Golden Gate Highland National Park and other South Africa Things to Do Tips

Two huge sandstone rock formations that tower, almost perpendicular, facing each other across a wide valley, give the Golden Gate Highland National Park its name. Sweeping vistas and hiking trails offer plenty of chances of coming across wildlife. We saw a lone black wildebeest, two Burchell's zebra, a small group of eland and several blesbok - all at a distance ( springbok are also to be found here) which was exciting as they were our first game sightings but it was the massive rocks that really caught our imagination and had our cameras clicking. The park's sandstone cliffs, especially the stunning Brandwag rock, certainly lived up to their golden name.

We didn't stay in the park, but there is accommodation available, both within the park at a guest lodge and at a hotel at the park entrance. See the website below for details of accommodation and park facilities.

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Directions: The park is in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains, not far from Clarens and Harristown
Website: http://www.places.co.za/html/1597.html

1500 British troops lost their lives on January 24, 1900 in the Battle of Spienkop, one of the most disastrous actions for the British of the whole Boer War. That this terrible loss (at the cost of only 355 to the enemy) was due almost entirely to the incompetence of the senior command was a devastating blow to the army and to the morale of the British people. More than 200 soldiers lost their lives fighting on the crown of the small hill without any proper leadership. Their bodies lie in the long trenches where they fought and fell. The markers and memorials scattered across the "murderous acre" today are a sad reminder of the dreadful events of the battle, made more poignant by the remote beauty of the landscape.
A self-guided trail winds past the graves, monuments and trenches.

Spienkop is near Ladysmith, where the museum would, I assume, have much of interest about both the battle and the Siege of Ladysmith. Unfortunately, the museum is only open on weekdays and Saturday mornings and even then keeps somewhat eccentric hours though apparently arrangements can be made for the place to be open on Sundays and public holidays by prior request. Call Ladysmith Siege Museum (036) 6372992 for details.

Click on image for panorama view

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Phone: Tel: (036) 4881578
Directions: On the Tugela River in Kwa-ZuluNatal, between Bergville and Ladysmith
Open daily from 6h00 - 18h00.
Small entry fee
Website: http://www.britishbattles.com/great-boer-war/spion-kop.htm

With one of our group on crutches, and a limit on our time anyway, climbing the face of the Amphitheatre was never an option - and when we got our first glimpse of its spectacularly vertical face, I think we were all secretly glad that we weren't going to have to face the challenge! Instead we first drove out along a long high ridge to Witsieshoek where we could look straight across to the vast curve of the cliff and the jagged rock formation known as the Devils's Tooth and down into the deep valley below. After lunch at the lodge there we drove down the mountainside and along to the entrance to the valley at the foot of the cliffs. Typically, the mist we were told often fills the valley was swirling all around as we reached the end of the road, and the viewpoint at the Sentinel Carpark, so our view was severely restricted. We waited as long as we could, but the gates were soon to close and we had no option but to turn the car around and head out - and just as we did the cloud broke, the mist lifted, and there it was - the most fantastic sight - the sheer face of the cliff, the "bridal veil" of the Tugela waterfall - everything we'd come to see -magnificent!

For those fit enough and with plenty of time at their disposal, there is a chain ladder up the face of the cliff - a stiff climb of some 850 metres to the top, after a 2 hour hike to actually reach the starting point - allow at least 5 hours and start early in the morning as by the afternoon the mist has usually well and truly moved in. Be prepared for temperatures at the top to be considerably cooler than those at the bottom.

Click on image for full panorama

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Directions: The Amphitheatre is situated in the North Drakensberg. The drive from Johannesburg to the Sentinel Carpark, through Clarins and the Golden Gates Park, wasa full day's journey with several stops along the way. We stayed the night at Bergville.
Website: http://www.tourism-kzn.org/picttour/berg.html

This was really what I had come for, to see animals in the wild, and Kruger didn't let me down. The biggest of all South Africa's game parks, Kruger covers an area bigger than many countries with a wide range of landscapes and animal habitats. Different areas in the park will provide different experiences. Coming from Johannesburg, we entered through the Malelane Gate into the southern region of the park, which is rugged, hilly country and thickly forested. Travel north through the park and the country changes often, and with it some of the animals you can expect to see. As you should expect, the season will affect your viewing as well. Summer, the rainy season, means the undergrowth in this region is thick and lush and water is plentiful away from the main waterholes, all of which makes animal spotting somewhat more difficult. The dry winter is considered the best season for animal sightings.
There are so many ways to see Kruger, you really need to do your homework. You can self-drive, as we did, and stay in one or more of the many rest camps in the park, doing everything in your own time and space, opting perhaps for an organized drive or two with the guides but mostly following your own nose. There are loads of options for organized visits, something for every budget and every sort of tourist. For those who want absolute luxury and every thing laid on - a Hollywood fantasy of an African safari - there are plenty of private lodges to cater for every whim. At the other end of the spectrum, there are really basic bush camps that take you as close to nature as is possible in a land where nature is very raw in tooth and claw indeed. Whatever you opt for, Kruger will offer you an experience you will never forget.

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Website: http://www.sanparks.org./parks/kruger/

Cutting through the northern arm of the Drakensberg Mountains, the Blyde River Canyon - the third biggest canyon in the world - and its approaches afford some of the most spectacular - and the most visited - scenery in South Africa. Where Mpumalanga lies across the north-eastern section of the Great Escarpment, the high inland plateau falls steeply and sharply, opening up up fantastic and dramatic views of the Lowveld a thousand metres below. Winter is the best time come -summer weather patterns bring rain and as the scarp rises it creates a barrier for the clouds moving in from the east which in turn creates mist, cloud and very wet days.

The Blyde River Nature Reserve stretches from the Pinnacle and God's Window in the south near Graskop to where the Blyde River Canyon ends at Swadini in the north. This is bushveld country and the reserve contains five of the 71 different veld types found in South Africa, the dips and dives of the landscape forming pockets of varying ecosystems that create a constantly changing lanscape of plant life. You need to hike if you want to see much of the abundant wildlife in the area apart from the vervets that call the carparks their own. Far more discreet are the predators and you would have to very lucky indeed to catch a glimpse of the civet, leopard, genet, serval, and caracal that are known to inhabit the region. Hippo and crocodiles are to be seen in the rivers and lakes and eagles, buzzards, and falcons can be seen soaring over the heights.

The biodiversity here is very special - a fact recognized by UNESCO - and ground-breaking effortsare being made to harness this amazing diversity to reduce the poverty and displacement brought about by decades of neglect and exclusion. Eco-tourism and initiatives aimed at empowering local people are joining the more traditional industries of mining and agriculture as the region looks to a bright new future.

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Website: http://www.kruger2canyons.com

Just a few kilometres from Graskop and before entering the Blyde River Canyon, a short detour will take you to the dramatic lookout point known as God's Window. If you're lucky enough to strike a clear moment ( and it may well be only a moment - the 1000 metre deep cleft in the rock wall of the escarpment here is almost permanently full of mist) the view over the Lowveld and on east towards Kruger and Mozambique is truly breathtaking. More likely though, you will find the cleft full of the mist that seems to hang about here virtually all the time. What this does of course, is provide the damp warmth that provides the necessary growing conditions for the almost tropical vegetation that clothes the sides of the steep defile. This magnificent place has been held sacred by the indigenous people of the region for centuries and still today its popular name reflects this special feeling.

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The 50 km long Blyde River Canyon Panorama Route offers some of the most spectacular scenery in all South Africa. The Canyon proper is 33km long and starts at Bourke's Luck Potholes where erosion in past millenia by the fast flowing water of the converging Blyde (river of joy) and Treur (river of sorrow) rivers has left these deep holes in the rock where sand and debris carried by the river was trapped and swirled, forming deep cylindrical pools and holes. A well-laid out series of walkways and bridges takes the visitor past and over the holes and now more-slowly flowing rivers to the lovely falls. The walkway is suitable for disabled travellers. It starts at the visitors' centre (worth a visit for the information you'll find there of the area's geology , ethnology and natural history) and loops around in a 180 metre circle.

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Website: http://www.southafrica-travel.net/north/a1mpuma3.htm

Marking the end of the Blyde River Canyon, the extraordinary rock formation known as the Three Rondavels stands clear at the end of the far wall of the canyon. Their name derives fron their straightsided walls and domed green tops that look for all the world like three giant's houses. Behind them in the distance lies the Swadini Dam, the last landmark in the reserve.
Also known as the Three Sisters, each of the Rondavels is named for the wife of a legendary chief. From lowest to highest, they are Magabolle, Mogoladikwe and Maseroto.

Accommodation options along the canyon are very limited though good lodges and guest houses can be found in the small towns in the area.

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Directions: Coming to the main stretch of the Panorama Route from Kruger you need to head for the R532, north of Graskop. From Johannesburg you can either come via Nelspruit and Sabie or via the pretty little towns of Dullstroom, Lydenburg and Pilgrim's Rest.

.. if you are in either Johannesburg or Pretoria during your South African stay, don't miss a visit to de Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre if you possibly can help it. The centre is world-renowned for their wonderful work for the conservation of these critically endangered beautiful animals and a day spent there will show and teach you so much, not only about cheetah but also the amazing African Hunting dog - also critically endangered, African vultures and many other rare creatures. You will probably never have another chance like this to see so many cheetah (including the even rarer "king" cheetah) and at such close quarters.

Booking is essential as the number of visitors is strictly restricted. Guided tours of the Centre in an open vehicle are conducted every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 8h30 and 13h30. The tour takes about three hours and includes a refreshment stop at the charming Cheetah Lodge. There is no admittance outside these hours. Children under 6 are not admitted.

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Website: http://www.dewildt.org.za/take.html

Massive, unmoveable, brutal ( it should come as no surprise to learn that the building was commissioned in 1938, so much is it in the mould of many European buildings of the time in countries with a similar ethos and attitudes) the Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria dominates the surrounding landscape. Built to commemerate the Great Trek of 1830 that saw Boer settlers leave the Cape region and make the long and difficult journey inland to found their own settlements based on their ideas and beliefs rather than those of the English who controlled the Cape Colony, it stand stern and fortress-like, saying to the world " we will not be moved" .
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the years that followed, the monument stands as an impressive memorial to the strength of will and fortitude of those pioneers. It is an undeniable part of South Africa's history and for that is worth a visit.

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Directions: Monument Hill, outside Pretoria. You cannot miss it coming from Johennesburg.
Website: http://www.ibiblio.org/istudio/03pretoria/research/THE_VOORTEKKER.htm