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Sunday, April 25, 2010

In honour of a great pilgrimage



A couple of weekends ago I was out in Pretoria (capital city of South Africa) and
noticed the Voortrekker monument up on the hill ....  I had not been there since
high school, which if truth be told, was a very, very long time ago .....
Camera in hand, off I went.
I spent a great afternoon there in the tranquil nature reserve type gardens
enjoying the scenery and the fascinating history and architechure.

This first image (above) is taken inside the actual monument (see image below) where
the late afternoon sun was shining through the latticed glass panels
in a vibrant golden hue, creating both reflections and shadows
onto the marbled floor.
a view of the Monument on the hill (quite literally)
This monumnet commemorates the pioneers who travelled from the
coastal areas inlands between 1835 and 1855 -
this trip was called "The Great Trek". 
During this time approximately 15,000 pioneers moved inlands to establish the
provinces of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, effectively the start of
 South Africa as it was to become.
an outside shot of the stone/ brick work, bathed in afternoon sunshine,
creating soft shadows ....
an afternoon  garden view - the monument is surrounded
by a round wall mimicking a circle of oxwagons,
 which in fact are carved onto the wall ....
the real thing ... an old oxwagon ...
a gorgeous strelitzia growing the well kept gardens

Image(s) All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

16 comments:

Mandy said...

Stunning photos Gena! It has honestly never occurred to me to go up to the Voortrekker monument!

cat said...

Gorgeous photos! The first one with the golden light is almost magical :)

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful photos, Gena! Thank you for the tour.

gengen said...

This are pretty shot...happy SS!

Clytie said...

Absolutely beautiful and stunning photographs. The outside shot of the stone and brick work ... fills my soul!

Happy SSS

Carolyn said...

Thank you for such a great post. You photos are stunning, I love the close up stonework one best. I also enjoyed the history enough that I googled it for more information. Thanks again.
Smiles

chasity said...

you caught some wonderful sunlight that day...
that 1st photo is positively breathtaking.

James said...

All of these pictures are good but the reflection is amazing.

Carolyn Ford said...

I agree with James...that reflection is a beauty! So is the "bird of paradise." Very nice series for the memes.

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I got to visit the monument for the first time since primary school a couple of year ago, but we were on a tight sceduled tour and didn't spend nearly enough time there. I need to make a plan for a visit next time I am in Gauteng.

Natasha said...

I would love to visit these sites one day. These pictures are beautiful, especially the one of the strelizia.

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Bobbi Ann said...

Wonderful photos! I hope that you have a lovely new week.
Hugs...
Bobbi

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Beautiful shots of a wonderful place...thanks for sharing and happy MM!!!

Pondside said...

There's such a lot I don't know about your country - I enjoyed the beautiful photos.

Jossie said...

Wonderful pictures. The brick work is really impressive. Wonder how they did that. Thank you for the tour.

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

Totally beautiful spot. Nice pics.
Darryl and Ruth : )

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