south africa: pietermaritzburg

I came to Pietermaritzburg for a couple reasons. One, it is pretty close to Durban; and two, it was a transport option for where I wanted to go afterward.

My ticket said I should be on a bus leaving at 0945, but when I got to the station the required 30 minutes early, they put me on an earlier bus. The new bus left at 0920, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. The bus ride was just an hour, so I arrived in Pietermaritzburg at 1020.

At this point I wasn't surprised when the bus drop off in the city was across the street from a McDonald's. This seems to be a thing in South Africa.

I had my pack with me, and couldn't check in to my next accommodation for a few hours, so I figured out where I was in the city, and where I wanted to go.

First on the list of places to go was the place where I could find the transport I needed the next day. Somehow I always feel more comfortable when I have the logistics figured out for the next step. I found the 'taxi' stand and figured out what time I needed to be there.

From there I walked to my first official sight in the city, a place called Macrorie House. It's an old Victorian house museum.

It is still designed in the way it was when Bishop Macrorie lived there with his wife, starting in 1870. They lived there for 25 years, enlarging the place during those years.

Bishop Macrorie was sent to Pietermaritzburg because of drama in the Anglican Church.

According to the lady running to the museum, and the official web page, this drama started when the Bishop already in the city approached biblical scholarship and missionary practice in ways that brought him into conflict with the authorities of the church. Some of the parishioners stayed with the Bishop, some wanted a new Bishop. Enter Macrorie.

To make a long story short, there were two Bishops in the area. This is the house where one of them lived, and it gives a good idea of what life was like back then. It's a big house for that time, but that isn't surprising.

When I showed up, I rang the bell and had to be let into the locked house. The lady who let me in had me sign the guest book and pay the entry 'donation.' She sadly told me that the museum would be closing soon, due to lack of visitors and funding. She also told me that though the official name of the town is Pietermaritzburg, pretty much everyone calls it Maritzburg. The city was named for two people, but for whateva reason, people have dropped the Pieter part of the name. I guess that sort of thing happens around the world, for reasons known only to locals.

She gave me a tour of the entire museum, telling me about different items in each room. I really enjoyed seeing and learning the history. It's a tragedy that this place will be closing. I spent a couple hours there, and took heaps of photos. Apparently schools in the area aren't visiting enough to make up for a lack of random tourists and other guests.

My next stop was supposed to be a cathedral. Unfortunately, it wasn't where the map I had said it would be. Argh. I ended up finding the entrance on another street. It ended up being more than one church in the complex. I walked through the open gate, and was almost immediately stopped by a security guard, who asked what I wanted. I said I wanted to see the church, and he made a call. Am I the only one who has wanted to do that? The church is a historical sight. I know this city doesn't get so many visitors, but geesh!

A guy came to get me, and took me to the entrance of the church. It was modern, not at all my style. Then the guy asked me if I wanted to see the old church as well, and of course I did. Even though this old church is called a cathedral, it isn't big. At all. I thought of it more as a parish church. The guy said old folks still worshipped at the old church every week, but everyone else goes to the new church. The new church is certainly a whole lot bigger.

Back out on the street I stopped into a small place when I saw a display case with scones. I love scones. When I got inside I saw they also offered chicken briyani, which I also like. I got both to go.

My next stop was an art gallery. I"m not normally one for art galleries or museums, but I still had time to kill until I could check in, so why not. The people at the front desk let me put my pack and food down, which felt amazing.

I wandered through the gallery, and actually enjoyed some of the art. The entire gallery was well done, and just the right size for me.

Not too far down the street from the gallery was a WW1 memorial. As always, I took a look.

From there it was finally time for me to check in. I walked to the house and took a couple hours to relax. I found a coffee/tea corner in my room, which I loved. Especially because there were tasty biscuits to go along with it.

Eventually I felt like going back out into the city. I walked back into the city along a street I hadn't walked earlier. In the middle of the city center area is a statue of Ghandi. The statue is here because this is where Ghandi was kicked off a train when he was in the wrong car.

I continued walking, stopping in a supermarket just because I like walking around supermarkets.

My walk continued, over to the other side of the city. I walked past a cemetery, just as the sun was setting. I wanted to walk through the cemetery, but couldn't find an entrance. I wasn't going to climb over the fence, though it was tempting.

At some point I turned around and walked back home. I slept soundly that night, because the back of the house let in the sound of running water that was out of sight but not out of sound. Amazing. The dog of the house (Buddy,) slept with me for a little while.

The next morning I was up early so I had time for tea. I managed to drink two cups and eat the rest of the biscuits. (More like cookies than crackers.)

I packed up and walked to the 'taxi' rank I'd found the day before. I ended up having to wait 90 minutes before departing. This is how these public taxis work, they wait until they're full, which can be really fast, or really slow.

I really liked my host and house in Maritzburg, but I doubt I'll go back when I return to South Africa. I'm pretty sure I saw everything there is to see in the town.