South Africa Trip Report: Panorama Route, Days 11, 12

Mpumalanga:

Province Mpumalanga adjoining Kruger National Park has a great driving route through fertile valleys, meandering rivers and up to soaring mountain peaks – the Panorama Route. 

The name Mpumalanga means ‘the place where the sun rises’, and is pronounced ‘pu malana’.

The Panorama Route of Mpumalanga is located along the northeast of the Greater Drakensberg Escarpment, with the canyon starting at Bourke's Luck Potholes and ending at the Three Rondawels. 

The Panorama Route travels along the 33 km long Blyde River Canyon, formed by the erosive action of the Blyde River or ‘River of Joy’. 

The drive starts on the R532 north of Graskop, branching off onto the R534 which forms a scenic loop and rejoins the R532.

The whole province is a 285 kilometer Route, containing several highlights, some lesser known but lovely never the less. It is known for its lush landscapes and rich cultural heritage and one can view deep canyons, looming rock formations, plummeting waterfalls and panoramic mountain views, along with quaint towns.

This map shows the whole route. 

You can hit the main stops and skip the rest if short on time.

This area is adjacent to Kruger Park and we decided to drive this famous route before taking our flight to Victoria falls, Zimbabwe. 

May 31, 2016, Tuesday:

We drove out through Paul Kruger gate. Our original plan had been to leave in the morning. But the plan had to be changed as we had booked early morning Bush walk 5am-8am. It had been fully booked on the previous days.

In hindsight:

We could have left early for the panorama route as originally planned…. We loved it and had to miss few highlights because of lack of time.

We had thought the water falls in that area will not be worthy of visiting because of the drought but they had decent volume of water and were scenic spots. We had seen the Crocodile river dry in Kruger park but it was not the case with Blyde river.

Also the bush walk did not really add to the Kruger experience for us. We would have felt we missed out on a unique experience if we had not taken it… but having taken it, it was a flat experience. They started out late though we reported at 4.45 am. They brought us back only around 9am. We had our breakfast and checked out after that.

Again in hindsight, we should have driven out at once but we lingered doing game drive in Kruger in the hope of getting a better view of lions. The previous day, we had seen a lioness walking along the Sabie river far away, but lost sight of her because of the trees on the road we were on. We saw 2 buffalos running helter skelter from that place but did not see the lioness again. Earlier too we missed out on 2 lions. So we thought we might give another shot at lion viewing… no, lions did not oblige and we left Kruger only by 3 pm. We should have left early!

Our base Graskop:

We drove to Hazyview, 10 km away from Paul Kruger gate. We bought our provisions from the SPAR at the mall there, bought 2 caps from a nice Kenyan girl outside and drove on to Graskop. 

The hamlet of Graskop is perched on the majestic Drakensburg Escarpment above Kowyns Pass, at about 1400m above sea level. Like nearby Pilgrim's Rest, Graskop began as a gold mining town during the late 1800's. Later Graskop became a forestry centre and today it is the travel hub for the Panorama Route.

The ride from Hazyview to Graskop has been scenic, we were sorry to have missed out on details due to lack of time. We called it a day.

Our accommodation was a lovely wood cabin on top of a hill, 5 km outside the town, with a road carved out in the hillside…. LOVED the place… Zur Alten Mine!

It was pretty cold but we had electric blankets. There was room warmer in the bathroom as well and everything was set up for lighting a wood fire as well. We did not light it though! The home has classy furnishings and is set in pristine surroundings... was a steal at the price offered! 

June 1, 2016, Wednesday:

We got up early and saw a spectacular sunrise from our cabin… then checked out at 7 am and started our Panorama Route drive. 

We had a flight out of KMIA airport in Nelspruit at 6.30 pm and wanted to be at the airport by 4.30 pm.

Souvenirs:

We had not bought any souvenirs so far except for a few lovely wood magnets from Lower Sabie shop at Kruger when we had our picnic lunch there at the day visitor area. 

So apart from visiting the scenic spots, we had to buy the lovely wood carvings we had seen at the Kruger shops.

I knew they’ll be better priced at local vendors and I was right. We bought a load of beautiful stuff at the sites on the Panorama Route at very nominal rates. At the very 1^st spot, a lady quoted R400 for a wood wall hanging… the Big 5 animals carved into Africa map… I got the same for R80 elsewhere. 

Bought very beautiful animal carvings in wood and stone, bead work etc for very reasonable prices!

 I managed to pack all the bulky items safely in our bag before we boarded our flight!

Blyde River Canyon

The most scenic part of the Panorama Route is the Blyde River Canyon, the world's 3rd largest canyon. Blyde River Canyon is lushly vegetated, unlike the Grand Canyon (largest) and the Fish River Canyon (2nd). Its unique flora makes Blyde River Canyon the largest forested (green) canyon in the world.

Blyde River Canyon has numerous panoramic viewpoints and waterfalls.

First for us was the Pinnacle.

The Pinnacle

This is a towering column of cracked rock dotted with aloe plants. It stands 30 m tall, jutting out of the lush indigenous forests at its foot. Located at the head of Driekop Gorge, the Pinnacle is made of Black Reef Quartzite and was formed millions of years ago when erosion caused this buttress to detach from the main face of the Escarpment. 

The Pinnacle lies 6 km's north of Graskop on the R534 road, next to the Ngwaritsana stream at the spot where the first of eight small, cascading waterfalls can be seen.

Needless to say we were the first to enter this site… nobody else around. Lovely sight!

We drove on to God's Window

God's Window

God's Window is a natural viewpoint from the top of sheer cliffs along the edge of the Drakensberg Escarpment. From the Window, cliffs plunge down 700 m to the valley floor.  This vantage point provides panoramic views over the vast lowveld of South Africa. When the skies are clear one can see across Kruger National Park and beyond to the Lebombo Mountains on the Mozambique border! Standing on the clifftop soaking up the views of mighty cliffs, ravines, rolling hills, lush indigenous forests and endless lowveld plains, God’s Window looks out into what Garden of Eden might be, hence the name.

We walked to all the vantage points, hiked through the misty forest and loved the whole place! Next we went on to Wonder View

Wonder View

The highest viewpoint along the Panorama Route on the edge of the Drakensberg Escarpment, Wonder View stands at 1730 m above sea level., Wonder View is about 2 km north of God's Window. Located along the R534 road, Wonder View looks out over the hills and lowveld stretching on for what seems like an eternity. When visibility is good on cloudless days one can admire an astounding 360-degree view from the aptly named Wonder View lookout point.

After enjoying Wonder view, we drove on. We saw the board for Berlin falls, took the detour.

Berlin Falls

Berlin Falls flows through a narrow funnel in the cliffs, plunging to a ledge and cascading into a deep pool 45 m below… very nice.

Then we drove on to Bourke’s Luck Potholes

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

These are large, cylinder shaped potholes in the rocky bed of the Blyde River. 

Located at the start of Blyde River Canyon, about 35 km north of Graskop, these natural rock formations have been created by decades of erosion. As the Treur River tumbles into the Blyde River the waters form whirlpools carrying tiny sand and rock particles that have corroded the bedrock over the ages. These amazing potholes, also called giant's kettles, are one of the top highlights on the Panorama Route.

The potholes occur where the Treur River joins the Blyde River at the start of the Blyde River Canyon. (The Blyde River translates to 'River of Joy', while the Treur River translates to 'River of Sorrow')

In a continuing and centuries-old spectacle, the force of the water in these two rivers, combined with the particles of sand and rock that the rivers transport, wears cylindrical potholes into the sandstone bedrock.

Over time, some of these potholes merge and new ones form, creating an intricate landscape of deep depressions and outcrops of resistant rock.

We can view the potholes from a number of vantage points and bridges that criss-cross some of the most beautiful formations. Not only are the shapes of the formations spectacular, but the sandstone is layered and colored in shades of amber, taupe, ochre and brown, so depending on the soil content of the water, the river levels and the time of day, the landscape constantly changes.

These natural sculptures are named after a prospector, Tom Bourke, who had luck finding gold at this site. 

There was a school kid group along with us and the kids clambered over rocks laughing and yelling adding another dimension to the awesome place.

We had our picnic lunch here before resuming our drive to The Three Rondavels.

The Three Rondavels or Three Sisters Viewpoint

The Three Rondavels are three huge quartzite and shale rock formations, rising over 700 m above the surrounding Blyde River Canyon. The sheer rock faces of these three rounded peaks are draped in orange lichen and crowned with green vegetation as they stand majestically side-by-side.

The name 'Three Sisters' refers to Chief Maripi Mashile's three most troublesome wives - Magabolle, Mogoladikwe and Maseroto (from left to right). 

The name 'Three Rondavels' comes from the South African word 'Rondawel', which refers to a round, thatch-roof hut. The name 'Three Rondavels' was given to these distinctively shaped hills because they resemble the traditional huts.

 The viewpoint, located near Blydepoort Dam off the R532 road, offers beautiful views of these three famous geographical features and the surrounding bush and dams. The Three Rondavels view is flanked by the massive Mariepskop (at 1944m) and the rugged Swadini, forming the southern and northern buttresses of the Blyde River Canyon mouth.

After going to one more view point Blyde Canyon, we turned back on the same route we had come. 

Ideally it would have been great to take the loop and see the other attractions but we had no time. On the way back, we visited the Lisbon falls

Lisbon falls

Lisbon Falls - the highest waterfall in the area, drops 92 metres over sheer cliff, flowing in two or three streams. Lovely!

We hit Graskop again. We had intended to go to Hazyview and then on to the airport. But our accommodation owner had told us to hit Sabie and White river to reach the airport.

On the way we saw Mac Mac waterfalls

Mac Mac waterfalls

Near the Escarpment the Mac Mac River plunges 56m into a deep, forested gorge in two streams. Very pretty.

Flight to Johannesburg

Through out the drive, we hardly had any car on the road…. Just a few vehicles passed us by on both sides. We had the pleasure of having the whole vista to ourselves! There were a few loggers with huge loads of cut trees. The area has such lush pine forests, there were a few patches where trees have been cut but there were few others where young trees were growing. On the whole the drive as well as the stops were top notch!

We reached White River. White River is located just north of Nelspruit. We did not have to go to Nelspruit but had to take the direct road to the airport. We stopped for directions, double checked them and reached the KMIA airport at 4.30 just as we had planned.

We had our food, repacked bags with the souvenirs and were just in time to check one bag and board the flight.

It was a short flight and reached Johannesburg in an hour.

We called up our hotel airport lodge for their free pickup. The morose main guy picked us up. He directed us to a young guy for checkin…. We told him we don’t want the room no 18 we had been assigned the previous stay 2 weeks ago. This guy was polite, he said "Let me show you a few rooms and you can have your pick". The very 1st room he showed us--Room no 3 right near the reception looked clean and the bathroom was regular construction, not just half walls like the previous room. We took that room and called it a day.

We had a British Airlines flight at 10.30 am the next day to Victoria falls and wanted to reach the airport at 9 am. 

Earlier we had planned we’ll ask the hotel driver Memory to take us a short drive through the city. However, we saw a big indemnity notice displayed prominently at the reception lobby.

We felt uncomfortable and decided we’ll skip the drive into the city as our bags may not be safe in the room when we were away!

June 2, 2016, Thursday:

The next day we had our breakfast (included in room rent) at the hotel. There was only bread and some meat options put out. We explained we are vegetarians and the young guy in charge gave us fruits, yogurt… no cheese though! There was one more unpleasant incident, when son was drinking water in the breakfast room, reception girl yelled at him…STOP RIGHT THERE. He was not in any forbidden territory anyway. Surprised to see such rudeness. Thankfully we had met with such warmth every where else, we shrugged this off. We will not be recommending Airport Lodge, Johannesburg to friends or family… that’s for sure!  

We reminded them we needed our airport transfer when no car appeared after 9am; the main guy came up and drove us down to the airport, 3 km away.

That was the end of our South Africa stay and we were on our way to Victoria falls!

Hurrah!

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/06/africa-trip-report-victoria-falls.html
covers our time at the glorious Victoria Falls

Our Videos:

Our videos covering this drive are in these links:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6294685377235791985#6299827349868562370

Panorama route drive 1: God's window, Wonder view, Berlin Falls, Bourke's Luck Potholes

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6294685377235791985#6299826341786227266

Panorama route drive 2: Three Rondavels, Lisbon falls, MacMac falls