Stopoff at Pilgrim's Rest

Pilgrim's Rest is a tiny museum village just a few kilometres off the Blyde River Panorama drive. It owes its existence to the gold rush in the area in the 1870s which lasted on and off till the 70s. Miners initially panned for gold but when larger groups got interested in the finds, the river was damed, hydro power was introduced and the mines went underground. Today the village is very small with just a couple of dozen houses on the main street including the impressive Royal Hotel in the centre of 'town'.

Ironically in 1998 mining restarted - currently this is managed by an Aussie company - Theta Gold Mines Ltd.

Classic old gold rush era pub and hotel. In 1971 the whole town was sold to the government as a national museum

To be honest this place reminded me of the old settlement of Hartley outside of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. Similar era, similar building materials, similar reason for existing just in different countries.

The original bar of the Royal Hotel in Pilgrims Rest

A couple of beautifully restored vintage cars owned by a group of friends who had travelled 350kms from Pretoria - they fitted into the general historic vibe of the old town. Another friend followed the two cars all the way in a modern vehicle and trailer loaded with a few present day luxuries just in case the vintage vehicles broke down.