Mpumalanga – the land where the sun rises – was a wonderful diversion from the mundane daily work flow.. The visit over the Easter weekend was calm and peaceful.. Graskop, Pilgrims Rest, Blyde River Canyon and surrounding areas were all on the menu..

The views of Blyde River canyon specially from the Three Rondawels view point was stunning to say the least and we can appreciate why Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world..

Pilgrims rest was an interesting tour down memory lane as we visited the area of the first gold rush in SA with prospectors coming from all over the world including the UK, USA, Spain, Portugal etc etc.. Also got to see few of the original claims staked by those people.. Also got to prospecting a bit ourselves and found a few pieces of natural gold as well – worth a Spicy Cajun Chicken Burger from McDonalds, wow.. !!!..

The big highlight of the trip would of course have to be the visit to Jane Goodall‘s Institute – The Chimpanzee Eden.. It was a real eye opener into chimpanzee behavior and the way the chimps were performing during the feeding sessions was a real treat.. All the chimps at the eden were rescued from human abuse and the stories that our guide told us was heart rending.. The gift shop there had quite a good collection of curios and souvenirs..

The drive was a pretty curvy one past citrus farms, plantations of pine trees and at stages covered in beautiful mist.. If only the food in the area was as good.. Barring one place “Cicada” in Nelspruit itself, rest of our culinary experience was just average..

Here’s some pics..

Filed under Category: mpumalanga, south africa, south africa travel, travel and Tags: Berlin Falls, Blyde River Canyon, Chimpanzee, Chimpanzee Eden, Graskop, Jane Goodall, Nelspruit, Pilgrims Rest, The Pinnacle by manaadiar || Date : 29th April 2011 ||