Traveling throughout South Africa never ceases to amaze and surprise us with the wonders and beauty of this land. Saturday morning October 13th the Bird's, the Garrett's and us headed out for the weekend to visit the Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga, Northeast of Johannesburg.
On the way we stopped for breakfast in Dollstrum, a quaint little town famous for its pancake house and trout fly fishing. We arrived just as the restaurant opened at 8 AM and enjoyed a very nice breakfast of Sweet & savory pancakes (crepes) before heading out for Blyde River Canyon. When we discovered that this area was known as the Trout Fishing Capital of South Africa Bob and I decided to look into it and find a B&B fishing package for a two day adventure. Everywhere you turned there were signs for fly fishing and Trout Fishing. Boy, did I get excited - just a bit! Our next adventure, for sure!
Blyde River Canyon is one of the most beautiful and popular travel destinations in South Africa. It leads through the rugged mountain range of the northern Drakensberg where the inland plateau declines abruptly and steeply opening up fantastic views up to a thousand meters below. The Blyde River Canyon is the 3rd largest canyon in the world filled with lush vegetation and is known as the rain forest of South Africa. Here is what we experienced:
The Mac-Mac Falls The Panorama Falls
Our next stop was at the Bourke's Luck Potholes. Gold was discovered nearby this river many years ago by a miner named Tom Bourke. Unfortunately he worked for a large mining company at the time and any find by a employed miner belonged to the company.
This is Brother & Sister Bird, Jenee, and Sister and Brother Garrett
The Pothole area at a distance
The depth of the Pothole ravine
Jenee and I at the Top
The Top of the Falls and Ravine
The Famous Potholes
From here we went to the highest place in the Canyon approximately 9000 ft in altitude. This is the group standing on top of a Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.
From the top of this viewing point we could see,700 meters below, the 370 acre Blyde River Dam. To the right of the dam we could see three huge triples rock spirals, rising out of the far wall of the canyon which are known as the 3 Rondevols. The three gigantic peaks of quartzite and shale with their sheer rock walls tower more than 700 m above the surrounding landscape.
From here we headed out for what is known as 'God's Window'. One look down and you know how it got its name. This is the top of the fain forest. From here you can see Kruger National Park and Mozambique almost 100km away more than 900 m down into the indigenous forest-clad ravine.
The day finally came to an end and we set out for our B&B accommodations for the night. We stayed in Sabie, a small secluded city within the Blyde River Reserve. Brother Bird made all the arrangements for our sleeping quarters. This one, as we lovingly joked, was not one of his best choices. But as tired as we were - who cared, it was a place to get dinner and rest from a busy day.
Oct 14th Sunday. In South Africa the members watch a rebroadcast of General Conference on this Sunday with no regular meetings being held. We got up and had breakfast and during breakfast we decided that we would take the day and go to Kruger Park which was only about 40 km from where we were. Brother Garrett visited Kruger 50 years ago on his way home from serving his mission in South Africa. Both Brother and Sister Garrett wanted to see the park and of course the Bird's and Uzelac's are always in for a game park drive - one of our favorite things to do. We finished breakfast at about 7:20 AM and headed out for the park, arriving at the gate at about 8:30 AM. Below are just a few of the sightings we had. We were lucky to have seen four of the Big Five, still not seeing a Leopard.
To see Water Buffalo on a drive is not usual so when we ran into this herd it was a chance of a lifetime to get some great pictures. This one is one of my favorite - this big bull is huge in comparison to the others.
And of course how could you not include the most famous of the African creatures - the (elephant)dung beetle.
We got out of Kruger Park at about 4:30 PM and headed straight for Nelspruit where we had another B&B reservation. After finding the place and checking in we were hungry and tired so we headed out to Spurs Steak House for dinner. After arriving back to the B&B we all just went to our rooms for a good nights sleep after a full and fun-filled day at Kruger.
We stayed at the Palms B&B run by a charming English couple Susan and Chris Pickles. They were the most wonderful host and hostess and made our stay here memorable. Not only did we get the run of the place being the only clients there, but they personally served and cooked breakfast. This was #1 in our B&B experiences, one we will recommend to our fellow missionaries. Here it is.
During breakfast, Brother Bird suggested that we go see a quaint little Scandinavian village at the top of the mountains where is found the only wild horse herd. So we headed out and to our surprise this place was very quaint, in addition to the wild horses. This place has about 30 shops and B&B's are in Scandinavian culture and design. This would be a real nice place to just go and get away from the world.
Now, I did say that this was where the only herd of wild horses existed in South Africa. Well as we were approaching this little village here is what we saw:
AND, they were not kidding either.
Frolicking near and over the highway.
After spending two wonderful days of soaking in the majestic wonders of God's creation here in South Africa, it was sobering and disheartening as we returned to Johannesburg to pass by the one symbol that profoundly tells its own story of the degradation and poverty within South Africa, its black townships: corrugated metal shack's with dirt floors, no windows, no electricity, no running water - nothing that resembles a civilized way of life.
