Graskop - Nelspruit

Today is the second day on the road! A lot is on the schedule and we have to manage to see everything before 17.00 when all the attractions will close.

After a nice breakfast at the hotel we do the checkout and we are on the road. My turn to drive. The first view point is a place called “God’s window” that is supposed to be this incredible view on the valley. Unfortunately what we actually saw was just fog. The valley was completely covered by fog and it was impossible to see anything. Disappointed we move to the next place, hoping that the sky will open and that we will be more lucky.
Next stop is a place called “the pinnacle” a huge stone in the middle of the canyon covered by forest trees. The weather is still foggy and humid, but the view from here is much much better and there is a lot to enjoy. The pinnacle itself it is not so special, but next to it there is a huge waterfall that is possible to cross and to see from many different angles. We go for a short dangerous hike on the top of the canyon, walking on stones and cliffs and we enjoy the incredible view taking tons of pictures.
Now satisfied we move to the next stop. “Berlin waterfalls”, very pretty! A small hike takes close to the water and allows really cool pictures. After that, other waterfalls called “Lisbon” less incredible than the first ones but still quite impressive.
After a morning of waterfalls is now time to go to the canyon. The first step is a very big touristic attraction with a large river crossing the canyon where is possible to go inside the water with the feet and do short hikes around the canyon and the river. We spend here a lot of time, we relax, enjoy the water and even have lunch in the local restaurant.
It is now Fuffi’s turn to drive. We will drive around the canyon stopping in many panoramic views. The landscapes and panoramas are stunning and we keep taking pictures at every corner! Even if the weather is still grey, the view is amazing and the colors are bright and magic.
We finish the tour that is almost 17.00 and it is now time for a quite long drive to get to Nelspruit, our next checkpoint. The drive is long and difficult, there are points where the fog is so thick that we have to look at the gps to see where we are going, points where it rains so hard that it is impossible to see anything. The roads are narrows and small. We drive slow and we are tired. The rain never stops. When we finally get to Nelspruit we discover that our hotel is a small familiar guest house in the middle of the forest. Is cute, but doesn’t sound safe at all. Nelspruit is very close to Kruger, where Malaria is still a quite big issue, and the place doesn’t have air conditioning, it is dirty and humid. When a mosquito bites Fuffi she gets a panic attack that makes us decide to go to another hotel. We apologize with the owner, we leave her the money for the night and for the dinner and we look for another place. We find another place called “amigos” that seems safer. After check-in we go to eat something at the mall. Grilled meat, tasty and soft even if we are a bit tired of grilled stuff.
Back at the hotel we discover a huge insect in the room, it takes ages to get rid of it! The night goes slow and uncomfortable. We are scared that other insects are in the room and we are worried for what will expect us in Kruger.Read more