Blogs from Hazyview, Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa

Hazyview is a sub-tropical farming town in Mpumalanga province, renowned for its large banana and macadamia nut industries, contributing about 20% of South Africa's bananas and 30% of macadamia output. It is also a tourist destination for people traveling to the Krueger National Park or doing the Panorama Tour, which was precisely our intention too. The Panorama Route is a famous road on the edge of the Midlveld in Mpelanga. The topography at the Blyde River Canyon drops by app 1000 m to the “Lowveld” creating spectacular gorges and waterfalls. There are actually more waterfalls around this area than anywhere else in southern Africa. Regarded as the most stunning of the lot, Mac Mac has twin falls that plunge some 70m into a gorge below. We had a list of about 6 places we wanted to ... read more

Geo: -25.0557, 31.1318A friend asked us to give some information about camping in Kruger National Park and which ones were our favorites and so hopefully this will answer many of those questions.In South Africa, areas set aside for sleeping, eating and shopping overnight are called 'Rest Camps.'We have experienced many of the camps at Kruger National Park and do have our favorites to be sure. Before we actually get to the park, Robert especially does a lot of research and reading information on the SanParks Forum. There you can ask questions and read what others are saying about the park.This year one of our concerns was the drought that is affecting all areas of the park. The further north you go the drier it gets. Of course we can only speak for the park as far ... read more

Geo: -25.0557, 31.1318Drove to the park from Hazyview. Was crowded at gate but having the Wild Card made things move much faster! One of the first things we saw was a leopard in a river bed but was quickly lost to sight. We then came upon a large group of elephants and there was one young male that was misbehaving and ended up being admonished by the large females! It was so funny to see him cower and clearly know he had done something wrong. There was one of the elephants that kept kneeling on one leg but we are not sure what the reason was for this behavior. Finally made our way past the elephant show and continued on our way.Stopped at Skukuza for brunch, yoga and a walk before carrying on. As we headed ... read more

Geo: -25.0557, 31.1318We are once again, behind in our stories and so some of the entries are run together or in this case something exciting like a leopard in a tree and has been given a story line of its own.From looking at the pictures, this appears to be the leopard we saw toward the end of the evening drive. There was an animal jam and people told us it was a leopard in a tree. The problem was people at one end of the jam were looking one way and people at the other end were looking the other way. So which was it?? Finally we talked to a couple who asked if we could see the leopard. No, well it is very hard to see but you can see from where we are........it is ... read more

I recently celebrated my birthday as a world traveller what better way was there than celebrating it at home with my loved ones. So this year I decided to visit Mpumalanga. It is one of the nine provinces in South Africa. Mpumalanga means the place where the sun rises. A province of great natural beauty situated in the high plateau grass of the midveld. The highlights of our trip was the Kruger national park, blyde river canyon and scenic panoramic views. If you pressed for time and working on a budget this is the best place to visit because most of the heritage sights costs as little as R10 local currency which is equivalent to 1usd. Most sights are along the panorama route. These includes God's window, wonder view, Lisbon falls,Berlin falls, Mac Mac falls, Three ... read more