MPUMALANGA, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 28: People visit Bourke’s Luck Potholes, a major icon which is the result of decades of swirling eddies of water where the Treur River meets the Blyde River, the tumult of which has caused extensive water erosion over time in Graskop, Mpumalanga. (Photo by Murat Ozgur Guvendik/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Graskop has reappeared on travel destination lists for many a good reason, including its spectacular views and fascinating history, writes Sue Adams.
‘Living on the edge’ takes on a whole new meaning in the small town of Graskop, perched on the edge of the escarpment in Mpumalanga. A four-hour drive east of Johannesburg, this area is renowned for its beauty. Once a premier destination for South Africans, it seemed to slip off the local tourists’ must-do list for whatever reason.
Recently, there has been a revival, almost an underground movement, as if the people discovering the area now want to keep it secret. Anyone who visits is stunned by the spectacular views, adrenaline-inducing hikes, jumps and waterfalls, and world-class sights and activities. And little Graskop town, which slipped into a sleepy doze, has come alive as the centre of one of South Africa’s best-kept secrets, the Panorama Route.
Graskop means ‘grassy peak’, so named because of its vast grasslands filled with tiny wildflowers, each month seeming to have something special. In spring. watsonias line the roads, St Joseph’s lilies bloom in March, and aloes light up the golden grass in winter. In summer, stop off at any tiny stream or river, and you will find an abundance of tree ferns, and shady spots that invite you to stop off for a picnic, perhaps a swim and maybe even panning for gold. The best time to hike is in winter when the escarpment is often wreathed in early morning mist, which usually burns off.
As a child, I visited this area every year and have memories of the spectacular views in all seasons. God’s Window on the R534 is perhaps the most famous. It’s worth the walk from the car park, which you shouldn’t rush. Don’t rush any of these sights. Wonder View is also lovely, but if you are only going to choose one, then, as the name suggests, God’s Window is the most spectacular, with views down to the lowveld. On a clear day, you feel you can almost see the sea.
A view not to be missed is the Three Rondavels viewpoint on the R532, looking down into the Blyde River Canyon and across to the mountains of Mariepskop, where the natural rock seems to create three hut shapes, the Rondavels. It’s best to visit in the afternoon when the sun shines red on the cliffs, but note the gates close at 5 pm. Walk the length of the viewpoints as each vista is unique and spectacular. I can easily spend a few hours here, watching the birdlife and insects up close, meditating on a flat rock while looking at the view and strolling the paths.
The Panorama area is famous for its walks and waterfalls, with Lisbon and Berlin Falls being the most iconic. Both have viewpoints you can access via an easy walk. Lisbon Falls, with a 95 m cascade, is my favourite. Look carefully down at the pool below where (apparently) gold miners used to pan for gold in the caves behind the falls. A short walk upriver above the falls, you can sit quietly next to the river and enjoy the sound of clear running water. Berlin Falls is not as high but has a decent viewing platform.
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There are many lovely waterfalls and streams to play around in. Pinnacle Rock on the R534 is a weathered column 30 m high on the escarpment’s edge. The locals tell stories of a young man who, having just finished school, climbed the Pinnacle and died when he fell off. Another story is of a young Graskop beauty, Molly Richardson, who fell off her horse on the edge of the cliff near the Pinnacle and was saved by landing in a tree halfway down. But I enjoy walking past the second viewpoint to see the small waterfall and cross the stream.
Mac Mac Pools on the R532 is a dilapidated picnic site but has a wonderful stream with pretty pools to swim and and picnic alongside. The 3 km circular Secretary Bird Trail begins at Mac Mac Pools with Mac Mac Falls nearby. When looking at the falls, note that it used to be one stream but gold miners blasted the top of the falls and it split in two.
Then there’s Bourke’s Luck Potholes much further along the R532. Its maze of streams and potholes is well worth a visit. Unfortunately, swimming is not allowed, although you may take off your shoes and wade in the water.
The 8 km Jock of the Bushveld Trail starts in Graskop and takes you to the area where Percy Fitzpatrick set up camp to do logging. Percy wrote about the awe-inspiring views and strange rock formations, giving them names, such as the Tortoise and the Mermaid. Let your imagination run wild by finding a few of your own. I did this walk on a misty day, so it was eerie, but I found some of the Jock markers on rocks placed along the trail and imagined the man and his dog setting up camp here in the hot summer months when fever made it unsafe to travel down to the lowveld.
Perhaps the most popular walk nowadays is the one in Graskop Gorge. The Graskop Gorge Lift takes you down to the bottom of the gorge in a glass cage, and there are lovely, well-marked trails past the bottom of the Graskop Waterfall. The Gorge Lift is world-class and not to be missed. If that’s not enough excitement and you are an adrenaline addict, the Graskop Big Swing and Zip Line are ready and waiting in the same complex as the Gorge Lift. Even if you’re not a keen jumper, it’s great fun to watch others.
There are pros and cons to living ‘on the edge’, and in the early days, people viewed the escarpment with a mixture of dread and delight. Hunter-gatherers must have wandered the escarpment’s edge for many years; however, the first written history is of the Voortrekkers passing through searching for a way down the escarpment to Delagoa Bay (today Maputo Bay). The Blyde and Treur Rivers are named after the great joy and terrible sorrow that befell these wanderers, but they did find a way down (now named Kowyn’s Pass after Chief Koveni, who lived in the area), still in use today.
Gold was discovered in the 1870s, and people rushed to the area, including hopeful Scotsmen after whom Mac Mac is named. Other places like Pilgrim’s Rest boomed as gold mining areas, but Graskop’s grassy hills proved disappointing. One enterprising German, Max Leibnitz, realised the importance of the route down to the coast and built a small hotel and store at the top of Kowyn’s Pass. Transport riders like Percy ran supplies to the goldfields, and the steep pass took its toll on horses, oxen and men. Max managed to wangle a liquor licence from the local magistrate, realising the travellers might want a drink before or after completing the grinding two-day pass down the escarpment. Ever the businessman, he turned the pass into a proper road with the government’s help and charged a fee to use it, making it possibly the first toll road in South Africa.
Max and his family moved to Graskop town towards the end of the 19th century when it developed, opened a bottle store and became part-owners of the Graskop Hotel. The railway line from Lourenço Marques (Maputo) reached Graskop in 1914 to huge celebrations, and locals found it hard to believe that what had taken the ox wagons a hundred days now took hours. When the government realised that gold mining was not an option and farming on sourveld in such damp conditions wouldn’t flourish, they started a job-creation business planting timber; which became one of the largest forested areas in Mpumalanga
Graskop town is quirky, reinvented with fascinating artists, famous for its pancakes and central to the Panorama route, so it’s an ideal place to base yourself. It has one major road, Louis Trichardt Avenue, where most things happen. The famed Harrie’s Pancakes, which made pancakes the go-to food in Graskop, is on this road. Harrie, a lover of South African art, was also famous for renovating the Graskop Hotel, where a different South African artist has creatively decorated each room.
Another well-known South African artist who lives in Graskop is Griet van der Meulen. She does paintings, ceramics and digital work. You can see some of her work at Crafty Quilts – which also has gorgeous quilts. Delagoa Arts & Crafts, next to Harrie’s Pancakes, is full of unusual African crafts. Africa Silks is a fascinating jewel of a store with everything woven out of silk, from scarves to duvets. They have their own silkworms and will give you a tour of how silk is made.
Graskop may seem small and sleepy, but there is so much to do that a long weekend won’t seem long enough. Whether you want a gentle road trip with beautiful views or a full-on adrenaline-filled weekend, Graskop and its surroundings have it all.
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 print issue of Getaway Magazine. Find us on shelves for more!
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