Pretoria in Gauteng Province, has become known as Tshwane, a veritable metropolis capturing the contemporary spirit of our rainbow nation.
The purple blossoms of the 70 000 jacaranda trees lining the avenues have over the years symbolised the colourful character of this ‘Jacaranda City’, bringing a touch of the exotic to what at heart has morphed to become a truly African urban landscape. Tshwane is a lovely, charming city and the administrative capital of South Africa, with a long, involved and fascinating history, absolutely brimming with foreign nationals, embassies, consulates and more.
All eleven of South Africa's official languages are spoken here, as well as many languages from around the world. Tshwane has the second most foreign representative bodies in the world apart from Washington DC in the United States. This is also an academic city with three huge universities and a centre for scientific and industrial research.
Tshwane has retained an air of genteel elegance, lounging under its cloak of purple jacaranda trees. It is a much quieter city than Johannesburg and somehow things do seem a little less frenetic. Although Gauteng is very urbanised, there is much you can do to get away from the hustle and bustle.