South Africa (Part 2)
South Africa (Part 2)December 2010 - January 2011
Ed note: This section covers the arrival in South Africa from Mozambique through to the Botswana border
Friday December 24th (continued) Moving onto the South African border of Komatipoort, it was easy to get a stamp and sort out re-importing the car. But as we drove away, the lines of traffic trying to leave South Africa and enter Mozambique went on for miles. It looked a nightmare of stationary traffic. While waiting at the police station, Craig, our co-conspirator, had told us that it took them 4 hours to get through that border last year. “That’s why we tried Goba this year. You made a good decision. Goba was a breeze”.
As we drove past the traffic on the N4 heading for Nelspruit, we came across a police block. There had been an accident and they had closed the road. We were pointed down a country road, which took us on a long (unmarked) diversion and eventually back to Kaapmuiden on the N4. We had been driving for 8 hours and needed a rest. We pulled up at a service station and had some lunch on the grass, while some poor black women slept with their kids under a tree. Small colourful birds swooped down for food crumbs.
At Nelspruit, we found a large Spar supermarket and stocked up with water, lemonade and snacks. It was Christmas Eve and we wanted a decent supply for Botswana. We had hardly seen any decorations anywhere and could have been forgiven for not realising it was nearly Christmas. Nelspruit is the industrial centre of the Lowveld and a processing point for the fruit, tobacco and beef farms of the surrounding area. It was the biggest place outside Johannesburg we had seen since arriving. Filling up at a garage, we had the oil and tyres checked by the smartly dressed petrol pump attendant who was polite and courteous. Throughout our trip, there were no self service pumps. Usually our windscreen was washed while we waited.
Graskop was our destination, north of Nelspruit via Sabie. We entered a green lush mountainous part of South Africa known as the Drakensburg Escarpment where the Highveld plunges down 1000m before spilling out onto the eastern Lowveld. Climbing up this escarpment, the car struggled with the twisting roads up the hills. It is a scenic area, marked by stunning views in between forestry plantations. Outside Graskop we came across some lovely waterfalls called the ‘Mac Mac Falls’ and also a police trap. Graskop was never short of policemen. I saw more police cars here than anywhere else in South Africa.
Nevertheless, the quiet mountain resort of Graskop (pop 2000) lying at an elevation of 1450m was a lovely place and our reserved accommodation at the small Graskop Valley View Backpackers was also excellent. Relatively new, it was clean, comfortable and friendly. We were able to do our washing for free as well. In the evening, I popped into the town to find some takeaway food. The town was almost deserted (except for 4 police cars) but I found a restaurant/bar which produced the best hamburgers I can ever remember eating – fresh, home made, all meat and an addictive BBQ sauce. While we slept, the hostel had someone who was armed and stayed up all night on guard. Apparently, Xmas time was the most popular time for break ins and they were prepared for any situation.
Saturday December 25th – South Africa/Botswana
Christmas day started as a lovely summer’s day with colourful flowers in bloom and a short drive to our next sight. Blyde River’s spectacular canyon is nearly 30km long and one of South Africa’s most impressive natural reserves. Supposedly the third largest in the world after the Grand Canyon in the USA and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia, it is the product of the Blyde (‘river of joy’) River, which tumbles down the escarpment over a series of waterfalls and cascades.
Heading north from Graskop, we stopped first at the Pinnacle, a 30m high quartzite ‘needle’ rock formation that rises out of the fern clad ravine. Apparently you can see the tops of 8 waterfalls but it was so hazy, we couldn’t see any of them. Despite it being only 9am on Christmas morning, there was a lady selling home made jewellery nearby.
Further along the canyon was God’s Window – a viewpoint right on the edge of the escarpment overlooking an almost sheer 300m drop into the tangle of forest below. This is the major tourist stop and there were plenty of visitors plus a large colourful souvenir market. Again, with the sun in the wrong place and the haze, it meant that long distance views were impossible, but looking down was impressive. 300 stone steps took us up to a small rainforest which survives in a micro climate. We made one final stop at Wonderview - at 1730m it is the highest viewpoint accessible from the road. Blyde Canyon wasn’t what I expected. You could only see one edge of the canyon but it was a unique way to start Christmas day.
Returning to Graskop we negotiated the surrounding hills to Pilgrim’s Rest, an old prospecting town and climbed a couple of steep passes over 2000m – the poor car continued its struggle over these and it was very slow going. But the scenery of forests and grazing farmland full of cows was outstanding. From Origstad, we headed for Burgersfort through further forests to reach the R37 which took us north to Polokwane. We were making our way to Botswana. The border was 416km from Graskop. En route, we passed lots of herds of cows and goats by the side of the road who would cross oblivious to traffic. There was also a dead donkey with its legs outstretched with rigor mortis. Serious road kill.
I had read that the main town of Polokwane was a little hostile. At 1pm on Xmas day, I expected a sleepy place, but the market was going, some shops were open and the streets were filled with people. While the driving was a little aggressive, no-one bothered us. I spotted a small sign for Seshago which was on a minor road and would allow us to circumvent a long detour using the main roads.
It had been a hot day, and storm clouds had been building. Lightening began to flash around the dark billowing sky, thunder cracked and then a tropical rain storm hit us. It was our first and Wendy delighted to cool down, jumped out of the car to do a rain dance. Less than 10 minutes later the rain was over, though the thunder and lightening accompanied us for miles.
After Matlala, we joined the main roads to Tom Burke (a place not a person). There were some potholes, but it was generally a good flat empty road with few settlements. We did spot a garage about 60 miles from the border, but I had read that petrol in Botswana was much cheaper and pushed on though we were getting very low. I had read that there was a Caltex garage as soon as you entered Botswana. We had been in South Africa for less than two days but it had been nice to appreciate the upgrade in conditions and facilities from Mozambique.
