Blyde River

The Blyde River rises in the Drakensberg to the south of Pilgrim's Rest and in its northward course joins up with the Treur River at Bourke's Luck Potholes. It then flows through the grandiose canyon and finally joins the Olifants River.

The names of the Blyde and Treur Rivers mean "joy" and "sorrow", reflecting an event in Boer history. In the winter of 1844 the voortrekkers set out from the Cape Colony seeking a route to the sea which was not under British control. An expedition led by Andries Hendrik Potgieter headed for Delagoa, leaving their women and children, with the unwieldy trek wagons, on the malaria-free hills of the Transvaal Drakensberg, near Graskop, to await the return of the men. When the agreed time for their