Love heights? Then you will love this skywalk in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
Would you walk across a cantilevered glass walkway suspended off the edge of the cliff?
We love celebrating the beauty that is South Africa. There is a host of things that we are privileged to have in our country, from beautiful beaches to majestic mountains and wildlife. And with all that we have, sometimes just taking in the beauty is what we need in our stressful lives.
What better time to do this than during Heritage Month?! People associate heritage with their ancestry, their culture, their tradition, their race, but we think that it also has to do with the places of our country.
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Because we are as much a part of our surroundings as our surroundings are to us.
That is why this announcement really got us thinking about the efforts that are made to accentuate the travel and tourism experience in South Africa.
We heard that Mpumalanga Tourism "have confirmed that a R500 million skywalk project is underway at the Blyde Canyon, giving visitors a chance to step out and overlook God’s Window." (The South African)
What exactly is a skywalk and how high will it be?
A skywalk is generally a walkway that is elevated and connects two or more buildings. "Open-top modern skyways in mountains now often have glass bottoms. Sometimes enclosed urban skywalks are made almost totally from glass." (Wikipedia)
"The glass platform will extend 12 metres over a sheer drop, suspended about 700 metres in the air. The unique viewing experience is likely to spark a boom in the provincial tourism market, and it’s hoped that the worst of the pandemic will be done and dusted by the time this skywalk opens to the public." (The South African)
Guests will be able to experience a 360-degree panoramic view. They will also be able to experience a vast array of activities at the site, which include a skywalk, a sky bridge, a sky swing, a zero-gravity room, as well as conference and meeting facilities. They aim to make the skywalk a global tourism attraction.
The Blyde River region attracts nearly one million visitors annually, and projects like the skywalk will do a lot to increase those numbers. It will also encourage people to roam in the area for longer, which will increase visitor spend to the region while exposing more people to one of South Africa’s most beautiful locations.
Read more: WIN R10,000 with Proudly SA by showing off your heritage style with their 'Wear Local Everyday'
This isn't just something for the tourists though, it is a great opportunity to pick ourselves up from the economical state of our country since the pandemic hit. This project will help create employment as well as benefit the Mapulana tribe and the surrounding community.
It is a beautiful initiative that we certainly are looking forward to. The project is set to start in 2023. Will you visit once it's completed?
Image Courtesy of Facebook