As
incredible as Kruger National Park is, it's not the only attraction
that South Africa has to offer. Most international visitors also
visit the Cape, sometimes extending to the Garden Route and a few
more lucky visitors have heard about KwaZulu Natal (I will post more
on that province sometime in the future...)
Johannesburg
is definitely NOT seen as a destination, but rather a gateway to the
north and eastern reaches of South Africa.
Those
of us who live here know differently.
Two
weekends ago my friend Rose invited me along to explore a small
section of the Magaliesberg. We tried some new things and I refreshed
my memories of a particularly beautiful part of our country.
The
Magaliesberg are a range of hills stretching from east to west for
quite a long way, just north of Pretoria. They are a dividing range
in many ways – south is the highveld, north is the bushveld, south
is “gold” country, north is “platinum” country...
The
flora in this part of the world is a weird mix of montane protea
bushes and cabbage trees with more common bushveld trees such as
Buffalo Thorn, acacias and beautiful aloes. It was interesting to
note that spring obviously arrived later here than on the Mpumulanga
escarpment much further east – possibly due to a much lower annual
rainfall.
Our
base for the two days was a small Nature reserve, located halfway up
a northern slope, which is known for it's walking trails and
spectacular views. We didn't have enough energy to do any of the
really long hikes but we spent some time exploring the streams that
ran down on both sides of our ridge.
There
are many small, perennial streams, tumbling their way down the hill
sides over rocky ledges and pools, and cutting through defiles like
the one where the “canopy tour” is located.
From
a wildlife perspective, the largest animals we saw were baboons, but
we found some fascinating smaller creatures on our walks. The bird
life was also wonderful especially in the relative lushness of the
camp.
This is one of six in South Africa and one of the oldest. It is
situated in a long, narrow and deep ravine in the hills.
Wow!!
This was my first canopy tour, and I'm hooked!
Along
with the great walks, stunning scenery and a multitude of other
activities to do in the area, this was a perfect weekend getaway, and
somewhere that I will definitely return to soon........
Thank
you Rose!
