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| The Drakensberg |
| The Drakensberg Mountain Range is a long chain of green jagged peaks reaching up to nearly 3500 metres (11,500 feet) and marking the edge of a huge escaprment as well as Lesotho's eastern border with Kwazulu-Natal. I first came here after following the Garden Route and Wild Coast and spending a few days in Durban, so it was a refreshing change of scene to be in such a green and cool mountain location. The weather was mostly clear and sunny when I arrived, which it turns out is something to be appreciated when you have it, as it's easy to be hit with nasty weather up here and miss out on the views (and staying dry). There are many spots in the Drakensberg which are accessible by road, although often the quality of the roads is not the best. I chose to go to the northern end of the range, at a place called the "Amphitheatre", and stayed at the Amphitheatre Backpackers Hostel. I loved it so much there, I had to return a few weeks later. |
| This is what a "Baz Bus" looks like, and it is the only reliable way to get to the Amphitheatre Backpackers. It takes about four hours to get here from Durban. |
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| The hostel is in a simple sandstone-walled building first constructed over a 100 years ago. Inside it's quite cozy, with all the basic facilities to fulfill backpacker needs. |
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| It is also probably the best tent spot I found anywhere in South Africa (or the world?) Although it was summer, there were still only a couple other tents around so it was very peaceful, and the grass is like a soft carpet to sleep on. |
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| Of course the most impressive thing is the view, where you can look out over the northern Drakensberg and huge expanse of valley below. Some of us spent hours just sitting on the grass and looking out to the horizon. |
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| I met up with my friend Yvette and a multi-national group of guys, and we did some trekking with the help of our faithful furry friend "Scuffy", or at least that's what we called him. I forgot his other name, but he was always with us on the journey. It's must be a great life for a dog. |
| Actually I had just got my tent up on the second visit when the group headed for this small but inviting peak on the horizon. It's a good half-day thing to do, with a nice walk through blonde grass and a challenging scramble to the top at the end. The weather was quite moody and changed every five minutes. |
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| It started getting pretty stormy as we arrived back at the hostel, but sometimes this place looks very nice in storm clouds. We sat on the escarpment and watched the clouds roll in, and that night it was really windy. I almost wanted to go rescue my tent and sleep in the hostel, but I tied the tent to a tree (totally unnecessary of course) and crawled inside. |
| And finally, the view of the world at Amphitheatre. The hostel is over there somewhere to the right... |
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| It was so windy we were able to do some excellent high-plains body surfing. |
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| In the morning the wind had dropped, and there were beautiful surreal clouds drifting through the mountains. |
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| We had a very diverse group of people from perhaps 20 different countries on the trek up to the top of the Amphitheatre - Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Morrocco, France, Australia, etc.. I got to know them and we all had a great day. |
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| ...and magically the sun broke through as we made our way up. |
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| It's a fairly aggressive climb up to the top of the ridge, and right on the edge is a good place to rest and enjoy the view. It's a long way straight down from there, and the view is magic. |
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| There are, however, reminders that some days are not so sunny and warm. "Memorial to Jennifer Sutton In Loving Memory of Jennifer Diane Sutton (Jenny) Died in the cold in the mountains she loved 10 February 1969 29 September 1987 Now safe in Gods hands" |
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| After a challenging scramble to the top, it's time to act silly... |
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| The big drop below apparently doesn't concern our South African guide, or the Baboons which are found in abundance up here. |
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| From this area near the "Mont aux Sources" water flows over the edge as the Tugela Waterfall, which is the 2nd highest in the world at 948 metres (3,130 feet). It faces due south, however, and in the Southern Hemisphere this means it is almost always in shadow |
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| Getting back down is somehow easier than going up - or more difficult, depending on how you feel about descending 20-metre vertical walls on a free-hanging metal ladder. Our guide (in white trousers) couldn't pass up the opportunity to show us that, for him, it was just another walk in the park. A certain degree of egotistical showmanship seems to be universal among adventure tour guides - but especially in countries like South Africa (Australia, etc.) |
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| The trail the rest of the way down is pretty easy-going, and the group stopped here for a rest. |
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| It still looks like a long way back to where we left the land rover, but at least we're on the way down... |
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| The last section down was really beautiful and the weather continued to be sunny and warm. |
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| We were really lucky to have such weather - especially me, as I was to leave in the morning and fly back to Cape Town, so it was in a way the end of my journey, although I had a few great days around Cape Town as well. |
| Here we are two days later flying from Jo'burg over the Drakensberg on the way to Cape Town. I guess I've said it before but - I'll be back! |
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