The Blyde River Canyon is the only true canyon in South Africa. It was formed by the Blyde River, “River of Joy” cutting its way more than 1000 metres through the quartzite and Dolomite Mountains of the eastern rim of the Drakensburg escarpment. The quartzite of the system was deposited before the dawn of life on earth in a depression in the primeval granite shield of Africa. The Blyde Canyon nature reserve, which covers an an area of approximately 27 000ha, is internationally renown for its natural splendor. Blyde River canyon is the 3rd largest canyon in the world.The Reserve is home to wildlife some species of are rare, such as Taita falcon found in only a few haunts in the world. It is also home to a bewildering variety of plants from orchids to lilies and tree ferns to cycads
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