South Africa Roundtrip - Day 4 - Panorama Tour along Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

Day 4 was a day along the Panorama Route centred around the Blyde River Canyon, the world’s third largest canyon.

First stop was the God's Window which is a very popular vantage point at the southern extremity of the canyon and where cliffs plunge over 700 metres to the lowveld. It is not as spectacular as expected but still a great view.

Next stop was The Three Rondavels which are three round, grass-covered mountain tops with somewhat pointed peaks - what a spectacular view there! It is even possible to go down to the river and do a boat tour though we didn't have the time for that.

 

 

 

 

Third stop were the Bourke's Luck Potholes, situated at the confluence of the Treur and Blyde Rivers. Various paths and pedestrian bridges connect the various overlooks of the potholes and the gorge downstream. Quite an amazing experience climbing and walking around the area.

Last stop was Pilgrim's Rest, a town that has been classified as a national monument and being a restored gold-mining town with several souvenir shops and Victorian buildings. Its history can be traced back to 1873.

It felt rather touristy to be there and unfortunately we only saw half of the town when walking around (really wished we had more time but as said before speed on this tour was sloooooow) where most tourist shops were - the really interesting bit (as it least it seemed like it when driving past it) was a bit away and not close to the pick up point at the end of the time frame.

Overall a beautiful day seeing some amazing places, just wished we had more time at the really interesting places and less time for lunch (in Graskop, another very touristy place). Early bed time as the next morning we were off to the Kruger National Park...  

South Africa Roundtrip - Day 3 - Journey to Hazyview

Day 3 was mainly about travelling the around 400km by coach from Johannesburg to Hazyview where our hotel was as a base for the Kruger National Park and area around there.

So most of the day but for one stop at a motorway service station with a wildlife reserve behind it where we could see rhinos etc. from the distance and a another bit longer to grab some food we were watching the country go by. 

In the early afternoon we arrived at our hotel, the Casa do Sol Hotel Hazyview, apparently a 4 star, but compared to the standards I am used to, more a 3 star hotel.
Accommodation was in so called casas, like rather big 1 room apartments in Spanish style houses with a huge bathroom - not the most modern furniture but decent.

Everyone of the group then went on a so called night drive to the Kruger National Park for a few hours, I though preferred to stay at the hotel and just relax at the pool and as I learnt when the group returned and I joined them for dinner didn't miss much - and I actually had  fun with vervet monkeys around the pool teasing other hotel guests - so hilarious to watch that!