Giraffes!

A few days ago my friend Derek showed me the quickest route to get to work in downtown Pretoria, or as it is now officially named, Tshwane.

The commute from home to my office is about 40 minutes in rush hour.

I wanted to do a cold run to orientate myself with new surroundings.

Tshwane is a metropolitan area with major highways and lots of traffic most days.

So, it was quite surprise to see Giraffes in a veld area alongside the highway just a mile or so away from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

"Nice Giraffes huh," Derek said as I stared in amazement while keeping an eye on the highway into the downtown area.

I saw them again yesterday as they grazed from the top of trees.

They seemed unperturbed by the loud noise of hurried cars and trucks. Seemed is my assumption.

The reserve to which they belong is called Groenkloof Nature Reserve.

Their website says that in 1895 apartheid President Paul Kruger "proclaimed this valley on the southern outskirts of Pretoria as a game sanctuary, the first game sanctuary in Africa."

They go further to say that:

In 1994, the reserve became the responsibility of the Department of Nature Conservation and preparations started for the re-release of game. Impala, kudu, blue wildebeest and ostrich were re-introduced to the reserve in 1999, and 2002 saw the release of giraffe and red hartebeest.

And all next to the hussle and bustle of Tshwane.

One of these weekends I am gonna spend an afternoon tracking through the reserve.

This African needs a safari experience ... ;o)

At the very least I will keep an eye out to see the majestic Giraffe on my way to work.

Onward!

Picture Credit