Within One Hours Drive

If you hire a car in Johannesburg, you can reach the following attractions within an hour.

Pretoria

Gauteng, South Africa

The city of Pretoria (also known as Tshwane) has a glorious old charm with its flowering tree-lined avenues and tranquil nature. Once the capital of the South African Republic, it is now filled with attractions that make for an interesting day out. You can drive from Johannesburg to Pretoria in about half an hour in your hire car.

Once you've parked your hire car, you can take a stroll around the city centre, where you'll see some beautiful old architecture and historical monuments along with modern shopping centres and restaurants.

Don't miss the Union Buildings in Government Avenue, which were designed by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1913. They are home to the President of South Africa's offices and are the official seat of the South African government. You can stroll through the beautiful terraced gardens, where you can see flowers, monuments and statues.

If you're interested in history, you can visit the Transvaal Museum of Natural History, where you can see dinosaur skeletons and an extensive collection of fossils. You can also take a tour of Melrose House, which was requisitioned by British forces in 1886 for use as their headquarters during the Anglo-Boer war, and was the place at which the Treaty of Vereeniging, ending the war, was signed.

Children will love the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa in Boom Street. Covering 80 hectares of land, this is South Africa's biggest zoo and it's home to monkeys, rhino, big cats, wolves, koala bears, penguins and many more species. The zoo also features the largest inland marine aquarium in South Africa and a reptile park. You can leave your Johannesburg hire car in the zoo car park while you enjoy this excellent attraction.

Opening hours: The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa are open daily between 8am and 5.30pm.

You can also use your Johannesburg hire car to reach other attractions in and around Pretoria, including the Pretoria Botanical Gardens, the Wonderboom Nature Reserve, the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary and the Voortrekker Monument.

Directions: To get to Pretoria from Johannesburg by car, take the R21 out of Johannesburg and continue along it into Pretoria.

Hartbeespoort Dam

North West Province, South Africa

You can drive from Johannesburg to the scenic holiday resort of Hartbeespoort Dam, in South Africa's North West Province, in less than two hours in your hire car. The Dam is a man-made lake, which was constructed in 1925, and it?s surrounded by the Magaliesberg mountain range.

Hartbeespoort Dam is a very popular destination, and you'll find plenty to see and do there. You can try energetic sporting activities such as jet skiing and hang-gliding, take a hot air balloon ride or take a relaxing walk.

One of the most popular attractions in the area is the Hartbeespoortdam Snake and Animal Park. It has an excellent collection of snakes and reptiles, and if you are visiting on a Sunday or public holiday, you can watch a seal show or see the snakes as they are displayed in a special presentation. Other animals here include chimps and big cats. The park is noted for its animal breeding programmes.

Opening hours: Check with the park before planning your visit.

You can also visit the Hartbeespoortdam Aquarium, where you can see penguins, seals and crocodiles, as well as many different kinds of fish. There are seal, pelican, crocodile and penguin shows at weekends and on public holidays, and you can relax in the tea garden.

Opening hours: The Hartbeespoortdam Aquarium is open daily from 8.30am until 5pm.

For some stunning views, you can take a cable car to the top of the Magaliesberg mountain. The Hartbeespoortdam Cableway is 2.3km long, making it the longest monocableway in Africa.

Opening hours: The cableway is open daily from 10am. On Mondays - Fridays, it closes at 3.30pm, but it remains open until 5pm at weekends and on public holidays.

You can also use your Johannesburg hire car to drive to the nearby De Wildt Cheetah Farm, where more than 600 cubs have been born since it was set up in 1971, Elephant Sanctuary or the Lesedi Cultural Village, a multi-cultural village where you can tour traditional-style homesteads and experience tribal traditions.

Directions: To get to Hartbeespoort Dam from Johannesburg by car, leave Johannesburg on the R512 and follow this road straight to Hartbeespoort.

Other attractions within an hour's drive of Johannesburg include:

• The Cradle of Humankind - this important area is packed with limestone caves and has been the location for many archaeological discoveries, including that of the first hominid fossil. The area is a World Heritage Site and you can take a tour of the Sterkfontein Caves or the Wonder Cave.
• Cullinan Diamond Mine - Take a tour of the diamond mine where the world's largest diamond, the Cullinan Diamond, was discovered in 1905.