This is a very scenic road situated between Mpumalanga and Limpopo, it connects a variety of culture, magnificent views, walks and activities. It is not entirely clear where it starts and ends, but it goes from Hazyview to Ohrigstad. It’s also seen as a circular route, regardless of this one thing is for certain, it’s a route filled with hidden treasures.
There are many waterfalls in this area, some are at the end of a walk and others are next to the road. Therefore, it can appeal to everyone, they are surrounded by tranquil woodlands and the sounds of water crashing down on the rocks below. If you are an adrenaline junkee, there’s even a small bungee jumping and foefie slide in Graskop, definitely a way of getting the blood pumping. A few of my favorite waterfalls in this area have to be Mac-mac falls. Although I did not find the lookout area to my taste, as it was heavily barred (for obvious safety reasons), witnessing a twin waterfall plummeting down 65m, is truly incredible when you start to imagine all the happenings that had to take place to achieve this. Other waterfalls that are good to investigate i are Berlin falls, Bridal Veil falls, Lisbon falls, Lone creek falls, and Sabie falls.
There are also fantastic mountain passes with great views when planning your travels, take the roads unknown, choosing all the scenic routes, rather than sticking to those boring highway roads. Some interesting passes to look out for are Bergvleit Pass, Blyderiver Poort Pass, Bonnet Pass, Kiepersol Pass, Koffiehoogte, Long Tom Pass, Masjiennel, Robber’s Pass and Sudwala Pass.
Landmarks, historical and cultural are surely not scarce in this area either and won’t disappoint I have often been to Bourkes luck potholes, this is a natural water feature consisting of swirling whirlpools engraving deep potholes over time, but it’s the sheer size of it, you walk along path ways and over bridges witnessing the water flowing over the rocks and into these large swirling pools, this is on the Blyde river, and not far from there is also Blyde river canyon.
Cango caves in Western Cape are very well known, old and hard to beat, I was a bit sceptical on hearing about the caves called echo caves, not knowing to much about it, but was pleasantly surprised. A great hall underground and a waterfall was marvellous to see, with well-lit walls really brought out the space and atmosphere. There is also a section of the cave where they turned off all the lights, you cannot imagine how dark it was, you could not even see the person right next to you not even a slight shadow.
This route is very interesting to do, it can be done in a day if it is well planned, but fair warning it will be very rushed. Several days are recommended to take in everything in and properly experience all it has to offer.If you enjoy town and villages, there are also a few stops to make, one being Pilgrims rest, this is a gold rush village that sprung up in 1873, it is declared a museum where you can look in fascinating structures built during this time and enjoy a bite to eat or a few drinks.
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