By Shellee-Kim Gold

If natural sites awash with water and a touch of the eerie appeal to you, you may just have found what you’re looking for at the Debengeni Falls near Tzaneen in Limpopo.

Translated to mean ’place of the big pot’ in Pedi, locals believe the waters are home to revered spirits.

With the region’s notorious summer humidity, the 80 metre high waterfall is a well-guarded local secret. And a well-frequented picnic spot: attractively laid-out tables under pine trees include braai (barbeque) grills.

Described as ‘magical’ and ‘mesmerising’, to witness nature’s full might at work here, park your car at the falls’ midway point and walk down. Cascading waters flow dramatically down from the top, through forest and over a series of pools.  The source of much summer merriment, though, is the deep central pool halfway down the falls.

Even if you’re not swimming but still fancy a bit of a splashing to cool down, the circular walk along both sides of the Ramadipa River and across it should satisfy.  Winter wanderers will want to be extra careful of slippery rocks and precariously-placed vegetation on the path. Warning signs are up at various points, as are chains preventing access at dangerous spots.

Nontheless, tomfoolery has reigned supreme at the site – sometimes with tragic results. At the bottom of the falls a chair with a plaque marks the spot where an intoxicated 17 year old lost his life sliding down on the rocks from the top. Numerous other lives have been claimed here this way.

Someone described Debengeni’s atmosphere as having a ‘very strange feel…a touch of (the movie) “Picnic at Hanging Rock” about it’. In the flick a group of Australian Victorian-era school girls on a picnic at Australia’s Hanging Rock suddenly disappear, as if spirited away into the massive rock through some invisible portal.  As a mystery-obsessed hack and sometimes-hunter of things supernatural, my theory’s that Debengeni’s ‘mesmerising’ appeal could well be coming from those waterbound revered spirits locals speak of. Though people died rather than disappeared here, it’s still a must-visit for paranormal enthusiasts.

Another must-see is the Modjadji Cycad Reserve just 30 minutes away. It has the world’s largest concentration of a single cycad species and gets you feeling like you’ve arrived on the set of Jurassic Park or time-travelled to a prehistoric era.