One distinct advantage of
doing the long drive from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park is to
witness some of South Africa's more dramatic landscapes.
The transition from the
rolling, temperate grasslands of the highveld through the towering
sandstone cliffs and forest clad slopes of the Great Escarpment to
the warm, sub subtropical air of the bushveld, would be a wondrous
experience missed if you were merely to fly into Nelspruit or
Hoedspruit.
In particular, we turn off
on to “The Panorama” route which, for the sake of a couple of
hours added on to the journey, provides vistas and beauty to
rival that of the better known Cape Peninsular. Many years ago I
spent a whole week holidaying in this area and still didn't get to do
or see everything.
So when we do “it” en route we take time to stop at just a few of the highlights.
So when we do “it” en route we take time to stop at just a few of the highlights.
One of these “highlights”
is called Gods Window.
The following pictures
will show you why we often stop here............
(please click on the
photos to see them enlarged)
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| Gods Window |
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| Forest View |
Some beautiful forest flowers....
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| Southern Double-collared Sunbird |
The aloes are flowering now - an incredible sight, and of course, the sunbirds are here feeding...
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| Every stop has a colourful market.... |
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| Looking west towards the highveld.... |
Other stops we make on the
Panorama I will illustrate in later posts...........
Postscript:- I was
originally planning to cover the whole distance (Johannesburg –
Kruger) in another “day on the road” blog posting – because we
do do it all in one day – either on the way down, or on the return
trip.
But after a few days of
trying to select and whittle down the photos I realised that I would
not be doing the trip, or landscape, any justice by condensing it
into just one posting.......
8 comments:
Wow! ... stunning images Coral ...
I would love to visit that part of SA ...
How far is it from Joburg to the Kruger?
Thanks for the comment Graham:)
Depending on whether you're going to Kruger south or north it's between 450 & 600ks = 6 hours with minimal stops. Add in the Panorama plus a "pannekoek" lunch in one of the small "tourist" villages, and it's an extra 2-3 hours....
It's beautiful scenery. Just beautiful. I love all the vibrant floral colours too.
Thanks Penny:) I have probably gone through this area a couple of hundred times in the last 5 years and I still find it awe-inspiring.
It needs lots of posts! Double wow, particularly the last picture, which is the type of competition winner which if you made a living from photography would earn you good money. I've spent half the afternoon trying to 'cheat' a bird silhouette into a river picture and I'm now wondering why I've bothered! Such a shame I wasn't into photography in 1984 when I drove with my parents from Boksburg to Kruger Park... More please!!
Caroline
Thanks for your kind words Caroline.
My clients had a good laugh watching me crawl through the thick grass so I could capture that last picture!
Good luck with your Photoshop lesson this week....
Hi Coral .. I just love seeing your photos and stories of wildlife .. Gods Window - great memories ..
It is a beautiful area .. and that drive along the Panoramic route is just wonderful .. cheers Hilary
Thank you Hilary,
I will hopefully be posting a few more memories for you in the next couple of weeks.....
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