A public holiday long weekend in South Africa was just the excuse we needed to head back into one of our favourite South African wild places, Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

Glen Reenen Rest Camp, where cottage 25 was our abode for the two nights we spent in Golden Gate on this trip, was a festival of autumn colours. Two horses also made themselves right at home among the accommodation units, and provided loads of entertainment to us all, most especially involving Joubert either photographing them or inviting them over.
Of course we were not going to spend our time in camp only, as beautiful a place as Glen Reenen is, and we made sure we took in as much of Golden Gate’s spectacular scenery as we could fit into two days.
In a place this beautiful, the plentiful animal and birdlife certainly is a special bonus!
Almost exactly two days after we arrived, we set off back home to Pretoria, convinced yet again that Golden Gate is a very special place. If you’d like to learn more about Golden Gate Highlands National Park, have a read through the special blogpost we did on the Park’s fiftieth birthday.

Our new favourite route to Golden Gate, via Sasolburg, Heilbron, Petrus Steyn and Bethlehem, a distance of about 400km from Pretoria (map drawn with Google Maps)

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Reblogged this on Roaring Reservations.
I love your photo of the night sky! Beautiful 🙂
Thanks for another very kind compliment Joanne!
Great photo share… love it..
Thank you very much Rob!
Die mooiste herfstonele
Als uitheemse bome, maar aai dit maak die mooiste prentjies!
Vir my is ‘n boom darem ‘n boom en het waarde meer as korale
Ahhh…such beauty!
Thanks for visiting with us, Kathy!
I woud not have mind to have those horsies in my company all weekend! Golden Gate is truly a beautiful place
They were so very well behaved and obviously very comfortable around people!
Pragtige foto’s Dries!Ek hou veral van die grasvoel en die een van jou seuntjie wat tussen die gras stap.
Baie dankie Dina!
I think you are very lucky to have such beautiful place to go to on a regular basis, and still there are plenty of entertainment, so many different animal to look at…. I think I will do my day dreaming job if I ever come to this place…. 🙂
We definitely are very lucky to call this beautiful country “home”, thanks Nina!
Oh, your pics make me miss South Africa so much!
We’d love to welcome you all back anytime!
These captures, Wow!! Beautiful views, special animals, and birds… What a special post!
Easy to take good photos when the subjects are so photogenic, Amy. Thanks for another warm and kind contribution to de Wets Wild!
We have not been in Golden Gate NP (yet) although it looks like a place we should visit as your enthusiasm is very contagious! We also love the contribution of your youngest team member – something our daughter has been working on very hard last trip.
Spending time together in nature is such an enriching experience, I’m sure you’ll agree Maurice?
And I’m very glad to know we could show you enough of Golden Gate’s magic to convince you to stop over there when next you find yourselves on our shores!
Totally agree – just wished I’d more time to do so 🙂
Such a beautiful spot to unwind for a weekend, I’ll put this on my list of things to do when we come back to S. Africa. Looks like you had a great time. Love the pictures. Sheila
Thanks Sheila! You definitely can’t go wrong by adding Golden Gate to your itinerary.
Gorgeous place and gorgeous captures. The ‘Glen Reenen at night’ is particularly striking.
Thanks very much, Colonialist!
Wonderful photos. So much to see there at Golden Gate. 🙂
Absolutely Sylvia, loads to see and do at Golden Gate!