National Zoological Gardens of South Africa

Very bad experience, Saturday was supposed to be a happy trip. But when we arrived at the zoo, we rented a cable car like this. The price of R150 per hour was acceptable. I used it for two hours in total, but what I couldn't accept was the normal price, renting a broken car. When I first took over the car, I had already reported to the staff that many parts of the car were damaged, and there were many intact cars that were idle at the time! He didn't help me replace it! When I came back from the trip, I was really angry. I described these problems to him, but he didn't even say sorry, and he didn't care! (If I had reported these problems to him at the time, his attitude would have been better, and he would have said sorry, I would have treated it as nothing, but...) Not only did he not apologize, but he also said that they deliberately removed the safety buckle of the seat belt because they were afraid of hurting others? ? (I asked him in return, you are afraid that the safety buckle will hurt others, then why don't you remove the safety buckle of all cars?? What kind of perverse logic is this? 🤣 However, he has not apologized until now!) Because the seat belt of the co-pilot seat does not have a safety buckle, my family cannot sit in my co-pilot seat to enjoy the scenic spot together! Also the left side mirror is broken, which affects the view! There is no front windshield either! They charged me the normal price, gave me a broken car, and the service was poor! I don't recommend coming here!...

The PTA zoo boasts a wide variety of animals and even includes an aquarium, reptile section, snakes, spiders, seals and penguins. There is alot of walking to be done! Comfortable shoes, hat, glasses and clothes to be worn. I regretted wearing a pair of jeans because at the end of the day it was sticking to me uncomfortably. When you are inside the zoo prices for drinks, ice cream and food is reasonable and not overly priced. I bought a good quantity of fries for only R20/R25. They have kids rides that are very affordable too. Downside of our trip was that many of the toilets where locked. We walked so much to get to each designated bathroom spot just to find its locked. The bathrooms that was opened was at the entrance. We also went on the cable car one way. You get to see animals from above which is very exciting but the ride for me personally was scary as you keep brushing across trees. One needs to be advised that when you take a one way and jump off the car that it's a walk down steps (estimated 5 min) before you start seeing animals again and make it back to normal ground. Thus you should also be advised that there is nothing on the level of where the cable will drop you off on the mountain unless u take a cable back down you have to walk which doesn't feel bad at all. Another suggestion to the PTA zoo is to please add shade/rooftops to the golf carts and kids cabs they loan out as it doesn't provide any shelter which would help. All in all a great experience...

If I could give 0 I would!!! The zoo is in terrible condition.... There is construction being done but Heaven only knows what's actually being done! The enclosures are tiny for all the animals. There's a Leopard in a tiny indoor-ish enclosure! The state of the enclosures is ridiculous. There's barely, if any, water in the enclosures. The most water we saw was a small amount where the rhinos are. Not to mention the bathrooms had no water to wash our hands. The lion's are looking worse for wear and the cows are skinny! Especially the one! The most heart breaking is the tiger, pacing up and down crying and panting from heat and there is absolutely no water in sight! If there is any water it's clearly not nearly enough. It was blatently clear that tiger was incredibly stressed and hot! The birds of bigger size have tiny cages too.

I understand maybe finances are a problem but quite honestly those animals should be transported to JHB zoo and Pretoria zoo either needs a proper revamp or to close down. It is actually bordlerine cruel of the state of those animals as well as their living spaces. I will never in my life go back! I actually left there feeling sad for those animals. Not to mention the extremely loud festival happening at the zoo, those poor animals! There are other ways of raising funds! Not all animals tolerate or cope with such loud noise! A zoo should be protecting the animals, Pretoria zoo is...