Dogs by Nature

PARKS

Jan Cilliers Park

Jan Cilliers Park is situated on the corner of Wenning and Broderick streets in Groenkloof and is one of the most beautiful dog-friendly places that Pretoria has to offer. This park did not earn the nicknames “Fairy park” or “Protea park” for no reason. With its lush vegetation creating many hidden-away private spots that can only be discovered by following the winding footpaths, this park really seems like it’s concealing mythical secrets.  Unfortunately only one of the many Protea bushes was in bloom when I visited in early February. 

This park was named after the Afrikaans poet Jan Francois Elias Cilliers (12 January 1865 – 1 June 1940). Although he spent his early childhood years in Wellington, he and his family moved to Pretoria in 1874.

Tripadvisor ranked this park 19^th out of the 43 best attractions in Pretoria and I can really understand why. Jan Cilliers Park is truly immaculate and would elicit complements from any Botanist. There is a large variety of indigenous shrubs and trees and most trees are labelled. The park also offers a private parking area (with space for about 20 cars) as well as bathrooms. The park is unfortunately not fenced, but the surrounding roads are not busy.

The dogs loved the vast open spaces to run in and also all the different flower beds and corners to explore. There are some lovely water features that run through the park, offering great drinking spots to the dogs. Dogs that like to have a swim would definitely not get enough of this park, and the water is actually clean enough to allow them to do so! This is one of the few parks in Pretoria that offers a large enough running/ walking space to decently tire the dogs. Even though all the private spots would normally mean that it is not a good idea to explore alone, I got the feeling that it was perfectly safe. I was there around 14:00 and the park was very quiet, although I’ve heard that it can become quite busy especially on weekends when a lot of people bring their canine companions.

How awesome are these doggie poo bags provided by the South African Community veterinary Clinics and ExSpot? These bags are found under a few trees close to a bin. 

For more information on this park, call 012 358 0524/0257

Dis al

Dis die blond,
dis die blou:
dis die veld,
dis die lug;
en 'n voël draai bowe in eensame vlug -
dis al

Dis n balling gekom
oor die oseaan,
dis n graf in die gras,
dis n vallende traan -
dis al

-Jan FE Cilliers-