Hazyview is a small town in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga that punches well above its size, because it sits at the meeting point of South Africa’s two greatest draws. To the east are the southern gates of the Kruger National Park, where the Big Five roam, and to the west the escarpment climbs to the Panorama Route and the Blyde River Canyon. Few bases let you watch leopards in the morning and stand on the lip of one of the world’s largest canyons in the afternoon.
The town takes its name from the heat haze that hangs over the bush in the humid summer months. Around it spread the banana, macadamia and citrus plantations of the subtropical Lowveld, and along the Sabie River sit the lodges and guesthouses that make Hazyview a comfortable, central place to stay. This guide covers what the town puts within reach, from game drives to ziplines, and the practical detail for planning a visit.
On the Doorstep of the Southern Kruger
Hazyview is the closest town to two of the park’s busiest entrances. The Phabeni Gate is about fifteen minutes’ drive away and the Paul Kruger Gate roughly fifty, and both open into the southern section of Kruger, the most densely populated with game and the best for first-time visitors hoping to see lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard.
You can explore in two ways. A self-drive day in your own car is cheap and flexible, with the park’s tar and gravel roads and rest camps such as Skukuza within easy reach. Skukuza, the largest camp in Kruger, has a shop, a restaurant looking over the Sabie River and a small museum, and makes a natural lunch stop on a self-drive day. The southern reaches also hold some of the park’s richest general game and birdlife, from fish eagles along the rivers to the big herds that gather at water in the dry season. A guided drive in an open vehicle, often starting before dawn, puts an expert tracker between you and the animals and reaches sightings a saloon car cannot.
West of the park lies the Sabi Sand, a private reserve that shares an unfenced border with Kruger so the animals move freely between them. It is famous for its leopards and for luxury lodges that offer off-road tracking and night drives not allowed in the national park, and it is the choice for travellers who want the safari turned up to its highest setting.
The Panorama Route
The other half of a Hazyview stay climbs the Drakensberg escarpment on the Panorama Route, an easy day’s drive of viewpoints and waterfalls that ranks among the most scenic roads in the country. The highlights string together along the canyon rim:
- The Blyde River Canyon: the third largest canyon in the world and the largest green one, its forested cliffs falling some 800 metres over a 26-kilometre sweep of red rock.
- The Three Rondavels: three round, hut-shaped peaks rising above the Blyde dam, the signature view of the canyon.
- Bourke’s Luck Potholes: deep cylindrical holes drilled into the rock by swirling water where the Treur and Blyde rivers meet, crossed by walkways.
- God’s Window and Wonder View: lookouts on the lip of the escarpment that drop a thousand metres to the Lowveld, often through drifting cloud.
- The waterfalls: Lisbon, Berlin and Mac Mac Falls tumble through the forest near Graskop, with the Graskop Gorge lift dropping into the canopy below.
- Pinnacle Rock and Lone Creek Falls: a single quartzite tower standing clear of the forest near Graskop, and a tall, single-drop waterfall reached by a short, easy path through the trees.
Adventure on the Sabie River
Hazyview is one of the more active bases in the Lowveld, and much of the adventure happens on and above the Sabie River that runs through it:
- Ziplining: canopy tours send you on cables between platforms high in the riverine forest, with views over the valley between runs.
- Hot air ballooning: dawn flights drift over the bush and plantations as the haze lifts off the Lowveld.
- River trips: gentle rafting and tubing run the Sabie when the water is high enough.
- Quad biking: tracks through the plantations and bush suit families and first-timers, part of the wider range of ATV tours in South Africa.
Shangaan Culture
The Lowveld is the home of the Tsonga-Shangaan people, and the Shangana Cultural Village outside Hazyview is the place to meet their traditions. A visit takes you through a recreated homestead with storytelling, drumming and dance, a market of local crafts and a meal cooked over the fire, and a longer evening tour includes a feast at the chief’s kraal. It is a straightforward, well-run introduction to the culture of the region rather than a staged spectacle.
Around Hazyview
The town also works as a hub for the historic and scenic places nearby, most within an hour:
- Perry’s Bridge: a small shopping and craft complex on the edge of town, with a reptile park and an elephant sanctuary alongside the cafes.
- Sabie: a forestry town wrapped in pine plantations and surrounded by the waterfalls that give the area its name.
- Graskop: a stop on the escarpment known for its pancakes and as the launch point for the gorge lift.
- Pilgrim’s Rest: a gold-rush town from the 1870s preserved as a living museum, its tin-roofed shops and diggings frozen in the boom years.
Food and the Lowveld
Hazyview eats on what grows around it. The plantations supply bananas, macadamias, avocados and citrus, and roadside stalls sell them by the box. The riverside lodges serve game meats and the open-fire cooking that South Africans call the braai, set out in our guide to South African braai food. A sundowner drink on a deck above the Sabie, with hippos grunting below, is the classic end to a Lowveld day.
Practical Tips for Visiting Hazyview
A few points help with planning a trip to the Lowveld:
- Getting there: the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport near Mbombela is about an hour away by car, and the drive from Johannesburg takes around four and a half to five hours.
- When to go: the dry winter months from May to September are best for game viewing, when thinning bush and animals gathering at water make sightings easier, while the green summer is hotter and wetter.
- Malaria: the Lowveld is a low-risk malaria area, highest in the wet summer, so ask a doctor about precautions before you travel.
- Where to stay: lodges and guesthouses line the Sabie River and the roads towards the Kruger gates, ranging from family self-catering chalets to riverside lodges with decks over the water, and they fill up in the winter game season, so book ahead.
- Get a car: the gates, viewpoints and towns are spread out and public transport is limited, so a hire car makes the most of a stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hazyview?
Hazyview is in the Mpumalanga province of north-eastern South Africa, in the subtropical Lowveld below the Drakensberg escarpment. It lies close to the southern gates of the Kruger National Park and at the foot of the Panorama Route.
Why stay in Hazyview?
Hazyview is one of the few bases that puts both the Kruger National Park and the Panorama Route within an easy day’s reach. You can do a morning safari and an afternoon at the Blyde River Canyon from the same lodge, with a good range of riverside accommodation and activities in between.
How far is Hazyview from the Kruger gates?
The Phabeni Gate is about fifteen minutes’ drive from Hazyview and the Paul Kruger Gate about fifty minutes. Both lead into the southern Kruger, the part of the park with the densest concentration of game.
Can you do the Panorama Route from Hazyview?
Yes. The main Panorama Route sights, including the Blyde River Canyon, the Three Rondavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and God’s Window, form a loop that is comfortable as a full day trip from Hazyview, either self-driven or with a guide.
Is Hazyview a malaria area?
The Lowveld around Hazyview is classed as a low-risk malaria zone, with the small risk highest in the wet summer months. Travellers should seek medical advice on whether to take antimalarial precautions before visiting.
Sources and Further Reading
- SANParks, Kruger National Park – the official park authority, with gates, rest camps and entry information
- Mpumalanga tourism – the provincial tourism guide to Hazyview, the Panorama Route and the Lowveld
- SA-Venues Panorama Route guide – viewpoints and waterfalls along the escarpment
- Shangana Cultural Village – the Tsonga-Shangaan cultural attraction outside Hazyview
