Mountainous countryside escape
CALMING: MARVEL AT MAJESTIC VIEWS ACROSS THE ESCARPMENT
Be one with nature and return home a new person.
Thank God my dad did a proper job when teaching me how to drive, because I kid you not, one needs pretty great driving skills to drive to Mpumalanga’s Misty Mountain; a 280 hectare South African Natural Heritage Site situated on the spectacular Long Tom Pass (31km from Lydenburg and 24km from Sabie), the Panorama Route.
I don’t mean to alarm you, but just want to give you some heartfelt advise because this is one of the many breathtaking places in South Africa that people should pay a visit, with a well-functioning car though, because once you leave Belfast and enter the mountain path, a spot where you hardly pass a petrol garage or any place where you will be able to get car assistance should you desperately need it, you need to be told this.
So a good and reliable car is needed because the cellphone network might abandon you, and you will have nothing to use for car assist calls.
Now that the serious technical matters are out of the way, allow me to paint a picture of the lovely Mpumalanga escarpment.
During the long drive, with nothing but majestic views of the beautiful mountains, trees that seem to be happy with where they find themselves, growing exquisitely on the mountains and exuding a striking green colour that indicates how content they are, I had only nature keeping me company.
I finally arrived at Misty Mountain after about four hours and a few minutes of driving; nothing too exhausting really. Being a lover of nature I found the trip fairly relaxing, and somehow saw it as a sneak peek of what I was about to experience at Misty Mountain.
Conveniently situated on the Panorama Route, Misty Mountain is an ideal base from which to explore the Mpumalanga escarpment, be it God’s Window, The Pinnacle, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, and world-renowned Kruger National Park and adjacent private games reserves, but on this occasion, I wasn’t there for all these beauties, my idea was to explore the Misty Mountain itself and the majestic Graskop Gorge. Driving in Misty Mountain though, I remember thinking to myself that there are not a lot of places in the world that ooze so much tranquillity and natural beauty.
Built from rocks, the place is surrounded by nature, from the big beautiful trees it has, to the mountain that surrounds and forms it; Misty Mountain simply allows one to have nature literally at one’s fingertips. Simplicity is truly best, and the place’s comfortable, country style accommodation proves just that. With no television in the rooms, the space forces people to connect in the most unpretentious manner of just talking, playing games, chilling by one of the two beautiful pools, playing indoor games, having a drink by the bar or just enjoying a hearty meal at the dining area. With a secure playing area for kids, parents can enjoy spending some quality time together as the little ones go play.
With a chef that knows just how to tickle different taste buds, the dining area might end being on one of your favourite spots at Misty Mountain, with the spectacular views of the mountains and nature’s charm being a perfect view at the dining area, enhancing the pleasant eating experience. If you ask me, one should
not leave this place without trying out the chefs succulent lamb shank and the spicy flavoursome chicken livers for a starter.
Before hitting the road and driving for about 45 minutes from Misty Mountain to Graskop Gorge, I felt a need to try out the exhilarating, adrenaline pumping Long Tom Toboggan, Africa's only mountainous coaster; a unique, adventure tourism product. Up to the very top of the mountain we went in a safari car, hopped on board my Long Tom Toboggan cart, took a deep breath and prepared myself to reach a speed of 45km/h during my three-minute ride from the top of the mountain.
As I twisted and turned through wild flowers and beautiful forest, feeling like a jungle girl or a female version to Tarzan, the feel of wind on my dreadlocks and the thrill in my belly when I wound and zipped my way around Mpumalanga's Long Tom Pass Mountain on the Long Tom Toboggan, the longest toboggan run in Africa with an impressive 1.7km track was nothing short of amazing – nothing I have ever felt before and something I should definitely experience again soon.
I loved it, and trust me, you will feel as proud as I did when you apply the brakes at the end of the journey.
From here it was time for some forest enchantment at Graskop Gorge, one of the latest and most innovative tourism developments in Mzansi.
After exploring the Lift Co Lifestyle Centre and a community craft market at the facility, indulging in a mini shopping spree and supporting local creatives from the area, it was time for me to go down the forest with the famous custom design 26-passenger viewing elevator.
You read right – an elevator in the forest; exciting things in South Africa. An extensive network of elevated walkways, suspended bridges and interactive exhibits lead me through the 500m forest trails across the streams. While the ride down to this forest wonderland only took a few minutes, the nature enthusiast in me compelled me to spend a few hours down in the indigenous forest, enjoying the view and sound of the waterfall and taking countless pictures.
I love nature, of that there is no doubt, but I never knew how therapeutic spending time in a forest enveloped by majestic mountains and nothing but the sound of nature can be so healing and calming. Walking there made me wonder if the forest was not indeed a place that is between heaven and earth or the closest place one can be to total bliss.
Coming up after my therapy session in the forest, I sat at the cafeteria at the Gorge and enjoyed a glass of refreshing ginger beer and relished one last time at the water fall that flows straight down to the forest before hitting the road back to Joburg.