Before the gold rush of the late 1800s, Tom Burke found himself in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa. He had a feeling the land was rich in gold, so he staked a claim. Although he was right about the region as a whole, his claim, as luck would have it, came up empty. It’s after this unfortunate prospector that Bourke’s Luck Potholes are named. These bizarre natural water features, hewn by centuries of swirling, rushing water and the sand and debris they carried, mark the start of the Blyde River Canyon. Tom Burke might have enjoyed the irony that although he was unsuccessful, the rock formations named in his honour now glisten with ‘gold’ – coins tossed in by others using the huge, cylindrical Holes as natural wishing wells. The Bourke’s Luck Potholes are otherworldly and dramatic. So much so that Frommer's 500 describe them as one of the places your kids should see before they grow up. Sitting at the confluence of the Treur, ‘the river of sorrow’ and Blyde, ‘the river of joy’, this abstract art of a geological phenomenon is famous for its giant’s kettles, potholes, smooth-sided cylinders, intricate network of tunnels, lines, rock layers and dark plunge pools. It’s a 700m walk to the potholes. A walk consisting of a network of pathways and metal footbridges which take you right above the potholes. Other walkways that go around the ridges open out different views of one of the most popular natural attractions in South Africa. They mark the start of the Panorama Route around the Blyde River Canyon.