C&L South African Adventure Oct 2018 - Day 1 - Road trip/ Blyde River Canyon

**LN89** · 27 Nov 18, 10:42 PM

Day 1

Continued from our travel day as it was over two days.

We found our hire car and left the airport a bit before 7am.

Our plan was to drive to Hoedspruit where we were staying for two nights, going via Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s potholes and some waterfalls.

We had printed directions and had seen it was fairly simple so were hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult

! They drive on the same side of the road, plus we drive a fiesta at home so even the car felt familiar, although bigger and higher!

We easily found the main road out of Johannesburg that we needed and were on our way! It was about a 5 hr drive and fortunately the car had cruise control as it was pretty boring for the first 2-3 hrs on a dual carriage way. We stopped at the first services to buy a red bull and sausage roll. I think the adrenaline was keeping us going but thought it was best kept caffeinated!

After about 5hrs, taking it in turns to drive and stopping a bit on the way, we reached Lisbon Waterfalls first, this was 10RN each (about 50p).

This panorama amused us far too much

.

It was about a 10 minute drive further up the road to reach Bourke’s potholes, this was 55RN each to get in (about £3 each). These were amazing and we spent some time wandering around them. It was hot, about 28 degrees.

We then headed either up the road to the Blyde River Canyon, we pulled into one view point which didn’t charge and took some photos. The Canyon was amazing and we were so glad we visited

.

We carried on to the main viewpoint which was 25RN (about £1.40) each to get in. We walked around a bit and took some photos. I think it had slightly better views but it was much busier, we were glad we visited them both.

We had another hours drive to Raptors Wildlife Escapes in Hoedspruit where we were staying for two nights. We got to the lodge about 3 and couldn’t work out how we were supposed to get in! Luckily someone came out of the gate and managed to direct us over to an office which was pretty well hidden. I’d had a bit of correspondence with the owner when they asked me if I’d cancelled my booking but I hadn’t and in fact had already paid half. Apparently it had changed ownership.

When we arrived at the office there was confusion as they didn’t appear to be able to find us and the lodge we were supposed to have was already occupied (trust your gut)! They contacted the manager of the lodges and they found us another one fortunately. It was in Raptors Lodge so a slightly different part but basically next door. We were very impressed with the lodge too, it was huge and even had an outside shower!

We unloaded our stuff and then headed straight out to the shop as we were hungry! We already knew there was a pizza take away so were planning to get pizza and an early night. As we were so hungry after our day of picking on crisps and random bits we decided just get the pizza while we were there. We hoped to get some wine/ beer too but being a Sunday evening the Spar nearby was closed and the garage didn’t sell alcohol

!

We tried the double decker pizza as we couldn’t resist, with a stuffed crust. Plus we got some sides of chicken wings, and what I thought was some sort of cheese things but in fact were cheese stuffed sausages! This came to 150RN (about £8).

We waited for the pizza and then headed back to the lodge. We had one slice to keep us going then unpacked some of our stuff.

We tried the outside shower, I was too nervous in case the neighbouring lodges could see in (there was a fence around it) so wore a bikini.

We relaxed and ate some more pizza later in the evening and sorted our stuff out for the next day. I was so tired so kept nearly falling asleep but managed to stay awake until 9pm

.

Next - day 2

Melbatb · 28 Nov 18, 06:05 AM

What spectacular views! You did really well to keep going after a night flight!

The lodge looks great!

Melvin Pearce · 29 Nov 18, 12:26 AM

Glad you managed to get the accomadation sorted, looks good. Our daughter tells us how cheap South Africa is for food, pizza looked good.

Love the photos.

Lesley and Melvin

**LN89** · 1 Dec 18, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

What spectacular views! You did really well to keep going after a night flight!

The lodge looks great!

Thanks, it was a tiring but lovely day

**LN89** · 1 Dec 18, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by Melvin Pearce

Glad you managed to get the accomadation sorted, looks good. Our daughter tells us how cheap South Africa is for food, pizza looked good.

Love the photos.

Lesley and Melvin

Thank you

the pizza was great (as was the rest of the food during the holiday)!

27 Nov 18, 10:42 PM	#1
	27 Nov 18, 10:42 PM LN89 VIP Dibber ✓Premium Member
LN89 VIP Dibber Join Date: Jan 12	C&L South African Adventure Oct 2018 - Day 1 - Road trip/ Blyde River Canyon Day 1 Continued from our travel day as it was over two days. We found our hire car and left the airport a bit before 7am. Our plan was to drive to Hoedspruit where we were staying for two nights, going via Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s potholes and some waterfalls. We had printed directions and had seen it was fairly simple so were hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult ! They drive on the same side of the road, plus we drive a fiesta at home so even the car felt familiar, although bigger and higher! We easily found the main road out of Johannesburg that we needed and were on our way! It was about a 5 hr drive and fortunately the car had cruise control as it was pretty boring for the first 2-3 hrs on a dual carriage way. We stopped at the first services to buy a red bull and sausage roll. I think the adrenaline was keeping us going but thought it was best kept caffeinated! After about 5hrs, taking it in turns to drive and stopping a bit on the way, we reached Lisbon Waterfalls first, this was 10RN each (about 50p). This panorama amused us far too much . It was about a 10 minute drive further up the road to reach Bourke’s potholes, this was 55RN each to get in (about £3 each). These were amazing and we spent some time wandering around them. It was hot, about 28 degrees. We then headed either up the road to the Blyde River Canyon, we pulled into one view point which didn’t charge and took some photos. The Canyon was amazing and we were so glad we visited . We carried on to the main viewpoint which was 25RN (about £1.40) each to get in. We walked around a bit and took some photos. I think it had slightly better views but it was much busier, we were glad we visited them both. We had another hours drive to Raptors Wildlife Escapes in Hoedspruit where we were staying for two nights. We got to the lodge about 3 and couldn’t work out how we were supposed to get in! Luckily someone came out of the gate and managed to direct us over to an office which was pretty well hidden. I’d had a bit of correspondence with the owner when they asked me if I’d cancelled my booking but I hadn’t and in fact had already paid half. Apparently it had changed ownership. When we arrived at the office there was confusion as they didn’t appear to be able to find us and the lodge we were supposed to have was already occupied (trust your gut)! They contacted the manager of the lodges and they found us another one fortunately. It was in Raptors Lodge so a slightly different part but basically next door. We were very impressed with the lodge too, it was huge and even had an outside shower! We unloaded our stuff and then headed straight out to the shop as we were hungry! We already knew there was a pizza take away so were planning to get pizza and an early night. As we were so hungry after our day of picking on crisps and random bits we decided just get the pizza while we were there. We hoped to get some wine/ beer too but being a Sunday evening the Spar nearby was closed and the garage didn’t sell alcohol ! We tried the double decker pizza as we couldn’t resist, with a stuffed crust. Plus we got some sides of chicken wings, and what I thought was some sort of cheese things but in fact were cheese stuffed sausages! This came to 150RN (about £8). We waited for the pizza and then headed back to the lodge. We had one slice to keep us going then unpacked some of our stuff. We tried the outside shower, I was too nervous in case the neighbouring lodges could see in (there was a fence around it) so wore a bikini. We relaxed and ate some more pizza later in the evening and sorted our stuff out for the next day. I was so tired so kept nearly falling asleep but managed to stay awake until 9pm . Next - day 2 __________________ Laura Disney Trippies WDW 2022 (first time with a toddler) WDW and Disney Cruise 2019 HK Disney 2017 Disneymoon 2015 Edited at 10:07 PM.

29 Nov 18, 12:26 AM	#3
	29 Nov 18, 12:26 AM Melvin Pearce Imagineer
Melvin Pearce Imagineer Click to See My Villa! Join Date: Feb 09 Melvin Pearce's Reviews Restaurant Reviews: 5	Glad you managed to get the accomadation sorted, looks good. Our daughter tells us how cheap South Africa is for food, pizza looked good. Love the photos. Lesley and Melvin __________________