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Cylindrical water-carved rock potholes and plunge pools at Bourke's Luck Potholes on the Blyde River, Mpumalangalumoplank, CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Nature & Landscapes

Bourke's Luck Potholes

Mpumalanga
  • Family-friendly

Best time to visit

Year-round; the potholes are most dramatic after summer rains

Bourke's Luck Potholes lie at the confluence of the Blyde ("river of joy") and Treur ("river of sorrow") rivers on the R532, about 35 km north of Graskop. Over long ages, swirling eddies carrying sand and pebbles have drilled deep cylindrical potholes — geologists call them giant's kettles — into the rock, tinted yellow, brown and white by the sediment.

The site is named after gold prospector Bernard "Tom" Bourke, who staked a claim nearby. It marks the start of the Blyde River Canyon within the Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve, and a short, easy loop of bridges and viewing platforms — roughly 1 km, around 20 minutes — gives several angles on the formations. There is a visitor centre on site.

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