Peering Through God's Window

On Saturday, I took a brief daytrip to God's Window. Believe it or not, God's Window is an actual place. To get there, I hiked up the side of the Drakensburg mountains until I was above the misty layer of clouds. From this vantage point, I was literally looking down at the clouds, as if I was in heaven! Then, our group hiked up through the tropical region, which is a huge contrast from the dry, dusty conditions I have gotten used to in Bushbuckridge. Surprisingly, the mountains are only a short drive from my homestay, but in many ways, it feels like a whole different world. When we traveled to Blyde River Canyon, I sat on a rock that jutted out over the river. I was praying that I wouldn't fall! But it was worth it being able to see the shapes of the canyon walls and the river snaking for miles!
Another feature of the canyon is called The Three Rondavels. The Three Rondavels got their name because the three mountain peaks look like the tops of straw huts called "rondavels." You can see two of them in the picture below!



After spending a lot of time hiking and taking photos of the beautiful landscape, our group traveled to a place called Bourkes Luck Potholes. The potholes have been carved out of the canyon walls by the Blyde River. People traditionally come to Bourkes to throw coins in the potholes and marvel at the waterfalls crashing over the rocks. Before I left, my host sister warned me to watch out for mermaids! Apparently, these are not the nice kind of mermaids on Disney...The myth goes that when visitors stand on the bridge over the canyon, the mermaids lure them in by making their heart's desires appear down by the water. Greedy people subsequently fall to their death. Needless to say, I took extra precautions when crossing the bridge! I spent the rest of the day swimming in the water and relaxing before we got hit by a surprise thunder and lightning storm! The cool, wet weather was a welcome change to the continuously hot days in Bushbuckridge. After tromping back to the bus, we were taken to a delicious meal at Harrie's Pancake house, a famous Dutch pancake restaurant! This was, by far, my favorite day in South Africa so far!