Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg is a vibrant African city set in the breathtakingly beautiful KwaZulu-Natal Midlands that caters for your every holiday whim and desire. Set amidst forested hills and the rolling countryside of the Natal-Midlands, it is one of the best preserved Victorian cities in the world. The city is the administrative capital of the province and is centrally situated between Durban, the Drakensberg and KwaZulu-Natal's game reserves on the main N3 highway between Johannesburg and Durban; Pietermaritzburg is approximately 80km north of Durban by road.

The city lies some 600-700 metres above sea level, and so has a cooler and more extreme climate than Durban or the Kwazulu-Natal Coast. The summers tend to be very hot and tropical, with thunder storms and temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius in mid-summer. The winters are usually very dry and can be quite cold with several degrees of frost during some nights.

Popular attractions in the city include the Lion Park on the South-Eastern side of the town and a few game parks. These, together with the spectacular scenery afforded by the surrounding country-side, especially the Drakensberg Mountain areas, make Pietermaritzburg a sought-after tourist destination. Visitors to Kwazulu-Natal are well advised to include the region in their itineraries.

The city offers an airport known as Pietermaritzburg Airport. This airstrip is not an international airport but offers excellent national destinations and inter-city flights. The bus services are outstanding as you could choose from many different routes and with all the companies providing a great service.

Taxis are plentiful and provide helpful information and useful trips around the city and suburbs. Metered taxicabs operate in all major cities and towns. You will find taxi ranks at transport terminals, major hotels or shopping centers or you can hail taxis in the street.

For more information on the city, go to their website.