Our Blog - South Africa Safari - Day 9

We left Kruger and headed across country towards Johannesburg, following what is called the Panorama Route. The route is centered around the Blyde River Canyon, the world’s third largest canyon.

Our first stop was a place called God's Window. We were again the "lucky bus" as our guide said that only 2 out of 10 tours that she has done has stopped here, due to bad weather. It is a popular viewing point along the Drakensberg mountains, with sheer cliffs overlooking the valley, about 2300 feet. A bit of trivia: God’s Window features prominently in the plot of the 1980 cult film "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Near the end of the movie, the Bushman character Xi travels to God's Window, and due to low-lying cloud cover, believes it to be the end of the Earth. I have a bunch of pictures, but you can see how it was an interesting view. While it was clear at the top, we were actually above the clouds! I tried to get views where you could see how sheer the cliffs were, although I'm not sure how successful I was at getting a good view of how high we were.

Not sure what kind of flowers these are, but they were everywhere. There had been a fire that came through recently and you could still see a lot of blackened bushes. There were also quite a few cacti that looked like aloe vera plants, although I guess they some close relative.

Our next stop in the 5-plus hour drive to Johannesburg was at the Bourke's Luck Potholes. These are no ordinary potholes. This geological feature was created when water from the Treur River eroded a number of cylindrical potholes, which can be viewed from the cliffs above. You can tell that you are at a tourist attraction when they have put up a "postcard frame" for pictures. It starts out rather unimpressively, looking like just a nice little stream running through the countryside.

But then, you walk a little further and you can start seeing the potholes, which are pretty impressive. I'm not sure if it really comes across well in a 2-dimensional picture, but I can assure you that the 3-dimensional view is spectacular! In the rocks are these huge round holes, and then lots of cliffs and waterfalls.

Make sure your volume is up, since this is really about hearing the falls.

You can make your way out on various rock paths, but only so far.

Of course, Tom wanted to get as far over as he could!

A cute little guy that we met along the way!

Then we headed back. This was a small traditional performing group that we stopped to listen to. We found these everywhere in South Africa ... small groups performing native music, songs, and dances, celebrating their heritage.

Then just a few more panoramic pictures from the bus ride, going through the Blyde River Canyon.

Here we found a few Nguni cattle relaxing on the road, a mother and a calf. Nguni cattle are specific to South Africa and is a hybrid breed that is known for their fertility and resistance to diseases. They have patterned skin but their noses are always black.

We really were the lucky bus, as you can see from many of the pictures. There tends to be clouds in the valleys between the mountain plateaus, and we were able to experience the wonderful views.

A quick stop to see what are called the Three Rondavels. These are the 3 round-ish mountain tops with somewhat pointed peaks. They are called "rondavels" because they resemble the traditional round African homesteads (well ... the one on the right does). They are named for the 3 wives of a 19th century chief, Magabolle, Mogoladikwe and Maseroto, while the flat-topped peak adjacent is Mapjaneng, "the chief".

And then just more pictures of the area ...

And as the sun started to set behind the clouds, we finally made it to our hotel in Johannesburg.

You can go back to the main Safari page or continue on to Day 11