Spring has sprung in the Lowveld

The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) launched Tourism Month, under the theme “Universally Accessible Tourism” last Thursday. Here are some of my highlights of the media tour:

• Guided tour of the Lowveld Botanical Garden:
After breakfast and the official launch, the tour kicked off with a Braille trail walk in the park that accommodates blind people enabling them to experience the garden through braille reading.

• Orange wine tasting:

This was one of the exciting spots we stopped at. My fellow journalists could not contain their excitement as we all got to taste a blend of flavours, from orange and chilli to dry orange wine. Judging from people’s reactions and resistance to leave, the wine is surely distilled to perfection.

• A visit to Elephant Whispers:
Truth be told, I was scared after being told we were going to ride on elephants. Signing the indemnity form was quite a mission. I sat back and watched on until late in the afternoon as people fed and interacted with the elephants. The handlers shared their knowledge and traits of elephants which were very interesting.

• The Panorama Route:
Woken by the sounds of birds chirping at Perry’s Bridge on Friday morning and taking a shower under the bright sky of Hazyview, left me feeling refreshed. We enjoyed one breathtaking view after the other.
If there is a place where I connect well with the inner me, it has to be the Three Rondavels. Making my way up, I felt a strong sensation as if God was there Himself to welcome me. The last stop was at Harrie’s pancakes in Graskop. Never had I thought I would eat a pancake filled with chicken livers. Strange but true, it tasted delicious!

Would I do it again? Definitely! Mpumalanga is by far one one of the best tourist attractions boasting a rich cultural diversity in the country. Why not take a “sho’t left” to view the province’s most spectacular tourist sites?

Also see: Tourism Month launched in style