God’s Window, Graskop, South Africa

NOVEMBER 2011 – A tourist takes a photo from the ‘God’s Window’ viewpoint near Graskop in South Africa. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

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The story behind the image

When we visited South Africa in 2011 we did not just head for the Kruger National Park but also took our time to explore the nearby attractions. One of these must certainly be God’s Window, situated within the Drakensberge, a high mountain range with steep cliffs.

Travel guide books recommended this place, pointing out that it is an “absolute must-see” on any South African trip, an impressive vantage point overlooking a unique canyon landscape with rainforest, deep gorges, and distant views extending beyond the Kruger National Park. In short: a place to marvel, take a deep breath and relax.

Yes, yes, and yes!

Except that when we had parked the car and stepped into the narrow path called Rainforest Trail leading to the various viewpoints, we were greeted by – mist. Dense mist! Uh-oh. It was hovering over the path. At least, we could see that the sun was shining somewhere above the mist.

Of course, we walked up the few steps towards the viewpoint, only to see – nothing! Just like this tourist who took a photo of the mist. I still wonder what he might have captured on his photo.

Well, Petra and I had previous experiences at the Garden Route in South Africa where the weather was also not playing along well. Concretely, I remember seeing lions during an evening excursion – in cold rain!

Needless to say, we were a bit afraid to experience more mixed weather again, on this trip. In the end, it turned out to be the only day with bad weather.

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The high resolution image

Capture Date & Time	23-NOV-2011, 15:13
Location	near Graskop, South Africa
Camera	Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Lens	Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM
ISO	500
Exposure	1/1250 sec at f/8
Digital Image Source Format	Canon Camera RAW (CR2)
Edited Image Format	JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image Dimensions	3888 x 2592 Pixels
Copyright	© by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com