A Bush Break 2/3

The second stop on our fabulous Bush Break holiday was to spend a week at our Sabi River Sun Resort timeshare. The Sabi River Sun Resort (also know as Sabi River Bungalows) is situated in Hazyview in Mpumalanga and is right next to the Kruger National Park - a mere 15 minute drive to the Phabeni Gate! It is also very close to the little town Graskop, which is the gateway to the Panorama Route. From here you can easily get to the stunning God's Window, Blyde River Canyon with the Three Rondawels look out point and Bourke's Luck Potholes. You can also stop in and view the incredible Lisbon Falls, Berlin Falls and Mac Mac Falls. The cute little goldrush town Pilgrim's Rest is also near by. 

Although all of those sights are definitely worth a visit, you actually don't even need to leave the beautiful tranquil resort. It is such a lovely place to just chill and recharge. There are 104 six-sleeper chalets on the estate built around the 18-hole golf course alongside the Sabie River. You might think that sounds like there would be a lot of people, but never once did we feel over crowded or that there was too much people-noise. 



Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Sabi River Sun Resort is that the Langspruit ("Long Stream") runs through the one side of the estate and a dam has been created. Here you can watch a pod of approximately 30 hippos that have made it their home, as well as a few crocodiles and an abundance of bird life. 

Each day the hippos wallow in the dam or sun bathe on the little sandy island on the one side. And every evening at around 6:30pm they gather at the far end of the dam, where the resort's security guards open a gate for them to "migrate" across part of the golf course and into the Sabie River. The resort's guests can gather on the high pedestrian bridge or on the lawn in front of the chalets to watch these ponderous creatures heave themselves out of the water and move out for the night. 

They return each morning and the gate is once again closed until the evening again.



We were very fortunate to get a chalet that has a view of the little sandy island. So we could watch all the comings and goings of the hippos, crocs and birds without even leaving our patio. If you did want to get closer though, there are numerous well placed benches along the river and dam. There is even a small viewing hide built across the dam so that anyone can get a good view.





One of my favourite things about the Sabi River Sun Resort is the birdlife! There are so many different birds to be spotted without even looking too hard. But if you do take the time to sit quietly on one of the benches you will be able to see some of the smaller birds that are not immediately noticeable.


Left - Goliath Heron, Right top - Pied Kingfisher, Right bottom - Green Heron.



Juvenile Purple Heron.



Left top - African Jacana, Right top - Malachite Kingfisher, Left bottom - Squacco Heron (don't you just love that name...Squacco!), Right bottom - Black Crake.



And one of my favourite little birds - the Blue Waxbill.

As mentioned in the beginning of this post, there are numerous nearby sights to go and see. On one of the clear days during our week-long holiday we went and saw some of them. We unfortunately couldn't fit them all in as there are quite a few and the weather was rainy on some of the days, which means that there is only a view of...well...the clouds!

Our first stop was God's Window, so named because of the breathtaking view through the indigenous forest covered ravine to the lowveld some 900m down.


If you have the energy and continue up the path past the main view point you are taken through a lovely cool rain forest and are rewarded with even more panoramic views from right at the top of the hill.



Next we stopped at the spectacular Berlin Falls.



And finally we went to the Three Rondawels lookout point! No guide book or photo can convey the magnitude of this incredible view!



It's one of those places you need to actually experience in real life! It's been on my list of places I would like to see for ages and it was really awesome to get to be able to tick it off.



I will chat about the third and final stage of our bush break holiday in the next post and you won't believe where I got to go!!!

4 comments:

  1. Looks fabulous, I really love that area

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    1. Thanks Hel! I totally LOVE it there! Can't wait to go back :)

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  2. Santa Bester January 16,2016 at 3.15PM
    I was so fortunate to grow up in that beautiful area and I will always long to go back there someday.Santa Bester

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    1. That IS very fortunate - it's really such a lovely area!

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