Travelogue: Blyde River Canyon

Jess writes:

Adam and I arrived in Graskop yesterday, amidst fog-covered hills and a very cool breeze. This being our first real trip to the Highveld, we didn’t know quite what to expect – except the anticipation of cold weather and magnificent views… and we were not disappointed! To be sure, it’s colder up here in the tail-end of the Escarpment, but if you can bundle up warm enough, it’s worth the chill to see the sun setting over the green and brown-speckled mountains. And yet, as everyone was keen to point out, “This is nothing compared to the Canyon.”

So off to Blyde River Canyon we go…

We left mid-morning, around 9:00a, with our very friendly backpacker manager and self-made trekking and touring guide, Andre. We plopped comfortably in his car and took off! His driving was unmistakably like his very own personality – rather quick and somewhat erratic (ha!), but thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining! As we sped along the curvy roads, we climbed quickly in altitude: 1,000 meters, 1,200 meters, and finally 1,600 meters above sea level!! Along the way, we travelled through the outlying regions of the Blyde River Nature Preserve and marveled at the seas of pine and gum trees lining the way. (Did you know that Blyde River is the largest man-made forest in the world? Very impressive!) We listened to Andre telling us the origins of the Blyde River Canyon, with its Voortrekker history, as the Escarpment views came to life around us! The further we drove, and the higher we climbed, all of South Africa seemed to fall into view below us! But now to the sights:

Andre was careful to arrange his tour in such a way that we continued to marvel at greater and ever greater extremes at each new sight – planning our stops from the simply “incredible” to the truly “glorious”!! Our first stop, thus, was Pinnacle Rock – a 30 meter high, free-standing quartzite rock formation in the middle of one of the many canyon’s outlying ravines. Shaped by thousands (perhaps millions?) of years of the rushing Blyde River, Pinnacle Rock continues to erode and will one day crumble to the river bottom. But in the meantime, it stands perilously still, dotted with bright red-budding aloe vera plants and crawling ivy. It is also home to several Bird of Prey that make their nests cautiously on the ever-changing rock sides… and hope for the best! It may sound bizarre, but Pinnacle Rock is a somewhat sad sight, like a lone animal separated from its herd; but, it endures.

Our second stop was to God’s Window, a nook-of-a-lookout, nestled cozily between trees and brush at 1,500 meters above sea level! The view creates the feeling of peering down on the world from high above – hence, its name – and thus, it is truly an eye-opening vantage point. And yet, you’re not quite on the top of the world when standing at God’s Window, as there is a 300-step path leading still further up the mountain to the most unique and mind-boggling micro-climate: A RAINFOREST! Seriously, atop the God’s Window mountain is a wholly separate and miniature eco-system, caused by the encircling cloud formations that occur at that altitude (about 1,650 meters, with over 3,000mm of rainfall a year). The result is a true-to-life rainforest, with jungle vines and ivy, gigantic palm leaves, incredibly exotic floral scapes, and even “Forrest Crabs”, little humid-loving creatures that scavenge the ground for tasty, fallen tid-bits. We walked through the wet rainforest on wooden-planked walkways and over mossy rocks to enjoy the views from the top. And then, just as quickly as we had entered this crazy little South African rainforest, we walked back out to the bush – a whole different world just meters behind us! So bizarre!

Our third stop was to Berlin Falls (or Berlyn Falls, depending on which signs you follow…) – a great 45 meter high waterfall escaping off the Blyde River. Berlin Falls creates a beautiful gully below that just begs for swimmers (even in the winter) and though we resisted the temptation, we stayed a while to enjoy the sounds of the water plunging deep into to the big, cool pool below. Best of all, Andre perched himself on a high rock to get a picture of us above the entire waterfall – isn’t it always great to have a know-how photographer along the way?!

Our next stop, The Three Rondavals, was perhaps the most breathtaking of the entire day! We arrived to the lookout, atop a boulder-strewn plateau, and hiked only several meters before we arrived at the edge – quite literally, the very edge! Although it was scattered with signs warning, “Do Not Go Beyond This Point”, there was no fence or real barricades to speak of at the actual edge… only these silly, little signs. And walking to that rocky edge, peering just over the 3,000 foot drop, to an entire panorama of the world below was… well, truly indescribable! (You have to see the photos online!!!!) The rock formations for which the area is named are three large, circular, pillars which were once three of the many venting stacks for an enormous volcano. (To picture such a volcano, piercing into the sky, high above those three rondavals, is virtually unimaginable!) And flanking these three rocks, for as far as the eye can see, are the limestone cliffs and grass-and-rock plateaus of the Escarpment, cascading down a million years worth of layers to the Blyde River below… amazing!! We hiked along the edge to take in all the views, from every possible spot, before heading back to the car once again.

We began our descent, back down to the world below, to make our fifth stop at the ever-famous Bourke’s Luck Potholes. At this spot, the Blyde River and Truer River converge to form incredible rock formations along the river’s banks. (On a side note: “Blyde” and “Truer” mean “Happy” and “Sad”, respectively, in Afrikaans. They are named so because the Voortrekkers that crossed this terrain were split into two groups in order to find a habitable location. They were suppose to meet eachother again at one of these rivers after their long search, but when the first group arrived at the “Truer River”, their companions were nowhere to be found – hence, “Sad River”. But finally, many months later, after a long and very cold winter, the two groups met up again at the “Blyde River” to make their home – hence, “Happy River”. Interesting, hey?) But back to the potholes… The swirling convergence of the Blyde and Truer Rivers has created great crevices in the rocks, called “potholes”, some that tunnel down over six meters deep! (Okay, another side note: the name “Bourke’s Luck Potholes” comes from a story – perhaps a myth – that a man named Bourke decided to inhabit the potholes’ region during the South African Gold Rush, certain that these “lucky” potholes would produce great quantities of the sought-after metal. And while not much is known about his outcome, the locals say that Bourke never discovered any gold in the area and died a very poor man among the mountains.) But back again… To view the potholes, we trekked across long, arched bridges across the rocks’ deep crevices, with the rushing rivers below. Several waterfalls fell down into deep pools where the large potholes interrupted the water’s path. The circular patterns make for an artistic flare – red and brown and grey limestone swirling deep into the ravines, like an impressionist painting below! What a beautiful sight!!

Departing the potholes, we made our sixth and final stop at Lisbon Falls – a great waterfall that was split in two by dynamite during the aforementioned gold panning days. (Another side note: when gold was discovered here in 1874, over 60 prospectors came to "try their luck" and apparently only half of them ever found any gold!) Now, the Blyde River falls gently over the Escarpment before plunging, in pair, down the 95-meter falls. Andre told us that hidden between the two falls, almost two-thirds up the side, was a look-out cave covered by the thick ivy and brush. To get to it, however, you have to swim underneath the smaller of the two falls and climb the wet rocks before traversing the side to clamber in! Perhaps on our next trip…! Lisbon Falls was a perfect last stop for our trip and we lingered for a while to enjoy the sound of rushing water and the mist hanging in the air. How refreshing!

As the day reached mid-afternoon, we made our way back through the gigantic forests, through the white-washed shops of Graskop, to our mountain-side perch at Valley View Backpackers. Andre headed into town to stock up on massive amounts of meat for the night’s braai (BBQ) and Adam and I found some comfy chairs on the patio to read, relax, and watch the sun set beyond the mountains. And as a new set of guests arrived and marveled at the evening scene, I understood why one could say “But this is nothing compared to the Canyon.” It made me smile…