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk  who had the ideal to design a "monument that would stand a thousand years to describe the history and the meaning of the Great Trek to its descendants". It can be seen from almost any location in the city, as it is seated on a hilltop.

Today it is the most visited heritage site of its kind in Gauteng and one of the top ten cultural historical visitor attractions in the country.

Church Square is the historic centre of Pretoria. It was founded in 1855 on the orders of Marthinus  Pretorius to be a place for market and church purposes. During its early days the square was also served as a sports field.

Its most prominent feature is the statue of the Boer leader and president of the South African Republic Paul Kruger at its centre. Statues of four anonymous Boer citizen-soldiers surround that of Kruger's on a lower level of the plinth

Several historically and architecturally significant buildings surround the square: the Palace of Justice, the Old Capitol Theatre, the Tudor Chambers, the Ou Raadsaal (Old Council Chamber) and the General Post Office, which was designed by John Cleland. Paul Kruger Street in Pretoria forms an axis between the  Pretoria Station and Church Square.

The turreted Palace of Justice was the scene of arguably the most famous political trial in South Africa's history, the Rivonia Trial. During this trial, Nelson Mandela and a number of other prominent liberation struggle figures were charged with treason and subsequently incarcerated.

The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the Northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square and the Voortrekker Monument. Though not in the center of Pretoria the Union Buildings occupy the highest point of Pretoria, and constitute a South African National monument.

The Buildings are one of the centres of political life in South Africa; "The Buildings" and "Arcadia" have become metonyms for the South African Government. It has become an iconic landmark of Pretoria and South Africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy.

The Buildings are the location of Presidential Inaugurations.

The Kruger house is a house museum, i.e. it attempts to recreate the ambience of a historic period, event or person. The house has been refurbished to look almost as it did at the time when President Paul and Mrs Gezina Kruger's lived there.

An almost total historic environment has been recreated. Visitors to Kruger House should feel as though the President or Mrs Kruger might return at any moment.

The furnishing plan has been based on a thorough study of the available evidence of original furnishings. In accordance with this several changes have recently been made to the interior, not as a curatorial whim, but with a view to give the visitor a more accurate conception of the life style of the Krugers.

Heia Safari Ranch is a three star game lodge, hotel and Conference centre, nestled below the Swartkop Mountain Range next to the Cradle of Humankind only thirty minutes away from Johannesburg and Pretoria. The charming Lodge is situated on a game farm that is set in the tranquil indigenous South African Bushveld.

The attractive Hotel complex and Conference Centre consists of thatched stone buildings that are surrounded by beautifully landscaped lawns. Enjoy free wi-fi throughout the complex and ample safe parking.  

The Heia Safari Ranch restaurant is a picturesque venue for superb dining with windows that overlook the swimming pool and Lake Heritage. Our zebras use the swimming pool as their watering hole to the delight of the restaurant guests.

Lake Heritage, which is contained by one the largest hand built stone dams in South Africa, is a great place for bird watching, fishing, open water swimming and canoeing.

Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest, Blesbok, Impala and Springbok roam the hotel grounds freely along with our "Zonky" (Zebra+Donkey cross breed) and three black Springbok.

After Sunday lunch you can see and hear our famous Mzumba Tribal Dances and experience a journey into mystical Africa.

Mzumba (THE DANCE OF HAPPINESS) a journey to the heart of Africa (in Dance and Song}

See and hear the famed Mzumba African Dancers perform the age-old tribal legends of mystical Africa, to the accompaniment of throbbing drumbs and chanting women. Experience the soul stirring sacrifice of a tribal princess in a rain-making ceremony and witness the sacred "Domba" (Python Dance), the Maiden Initiation of the Venda tribe.

Relive the infamous Zulu War Dance and also hear the unique "Click Song" presented in the traditional tribal dress of Africa's past.

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