Popular Attractions near Phabeni Gate
*Distances are shown as the crow flies and are not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.
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Hazyview (13.9 km from Phabeni Gate) Enjoy fun quad bike trails in the area with Idle & Wild.
Riders will enjoy a great experience and the excitement of riding through scenic riverine areas, indigenous bush and farmlands in and around the Sabie River Valley.
Quad bikes are easy to drive thanks to automatic gear shifts, and you'll be accompanied by a guide that will ensure you are familiar with the controls prior to departure. All safety equipment is supplied, and obstacles are suitable for novice and experienced riders.
Trails depart from 10:00 to 17:00.
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Hazyview (20 km from Phabeni Gate) At the core of Shangana Cultural Village is a busy African market where local craftspeople work and trade their crafts.
Trained guides take guests on informative and interactive trips to villages during the daytime as well as midday tours with lunch and the famous Evening Festival in the Chief's Kraal.
Shangana was created and built by the local Shangaan people and is a source of great pride. The village preserves their rich heritage and is an example of South Africa's great cultural diversity.
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Hazyview (25 km from Phabeni Gate) Sabie Valley Coffee has been producing Arabica coffee for over 25 years. The farm grows and produces coffee as well as provides coffee tours, showing the complete method of manufacturing coffee, including the roasting process and allowing a chance to taste the finished product at the Espresso Bar.
The Gift shop has the Sabie Valley Coffee for sale so that guests may purchase this great taste to take home with them.
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Graskop (30.3 km from Phabeni Gate) Visit an active silk farm and be amazed by the silk making process at this unique African development venture. After taking an interesting tour, you can spoil yourself purchasing silk clothing, silk-filled duvets or even silk skincare products.
Guided one-hour tours are offered on the farm for a minimal fee. These tours take place from Monday to Sunday.
After the silk farm tour visitors can relax at the Deck Restaurant for light meals and refreshments. The ice-cold homemade gingerbeer is a winner.
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White River (40.4 km from Phabeni Gate) Wellness@Casterbridge Spa has up to 8 full time therapists and a nail technician providing basic beauty treatments. The Dermalife Spa Oceana hydrotherapy Bath, body wrap and lymph drainage massage produce excellent results for weight loss, improved blood circulation, cellulite, stiff muscles, or deep relaxation. Open 7 days a week, mostly until 18:00. Treatments on a Sunday afternoon must be pre-arranged.
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White River (40.4 km from Phabeni Gate) Sample delicious orange wine from Rottcher Wineries at Casterbridge. Locally grown Valencia oranges are fermented in the old fashioned way to produce Avalencia, a unique orange 'wine' with an alcohol content of 14.5%. Avalencia can be enjoyed as an delectable alternative to sherry, port or other dessert wines. Rottcher also produces Avalencia Ginger and Avalencia Chilli.
Monday to Friday 09:00 - 16:30
Saturday & Sunday 09:00 - 16:00
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Blyde River Canyon (45.8 km from Phabeni Gate) This is the spot where everyone takes their shots. Serious shutterbugs will be reaching for their polarising filters and best wide angle lens. Choose a clear day and you can see all the way to the Kruger National Park and Mozambique. Glance towards the east and you’ll see the Three Sisters, also known as the Three Rondawels. Just two kilometres north is Wonder View, the highest viewpoint in the region.Spend some time here and soak up the spectacular panoramic Lowveld landscape from God's Window in the lush Blyde River Canyon. The largest vegetated canyon in the world, Blyde is third in size only to the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon.This beautifully green paradise has numerous plant and animal species and is a major core of endemism. And it's also the place where Africa split from Madagascar and Antarctica during the break-up of the Gondwanaland millions of years ago.
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Acornhoek (51.2 km from Phabeni Gate) Pop in to see an enterprising group of Shangaan and Mapulaneng Sotho women at work in their rural studio near the village of Acornhoek.
Each item they make is an original work of art – entirely hand-made and exclusive. Rugs, tapestries, bags, and other woven masterpieces are made from wool or cotton that they have spun and dyed using age-old techniques. After spinning and weaving, they carefully weave each piece according to their own or custom-ordered designs.
A fun thing to do is go on a guided tour with one of the weavers who will take you through the 30-year history of the project that brought the two cultures together. After meeting the women at work, your guide will take you to visit a traditional healer who will share with you the spirit of the ancestors.
From there you will have the chance to see a traditional potter and a local grass weaver at her shebeen (an African bar serving home-brewed beer). From there you will meet the teacher and the children of the Katlego Community Creche. Don’t miss this heart-warming community experience!
Wonder Mbetsi 072 691 0021 Judy 082 864 2181
judithbmiller@gmail.com
www.mapusha.org
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Nelspruit (56.5 km from Phabeni Gate) The Lowveld National Botanical Garden is divided into eight sections with the Crocodile and Nels rivers surging through the riparian forest. The garden has a tropical African rainforest section, with approximately six hundred indigenous plant species.
The other seven sections are the bulb garden, the South African rainforest, dry bushveld, corkwoods and cabbage trees, cycads, baobabs and wild figs. The 158-hectare escarpment boasts rugged, rocky river scenery with Sour Lowveld Bushveld vegetation on either side of the river banks.
The garden is a floral haven with masses of clivia miniata, snow-white pear blossoms and kigelia africana flowers scattered all around. Visitors can find birds feeding off the nectar of the magnificent flowers that attract birds from dawn to dusk, or enjoy a picnic on the lawn.
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---Not Specified--- (57 km from Phabeni Gate) Pan for real gold in the Pilgrim’s Creek just like the diggers did in the 1870’s. An exciting activity and great fun for one and all! Keep what you find.
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Blyde River Canyon (61.9 km from Phabeni Gate) The impressive rock features of Bourke’s Luck Potholes marks the start of the extraordinarily scenic Blyde River Canyon and is one of the tick-offs on the well-beaten path of the Panorama Route.The giant potholes have been carved over centuries by pebbles swirling around in poolswhere the Treur River plunges into the Blyde River. Bourke’s Luck had nothing to do with the potholes but rather a lucky strike in this gold-rich area.Not far off is the main tourist viewpoint, God’s Window. Graskop is the closest town to the canyon if you are planning to stop over and spend quality time rather than grabbing fleeting glimpses through a tour bus window of this stunning region.
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Hoedspruit (69.7 km from Phabeni Gate) Experience the thrill of riding elephants. The tour is provided at the Kapama Private Game Reserve and lasts for about an hour. Learn how to get onto the back of an elephant. These gracious animals tend to grab a grassy snack along the way. You are returned to the elephant boma after the ride. Videos can be made on request.
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Graskop (70.3 km from Phabeni Gate) The magnificent red sandstone Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga forms the northern part of the Drakensberg escarpment. There’s so much to do in Mpumalanga but most visitors come here just to sight-see, especially along the striking Panorama Route. This scenic meander includes the Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, the Three Rondawels, Swadini Dam, God's Window and many beautiful waterfalls and spectacular vistas.Covered with lush subtropical foliage, the Blyde River Canyon is the largest 'green canyon' and has some of the deepest precipitious cliffs of any canyon on the globe. The canyon is 26 kilometres (16 miles) in length and is around 800 metres deep. The highest point of the canyon, Mariepskop, is 1 944 metres above sea level whilst its lowest point where the river leaves the canyon is slightly less than 560 metres above sea level. This means that by some measure the Canyon is over 1 400 metres deep!
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Hoedspruit (72.4 km from Phabeni Gate) Discover the secrets of silk and the extraordinary little creatures that produce it.
Experienced guides will take you on a journey through silk’s fascinating history and an interesting behind-the-scenes tour.
Currently Bombyx Mori Silk Estate is South Africa’s only commercial silkworm farm. Here you can find out about their organic farming methods and how the cocoons are processed into wonderful products and the life-cycle of the mulberry silkworm.
The species farmed at Bombyx Mori is the mulberry silkworm, not the ‘zebra’ worm that most of us kept as pet worms when we were kids! These remarkably industrious insects spin cocoons from a single strand that measures up to one kilometre.
A visit to Bombyx Mori wouldn’t be complete without popping into the Ivory Room and Gallery. Here you will find silk-filled duvets, pillows and numerous other silk products to purchase as well as local crafts, selected interior finishes and original artwork.
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Sudwala Valley (72.6 km from Phabeni Gate) The Sudwala Caves are an incredibly deep system of caverns lying in the Mpumalanga region of the Drakensberg escarpment. Considered the oldest known caves in the world, this astonishing unplumbed complex of passages and giant chambers extend into the mysterious Mankelexele massif.
The caves are situated in the Precambrian dolomite rocks of the Malmani Group, formed over a period of some 3 000 million years, capturing in stone an era when this place was a shallow inland sea.
The very earliest known life forms are preserved in fossil form in these rocks. In the cave are fossils of the first oxygen producing plants on the earth called collenia – fossilised bacterial colonies that date back 2.2 billion years! And there's a Dinosaur Park too. Kids will love the life-size monsters guarding the cave entrance.
Keen for adventure? Time your visit on the last Saturday of the month and join one of the popular Crystal Tours inside the deeper chambers. You will be required to crawl through some sections be prepared to get wet. It lasts for six hours and bookings are essential.
+27 (0) 13 733 4152
www.sudwalacaves.co.za
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Hoedspruit (73.3 km from Phabeni Gate) Enjoy a lovely boat ride on the Blyde Dam, where you can savour the splendor of the Blyde River Canyon.
Your tour guide will take you to the Kadishi Tufa Waterfall and the majestic Three Rondavels. Wildlife is abundant; you'll be able to spot hippo, crocodile, as well as fish eagle. During the cruise, you can learn more about the history of the third biggest canyon in the world.
Departure times: 9:00, 11:00 and 15:00;
Minimum guests: 6 people;
Maximum guests: 50 people;
Duration: 1½ hours.
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Ohrigstad (82.4 km from Phabeni Gate) The childhood story of Old Mother Hubbard who lived in a shoe with so many children is brought to life at the Old Shoe. An artist and his family live here, allowing visitors inside for a small donation. It also contains the artworks of Ron van Zyl and artifacts from the Iron Age. Visit the curio shop and grab a burger at the tea garden afterwards.
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Ohrigstad (82.6 km from Phabeni Gate) Spiritually inspired local artist Doctor Ron van Zyl built the Alpha Omega Cave. In the cave you will see his unusual sculpted vision of angels and demons. Guided tours are given daily.
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Ohrigstad (83.8 km from Phabeni Gate) The Alpha Omega Bible Sculpture Garden can be found on the way to Echo Caves just off the R36 road before the turnoff to Graskop. Local artist Ron van Zyl did the spiritually inspired artwork.
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Ohrigstad (84.9 km from Phabeni Gate) The Echo Caves are situated in the northernmost range of the Drakensberg in Limpopo. This interesting geological site can be found 15 km west of the Strydom Tunnel on the Abel Erasmus Pass and 26 km north of Ohrigstad on the Lydenburg/Tzaneen road.
The natural caves are well known for the hollow dolomite in this area. If the stalactites are struck, the echo can be heard for miles. Hour long tours take visitors through beautiful large chambers with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites.