South Africa – A World in One Country
Day Three – 24 Sept 2013
Weather: Hot.
This hotel is like the US National Park ones. No TV. No phone. So, wakeup call was a knock at the door. Breakfast is on the terrace overlooking a valley. Gorgeous!
I get a frittata for breakfast that was delicious. We pick a different seat in the little bus (our last day with it) and set off for the Blyde River Canyon. As we go, we pass through a Long Tom pass – a valley named for the gun that used to be able to reach a long distance during the Boer War. There is an artillery piece on display near our hotel.
We drive through the pass which is a lumber region where pine trees are grown. The entire valley is squares of cleared land, young growth and older growth pine trees in neat rows. Canaan said the trees take about 20 years to mature, which is super fast by Canadian standards.
We turn onto what is known at the Panorama Route towards Sabie where gold was discovered after some men who were firing off rifles nicked a rock and found gold in there. More than $50 million in gold has been recovered in the region.
Apparently, a lot of Scottish people settled the area and many had the name of MacDonald and MacIntyre etc., so when the president came to settle a dispute in the region, he was taken by surprise by all the names starting with Mac and named a local waterfalls “MacMac Falls.”
Canaan also told us that the practice of dowries was still alive and well here, but unlike what I’m used to, it’s the men who have to provide the dowry. Essentially, I guess, they buy their wives. In older times, a woman could be worth several cows. A woman’s value is often determined by her “build” or ability to carry children. The man can even make a non-refundable deposit on a wife. So, around here, families want girls cause they’re worth money, so it makes me wonder what would happen if this system was introduced in China!
Nowadays, women want to look like western celebrities and apparently, their dowry can increase if they look like Beyonce. Canaan said that today, many women in urban areas don’t marry until in their 30s. In rural areas, it can be lower.
Our first stop is to God’s Window at the south end of the Blyde River Canyon. It’s quite hazy so the view is obscured but impressive nonetheless.
On a clear day, you can see Mozambique from there. On our way out I noticed a sign and wondered…
…doesn`t he have Windex?
The name Blyde means Joy which apparently is the reason the river got its name when a group of settlers found the river, they were overjoyed. The men left the group to scout out a way across and never returned. The women eventually found their bodies and named that river Treu for sorrow. They don’t know what happened to them.
After God’s Window, we stopped at the Bourke’s Luck Potholes.
Gorgeous area where the water formed the holes. The formation is similar to one in New Zealand near Milford Sound.
Then we stopped at the Three Rondawels where the formation looks like three huts.
The view below is spectacular.
From here we had to drive to the other side of the canyon which takes about 90 minutes. We stop near Hoedspruit for lunch at a resort. I get another chicken burger for lunch which isn’t as nice as the last one, but good and the sauce they used was really good. With a drink, it cost less than $6. At home, the one at the Mayfly would be a $25 meal.
From lunch, we went to the river for our river cruise.
It was on a small flat bottomed boat and reminded me a lot of the Colorado River jet boat cruise. Except this wasn’t a jet boat and the Colorado doesn’t have hippos swimming along the edge.
We also saw a crocodile, cormorants and a lot of rocks that looked like zebras.
No one let their hand hang over the side of the boat.
Yeah, the theme of this tour is “oh it’s a hippo. No, it’s a rock. Oh it’s a croc. No, it’s a stick.”
We finished up the cruise around 5 and had to drive over an hour to Hazyview. We got there around 6:30 and I decided to skip dinner (not included anyway) and get some stuff done in my room.
Internet was in the reception area and incredibly slow. I barely responded to one email in 30 minutes so I gave up. I got a shower, downloaded photos and that and did a laundry.
At one point I heard someone at my door and opened up to find my favorite complaining tourmate trying to get in. She forgot her room number. She laughed and started to walk away then turned around and said it was a good thing I skipped supper cause it was disgusting.
Darn. Given that she thinks everything we`ve eaten up to now was “disgusting,”I probably would have loved the chicken burger. LOL
Tomorrow is a very early start. It’s Safari Day!
Go to Day Four
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