The Sabie river has a myriad of waterfalls. Finding all of them will not be an adventure for the faint-hearted. Various struggles like bad roads and scary places will test your ability for adrenaline and fear tolerance. One such adventure is the South African roads that are deteriorating so fast. They say only two types of vehicles can go anywhere, one is a 4X4 truck and the other is a rental car. So your best bet will be to get yourself a rental car! All jokes aside, you will be treated to some of the most spectacular sights in your life, and some of them will not be on the maps!
In this virtual journey, please come along as I take you to three of the most spectacular waterfalls which you might never see. Two of them are on roads that will test your tolerance for fear, as there are potholes the size of animals, and one is hidden in plain sight but in a very sketchy/scary area with little to no safety measures to ensure your safety. So please come along for this kind of scary adventure!
Three Sabie River Waterfalls
To situate ourselves, please see the map below for the three falls on the Sabie river we traveled to. The main river, the Sabie Falls, is situated at the right top on the map below and this one is in the town of Sabie.
(Source of the map is GoogleMaps. I made slight edits to highlight the three falls.)
Sabie Falls
The first waterfall is in the town of Sabie. It is hidden in plain sight and you will miss it if you do not have it in your GPS. It is also a very dangerous one to visit for two reasons. One, it is South Africa and crime is a problem. This is not one of those places where a lot of tourists hang out and as you will see in the sign below, this is not one with lots of upkeep. You have to pay to visit all of these falls, but this one situated in the city has obvious city elements there. We did not feel that safe as some people lurked there. If you decide to visit, please be aware of this fact!
Clearly, this sign has seen better days! The second reason why this one is dangerous to visit is due to the little attention is paid to your safety. The fall is very steep and you walk on the edges where there are no safety rails or anything from keeping you away. As I will show below, you literally stand over one of the falls. It is kind of scary! We trust these man-made structures.
The photograph below is between one of the wooden planks of a bridge:
I do not want to fall through there. Another thing to note, as this river is in the middle of the town, polluted water drains into the river. AND IT STINKS. This is not a nice feature to mention, as you will see in the photograph below, but it is one to mention. Below is a photograph of one of the polluted waters that run into the main river:
The main river is really beautiful and you cannot think that this is in the middle of the town with no one visiting it.
Above you is a big bridge running over your head. This is where the scary elements come in: anyone can walk up to you. Yes, you pay, but nothing keeps the locals from entering who knows about the side entrances.
Here you can see the "gate" that supposedly keeps bad people out and supposedly keeps you safe from falling in.
I will not put my life in the hands of that railing! But for all of the negative, please see below just how beautiful this fall actually is:
Lone Creek Falls
A short drive away in distance, you will drive twice as long in time. The road being littered with massive potholes (holes in the tar road due to lack of maintenance) you will need to drive slowly. The drive is dangerous due to the big potholes. The local pine tree plantations' trucks drive the roads beyond repair and unfortunately, the only way to get to these two falls is on this road.
One of the many big pine trees that cover the mountains and falls. Even though they are part of the plantation, they are really beautiful!
A beautiful road will lead you towards the lone creek fall. More commercialized than the Sabie falls, this fall is much safer in terms of security and safety.
This is a massive fall, and out of the three, this is the biggest.
Surrounding the fall, a beautiful cliff wall is decorated with formations.
On to the last fall!
The Horseshoe Falls
Yet another beautiful pathway will lead you to the horseshoe falls. This is the most beautiful of the three by far as you will walk into the bush/woods for a while. In a previous post, I shared some macro photography of the moss growing in the woods before the waterfall.
Around the corner when you walk into the woods are two waterfalls which I presume are in a horseshoe formation.
This one has the least amount of protection in terms of safety, but the falls are quite a distance away from where you stand. You will obviously get those who disregard safety measures, but of the three I think this is the safest one in terms of safety and security but not because of any active measure as with the lone creek falls. Due to this one being in the woods and a distance away from the fall itself, you will be kind of safe if you act safely.
At the parking area, you have various picnic spots, so you can take some snacks and drinks and rest underneath some of the mountain's overhangs.
Postscriptum, or Underneath the Bridge Wisdom Hides Itself
Adventures are dangerous. But these adventures are made dangerous not because of the goal or destination but because of the factors surrounding it. Dangerous roads and dangerous places. You will, however, be treated to stunning views and falls if you can stomach the danger!
I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour with me. These falls are really spectacular and I cannot imagine how awesome they must be if there is more rain during the rainy season. Anyways, all of the musings are my own and the photographs and video is my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and iPhone. Please travel safely, and enjoy!