Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria

Just on the other side of Monumentpark from Waterkloof, Waterkloof Ridge, with easy access to Pretoria and Centurion, is one of Pretoria’s more established eastern suburbs, a pretty part of the city with wide, Jacaranda-lined streets and a mix of architecture that ranges from older Victorian-style homes to the more recent Tuscan renditions that have proved so popular.

Waterkloof Ridge is a somewhat newer extension of Waterkloof that, together with other areas into which the original suburb has spread, like Waterkloof Park and Waterkloof Heights, are collectively known as ‘the Waterkloofs’. This group joins the ranks of Brooklyn, Monument Park and Lynwood in what is regarded in Pretoria as the ‘old east’, home to a collection of older, larger estates that are particularly fashionable for diplomats - Canopus Street boasts no fewer than 17 embassies - and what is described in property circles as ‘discerning buyers’.

Waterkloof Ridge, despite being rather strategically sandwiched between two major highways that make getting into Johannesburg or Pretoria relatively painless, is a tranquil garden suburb that offers a peaceful time of it for those here on business. The beauty of being on a ridge is the incredible hilltop homesteads offering some pretty awesome views that include the Union Buildings and the valley in which the central part of the city lies.

One is not short of entertainment in Waterkloof Ridge. A residential area it might be, but there are dozens of restaurants and shopping centres close by. Groenkloof Nature Reserve, Magnolia Dell and the National Botanical Garden are all within easy reach, and the little village of Irene, with its well known weekend market and Jan Smuts House as attractions, a recommended outing.