Dramatic Landscapes of Panorama Route And Kruger Safari Transfer

Day 1 · Johannesburg/Pretoria/Nelspruit/Hoedspruit to the village of Graskop at the centre of the Panorama Route

1. 1

   Long Tom Pass

   30 min

   On route to Graskop, we shall pass through stunning mountain passes such as the Long Tom or Abel Erasmus Passes. We shall stop to view the various location described as they occur on the route.

2. 2

   Sabie Waterfalls

   30 min Admission included

   We will stop at one or more of the waterfalls in the region of the forestry town of Sabie, Mac Mac Falls, Lone Creek, Bridal Veil

3. 3

   Graskop Gorge Lift Company

   one hour Admission included

   Depending on timing we will visit the Graskop Gorge descending into its green depths in the newly built lift.

4. 4

   Graskop

   9 hours

   Graskop Village is in the mist belt of the escarpment so you will have cool memories to compare with the much warmer Kruger Park at the bottom of it. We usually find this is the best place to spend the night and have dinner but if the timing does not allow then we might stay in the town of Sabie.Both towns have a lovely holiday atmosphere and many restaurants and guest houses for visitors.

Graskop Hotel is in the center of the village. You will have bed and breakfast and dinner here or at another restaurant.

Day 2 · Panorama Route/Kruger National Park

1. 1

   Lisbon Falls

   30 min Admission included

   One of the most beautiful of all the falls especially when in full flow. There is a large craft market here too where local ladies sell their handmade goods.

2. 2

   God's Window

   one hour Admission included

   From Graskop, the road rises up to the edge of the escarpment that looks over the "Lowveld" at the bottom of South Africa's central highlands. This warmer more tropical region stretches past Kruger Park to the Mozambique coast. Besides the wild area of the Kruger, there are many groves of subtropical fruits, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, avocadoes, citrus, macadamia nuts and vast areas of sugar cane.

   God's Window is a very popular viewpoint which is easily reached in a few minutes from the car park. But above it and after a healthy walk you reach a small rain forest with rare plants and trees indigenous to just this location and after walking through it you reach another stunning viewpoint.

3. 3

   Bourkes' Luck Potholes

   one hour Admission included

   The Blyde River which later forms the kilometer-deep canyon is joined here by the Treur River before it descends to the Canyon. The legend has it that there was a party of Boers with their families traveling through the area. They camped by the Treur River and the men left them to go on a hunt. They were gone for many days causing some worry to the womenfolk and children. They did return unscathed and when they camped the next day beside another river they called them the Treur ( sad) and the Blyde ( happy) rivers. The scouring action of the rapid-flowing rivers joining together has formed beautiful and fascinating shapes in the rocks of the rivers' beds.

4. 4

   Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

   one hour Admission included

   We usually proceed to the Three Rondawels viewpoint which gives the best views both down into the Canyons depths and over it to the round-topped mountains called the Three Rondawels because of their similarity to the African round huts by the same name

5. 5

   Abel Erasmus Pass

   one hour

   If you are proceeding to Kruger Park Lodges adjacent to Hoedspruit ( e.g.Orpen Gate, Timbavati, Manyaleti, Satara, Letaba and Olifants) from Johannesburg/Pretoria then you will cross the Abel Erasmus Pass or if doing this tour in reverse by returning to Joburg/Pretoria from lodges near or in these places you will also cross Abel Erasmus Pass. Charecterised by towering cliff walls on either side of the road that block out the sun the pass undulates up and down many times and there is a tunnel to be traversed. in the middle of it This pass has got one of the world's few tufa waterfalls. The waterfalls edge actually grows outwards due to high concentrations of calcium dissolved in the water getting deposited along the flow bed. At the bottom of the pass you may see a baobab tree or two as this is the southern limit of this trees habitat.Beneath you is the Olifants River that flows on through the Kruger to join the Limpopo in Mozambique.