The Panorama

The Panorama
The Panorama
The Panorama
The Panorama
   

Thrills & Spills

Waterfalls for Africa – short ones, tall ones, wide ones, some spits and some spouts. Sabie is waterfall wonderland.

The Canopy Trail, Hazyview is home to Africa’s longest, stretching along the Sabie River, high above the frogs, moths, trogons and crocs.

The Big Swing, Graskop – a sort of Bungee Jump but madder. Moored to two sides of the gorge, throw yourself off for fun. www.graskop.com

The Belvedere Trail – a day walk down into the canyon from Bourke’s Luck.

Induna Adventures on the R536 from Hazyview – THE adventure specialists. www.indunaadventures.com

Plus rafting, tubing, caving, elephant sanctuaries, microlights, horse-riding, helicopter flips, hot air ballooning, ziplines, mountain boarding, fishing, golf ...

Did You Know?

There are two citrus harvests per year in the Lowveld. Under favourable conditions three harvests can even be achieved.

Top Traveller's Tips

Kruger’s Big Five – Two of the most convenient access gates into one of the world’s prime conservation areas are to be found in the Panorama Region. Phabeni and Paul Kruger Gates offer easy access to the Kruger National Park’s south-western bulge and quick routes onto its river systems. www.sanparks.org

Dinosaurs at Sudwala – Mausoleum-like chambers and the site of one of South Africa’s bloodiest battles between the amaZulu and amaNdebele peoples. Oh, and a bushman statue in alarmingly full proportion. And a dinosaur park, of course! www.sudwalacaves.co.za

God’s Window – The story has it that the true God’s Window is on a private farm and not accessible to the public ... but nobody seems to know exactly where. The view that now bears the name stands atop a dramatic ledge on the escarpment near Graskop and offers magnificent views over the tops of vast indigenous yellowwood and white stinkwood trees to the Lowveld beyond.

Pilgrim’s Rest – a gold rush mining village, now preserved as a national monument. Once home to the legendary Jock of the Bushveld and to Wheelbarrow Paterson, it is now known for its evocative ghost tours. Home to an easel-ful of artists and sculptors, Pilgrim’s Rest boasted street lights before London did, driven by a hydro-electric plant on the Blyde River at Belvedere, 25km away. www.pilgrimsrest.org.za

Bourke’s Luck Potholes – deep cylindrical holes ground into the bedrock by turning sand and pebbles at the convergence of the Treur and Blyde Rivers. Throw in a coin and try your luck. When the authorities last dredged out the coins, they found nearly R60 000 in coppers to plough back into preserving the site.

Blyde River Canyon – the third-largest canyon in the world (after the Grand and Fish River Canyons) and the largest green canyon. Don’t miss The Three Rondavels for the best viewpoint.

Critics Cuisine

THE PIONEERS GRILL, Hazyview – a traditional SA steakhouse with an extensive menu and very orange sofas 013 737 7397

RISSINGTON INN, Hazyview – cheerful, comfortable country cooking 013 737 7700

WINDMILL WINE SHOP. Hazyview – platters of cheese, ham, patés and pickled fish. And wine! 013 737 8175

THE WOODSMAN, Sabie – Greek restaurant with local flair. A bikers’ haven with a view down the gorge 013 764 2204

MISTY MOUNTAIN on the Long Tom Pass – a wide ranging menu for lunch and dinner and all day. 013 764 3377

HARRIE’S PANCAKES, Graskop – The original pancake shack. Beware imitations! 013 767 1273

Go back

A True Story

The Shangaan-Tsonga people make up the majority of the staff in the Kruger National Park and their traditional homeland runs up its western border to the east of Hazyview. Story-telling is a pivotal skill in Shangaan tradition, as it is in so many African cultures. The storyteller or Garingani is usually an old woman, who will start her tale with the words “I am a Storyteller, the daughter of a Storyteller”. Her eager audience will call out “Garingani” sporadically to spur her on. Storytelling is crucial in keeping a record of the clan’s history and if the old lady makes a mistake she will be shouted down by her audience. Thus oral tradition maintains its accuracy and everybody has something to shout about.