Panorama Route

As we discussed in a previous post, not far from us is the Blyde Canyon. This is part of the Drakensburg -- a stunning escarpment running north-south in eastern South Africa. Our friends from Yardley, Susanne and Matt, had flown into Hoedspruit to join us after spending a few days in the Cape Town area and we had a few days before heading out on safari. So we decided to drive the Panorama Route, a very scenic drive with a few particular natural points of interest along the rugged slopes of the Drakensburg.

Points of interest along the route include:

-- the Three Rondavels (that we'd seen earlier) which are viewed from a nice lookout point above the Byde Canyon reservoir

-- Bourke's Luck Potholes, a stunning canyon with walls that look like they were carved by an ice cream scooper

-- Lisbon Falls and Berlin Falls, a pair of 250-300 foot water falls

-- God's Window, a viewpoint with steep drops on either side. It is said that you can see Mozambique from here. I don't thing we did.

-- Pinnacle Rock, a large column of rock sticking up in a small gorge.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. One of the highlights of the day was at the top of the lookout, God's Window. To get to the top, you need to walk up a series of steps and walkways from the parking lot, then along a short path through a cloud forest (made us feel like we were back in Costa Rica). Just as we were coming out of the forest to the cliff-top viewing area, a group of South African women, dressed in what must have been their Sunday go-to-church attire, were heading back down. Maybe they were inspired by the view from God's Window or some other inspiration, but they burst into song, enveloping Dara in their enthusiasm. So we got to experience a nice, spontaneous, feel-good moment.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2d7cca_3269f7e41df8424ba4f22a1ce7783e3f/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The other highlight was the excellent restaurant where we stopped for a late lunch, Divine Foods at the View near Graskop. The view was spectacular, the food was great and the milkshakes were "the best ever," according to Matt.