-
-
By car
Access to Pietermaritzburg by road is easy, lying as it does on the major N3 freeway from [wiki=1842bcd39672346f0cfecd0d372a97d4]Durban[/wiki] to [wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki]. The R56 connects Pietermaritzburg with [wiki=5a6e47df50f895eec53a4dd2fe2393de]Cape Town[/wiki], [wiki=82d5ae808a5f29fcf402045a7ecc4231]Port Elizabeth[/wiki] and [wiki=befe536d1ab23ccb179a7b66603dd98f]East London[/wiki] to the south-west.
-
By train
Spoornet [url=http://http://www.transnetfreightrail-tfr.net/Pages/default.aspx]]operates regular inter-city trains to [[Durban[/url]], [wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki], [wiki=801ada047dbea3c8a7f7546f08399562]Bloemfontein[/wiki], [wiki=c34e484bdac1cb388e97661a874bf9fd]Kimberley[/wiki] and [wiki=5a6e47df50f895eec53a4dd2fe2393de]Cape Town[/wiki].
The train station is on the corner of Church and Railway streets, on the south-west edge of the city centre. Exercise caution when traveling on foot in this part of town, due to muggings and bag snatching.
-
By plane
Pietermaritzburg airport services flights from [wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki] regularly.
-
By Bus
Regular daily bus services connect Pietermaritzburg to major cities in South Africa. The bus station is located in Burger Street, opposite the McDonalds and it serves major bus companies. Grey Hound is the most reliable and it operates several round-trips from [wiki=1842bcd39672346f0cfecd0d372a97d4]Durban[/wiki] to [wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki] daily, where Pietermaritzburg is the last stop before [wiki=1842bcd39672346f0cfecd0d372a97d4]Durban[/wiki].
-
Private transport is the best way of getting around. Car rental is strongly advised. Otherise, minibus-taxis are cheap but uncomfortable and occasionally unsafe. Some of the sights of Pietermaritzburg are within walking distance, if you don't mind trudging along for a few kilometres. Private taxis (cabs) can also be hired, but they are substantially more expensive than the minibus-taxis.
*
The central minibus-taxi rank is in Market Square, which is in the Central Business District near the Natal Society Library and the City Hall.
To get to the Central Business District from any of the suburbs by minibus-taxi, look for a taxi that is travelling to "eTuwen" or simply "Town". (There should be a guy leaning out the window announcing this loudly).
You don't want to go to eThekwini, which is Durban. You want to go to *town*. Ask the conductor if you're unsure.
Minibus-taxis have set routes, so there are a lot of places you can't get to using them.
The CBD isn't as safe as the suburbs. The area around the City Hall is pretty good, but I'd advise against long rambling walks into unfamiliar parts of it.
-
The City Hall, which is in the CBD, is the largest red brick building in the Southern Hemisphere. It contains a large organ, and occasionally hosts concerts.
The Tatham Art Gallery [url=http://www.tatham.org.za/]]across the road houses some fine artwork, including an impressive and ornate clock on the second floor. You'll find a coffee shop on the third floor. Entrance is free.
The Natal Society Library is behind the City Hall, and has recently undergone substantial revamping, with a large new children's wing being built. The fountain and the square that it stands in is scheduled for major renovation.
Down the road you can find the Voortrekker Museum, which celebrates the Great Trek by the Afrikaner people into the interior of South Africa.
Butterflies for Africa [http://www.butterflies.co.za/[/url] is a tropical butterfly center with a lovely walk through enclosure which in addition to the butterflies also contains birds, fish and monkeys. There's a coffee shop, art gallery and souvenir store on site. It's a 5-10 minute drive from the city center so you'll need a taxi if you don't have your own transport.
Further afield, Queen Elizabeth Park up on the hills above the city contains zebra, buck and the like. No leopards or dangerous creatures, so you can walk around and enjoy the park on foot. Make sure you don't get your food stolen by monkeys, though.
The KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Gardens in Mayor's Walk are spectacular and worth an extended visit. The gardens focus on indigenous flora and offer diverse walks through forests and open ground. A centrally situated restaurant offers one of the best food settings in Pietermaritzburg.
-
The nightlife in Pietermaritzburg shows that small towns don't go to bed at 7pm. A few clubs dominate the scene. Tiger Tiger (in the CBD, fairly near to the City Hall) is one of the most popular, playing pop and dance music. Exclusive Lounges nearby plays kwaito and house music. For a more alternative scene, The Red Door in Quarry Road (off Victoria Road) plays alternative rock/punk music on Friday nights and Saturday night - with selective live performances! Other local clubs include, Veritas found in the bustling Golden Horse Casino, Kaskaade, Empire Lounge and Franky Bananaz found near the area of Liberty Midlands Mall, to mention but a few.
Pietermaritzburg does offer quite a couple of pubs and sports clubs. The Stagecoach which is situated near the University has a lovely pub atmosphere. A little further down the road is The Lizard's Rock, which is more of a restaurant, but also has a deck and bar area. This restaurant / pub also has an outside garden area with a junglegym for the younger dinners. Lizard Rock has a fair following of regulars, who are both entertaining and welcoming.
Veritas at the Golden Horse Casino (in Scottsville) has a more upmarket pitch. Serving as a restaurant in the afternoon and early evening, it becomes a nightclub later on. Dress tends to be slightly more formal, with collared shirts, no jeans or takkies, and the like. Also be aware that the minimum age at Vacca Matta varies, so phone in advance.
Every year in May the Comrades Marathon[url=http://www.comrades.com]]is held (in 2010 on the 30th). The course alternates between the "up" run ([[Durban[/url]] to Pietermaritzburg) and the "down" run (Pietermaritzburg to [wiki=1842bcd39672346f0cfecd0d372a97d4]Durban[/wiki]). The distance you have to cover varies slightly from year to year, but is approximately 89 km. Bruce Fordyce[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Fordyce], one of the all-time legends of ultra-distance running, won the Comrades Marathon a record nine times.
*Motorcycle Tours - Guided enduro , off-road and dirt bike tours , day rides and trainings. Enduro bike rental or bring your own bike and experience some of the rural parts of the region. Man , machine and nature = adventure.
-
Liberty Shopping Mall (which is far away from everything else) contains masses of shops, including specialist stores for a host of different goods. In town you can find plenty of shops that sell food, including fast food outlets. There are also vendors on the pavements, although their goods aren't much to write home about.
Downtown in the CBD you can find large clothing stores, as well as smaller Indian shops that sell anything you can think of. Fireworks are particularly popular around Diwali.
-
-
Bancroft B&B is in the beautiful forested evergreen hills above Pietermaritzburg, is a Georgian style house, with a beautiful facade, offering 2 comfortable suites, with DSTV, Wireless Internet, a hospitality fridge, tea and coffee facilities, fans, heaters and a nice view into the gardens.
*All rooms are fitted with air-conditioning & DSTV. Modest dinning area offering breakfast, lunch or dinner. Transfers available to and from King Shaka International Airport and regionally.
-
Pietermaritzburg Airport can connect you to all cities in South Africa via [wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki]. Unfortunately, flights from the airport have recently been plagued by delays following a recent upgrade, so beware of scheduling anything mission critical out of here (such as connecting flights). [wiki=1842bcd39672346f0cfecd0d372a97d4]Durban[/wiki] is only about 50 min drive away, and Durban International Airport can get you direct to Cape Town, East London, Bloemfontein, Mozambique, Swaziland and anywhere else you need to go (with a connecting flight through Johannesburg International.)
In the other direction the Drakensberg Mountains lie about two hours drive away, offering an array of outdoor activities, with plenty of resorts and the like dotted around.
Just 20 min out of Pietermaritzburg, the town of Howick offers a small touristic place with the Howick Falls [[Howick Falls]|as the highlight.
[wiki=33416c1d32d3c19771d09bf215c7b514]Johannesburg[/wiki]] is about 600 km away via the N3 highway. [wiki=5a6e47df50f895eec53a4dd2fe2393de]Cape Town[/wiki] is much farther, about 2000 km.
[[WikiPedia:Pietermaritzburg]]
[wiki=d1c112f9895469a515c370a0da3938f5]nl:Pietermaritzburg[/wiki]
Seleccionar Destino
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Congo, Democratic Republic (ex. Zaire)
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
France, Metropolitan
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard and Mc Donald Islands
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle Of Man
Israel
Italy
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey Island
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
North Korea
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Other Countries
Pakistan
Palau
Palestinian Territory
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City State (Holy See)
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands, British
Virgin Islands, U.S.
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Spanish