Pretoria - South Africa

Probably the most heartening thing about the new government in South Africa is that, unlike many successful revolutionaries, we have not gone on an iconoclastic, monument-topping orgy. The Union Buildings changed overnight from a symbol of white, neo-colonial unity to one of true unity, and the iconic Voortrekker Monument still stands. Ironically, though, the bust of one of apartheid's most ardent supporters, JG Strydom, which stood in Strydom Square near the State Theatre, toppled without any help other than gravity and the erosive quality of time on steel supports - on the fortieth anniversary of the day South Africa became a white-governed republic.

Pretoria is a great town - there are quite a few open spaces where you can walk or mountain bike. Near Pretoria is the Premier Game Reserve, next door to the Cullinan Diamond Mine, where the largest diamond in the world was found. You could do a short horse trail at the Voortrekker Monument or through the Premier Reserve, taking a careful look at some white rhino and a number of eland - which are pretty much the size of a big horse. You could do a tandem skydive or a first jump at the Pretoria Skydiving Club, which is the largest in the country