Daily Car Rental Rates in South Africa
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Compact
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Standard
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Van / minivan
*daily rates in Pietermaritzburg Airport based on a 1 day rental (24hr period) and for guidance purposes only.
Pietermaritzburg is the capital of the historic province of Kwa-Zulu Natal and was founded by the Voortrekkers after the Battle of Blood River in which the local Zulu chief was killed. It became the capital of the Boer Republic but its importance was short lived with the British annexing the republic.
Pietermaritzburg Airport Mini Guide
About Pietermaritzburg Airport
Pietermaritzburg Airport is tiny, receiving flights on just one route each day with Airlink’s flight from
Johannesburg. As the airport serves a city considered important industrially and educationally, the airport is trying to develop routes to other major South African cities including
Cape Town, Pretoria and
Durban.
The facilities at the airport are very basic with a walk required down steps and across the tarmac to the single story terminal building. Once inside there are no security checks as the airport serves domestic traffic only and transport into Pietermaritzburg is only available via taxi or car rental as no buses stop at the airport. The car hire desk is easily found in the very small arrivals hall and you’ll see in preparation for your departure that there are no facilities for refreshment and no airport shops.
About Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is gaining in popularity as a tourist destination by using its past to attract tourists from the country, interested in its role in the development of the republic. The attractions are quite high brow with the city hall recommended for a visit as the largest and oldest brick building in the southern hemisphere. The Voortrekker Museum is a fascinating place to see as it details what is known as the Great Trek by the Boers. Fictionalised as a single exodus northwards by put upon Boers, the Great Trek actually was a series of smaller migrations by discontented Dutch and German members of Cape Colony who moved north and east to find new farmland and to form new Boer republics.
If you like the thought of seeing wildlife but don’t want to end up as part of its food chain then a visit to Queen Elizabeth Park is a must. In natural parkland, herds of zebra, antelope and other ruminants wander lazily around the safe enclosure whilst you sit and picnic, watching them graze too.
If you’ve hired a car in the city, you may want to visit the Valley of a Thousand Hills where unusual geological formations in the valley floor make it look like small hills. The Howick Falls too make for a slightly eerie day out. Over forty deaths have been recorded at the falls with several of them being suspicious. If you can brave the tension, the 310ft high falls are spectacular.