Self-drive the Mpumalanga Escarpment Route

Take a little escape on the Escarpment Route in Mpumalanga, a spe­cific sec­tion of the greater Panorama Route. Buckle up and head out on the road of the 'land of the rising sun' with a jour­ney depar­ture timed with the sunrise.

An early start ensures that all of the thirty plus points of interest that fall on this stretch of tar and occa­sional dirt road, can be ticked off your "to-see" list by the time the col­ours of dusk take hold of the heav­ens and the sight in the rear-view mir­ror takes hold of your con­tent­ment. Mother Nature makes grand ges­tures of rock and water amongst pock­ets of plains and indi­gen­ous plant life all along the drive ...

This spec­tac­u­lar excur­sion com­mences with a splash at Mac Mac Pools per­fec­ted with an accom­pa­ny­ing day­break pic­nic to be enjoyed water­side. Next stop an impress­ive plunge where the pour­ing of morn­ing cof­fee cas­cades from a flask into a camp­ing cup to mimic a mini Mac Mac Falls; in com­bin­a­tion an unusual drive-through Mac break­fast on the nat­ural side.

One fresh fall leads to another with a stop at Maria Shires Falls and Graves fol­lowed by Forest Falls and a forest walk between the pines. Look up at the trees and later look down at local his­tory laid out on the floor of Diggers and Transport Riders Memorial. Drift between scents car­ried on invis­ible clouds at the Herb Farm en route.

Next on nature's treas­ure hunt curios stands mark the place to park to cross the Natural Bridge and then a hop, skip and a jump links vis­it­ors to the town of Graskop where cocoons and silk worms take to the stage at Tsinini Silk Weavery to demon­strate the art of weaving.

Cool off an after­noon with a gorge swim at Panorama Falls; a gaze a Pinnacle Rock and a peep through God's Window. The highest escarp­ment view­point of Wonder View can be com­pli­men­ted on an itin­er­ary with the highest water­fall in the escarp­ment, Lisbon Falls. Take in Berlin Falls and some more fresh air and then view an author's place of rest at Oswald Pirow's Grave.

Toss a coin into Bourke's Luck Potholes, cast a gaze at Lowveld View and count the humps from the view of the Three Rondavels. The Blyde River Canyon opens up a view of the third largest canyon in the world. Museum of Man opens up an out­door amphi­theatre of his­tory lead­ing to the loc­a­tion of Echo Caves. A full day of escarp­ment sight see­ing and visual exper­i­ences is finally laid to rest at the Voortrekker Fort and Cemetery.

This is a cir­cu­lar route start­ing and end­ing in Sabie:
Drive from Sabie: R532 to Graskop.
From Graskop: Follow R532 for 2 km.
Turn off on R534 cir­cu­lar road back towards R532.
Drive on R532 north towards Ohrigstad.
From Ohrigstad return via Lydenburg on R36 or via Pilgrim's Rest on R533.

Photographs:
Top pho­to­graph is of the Elands River Falls, Mpumalanga
Bottom pho­to­graph taken at the Blyde River Canyon.

Useful Links:
Panorama Route Attractions
Things to Do in Panorama Route
Panorama Route Accommodation