Drakkensberg. Waterfalls and Mountains.

14 and 15 August.


The drive from Durban to Estcourt didn't take as long as I thought it would and after dragging 2 grumpy boys from their pits to breakfast, (never turn down a free meal cos you don't know when you are going to eat again) we left at 7:00am on the dot and arrived in Estcourt at 10:30. And that was with having a long toilet/rest/telephone/shopping break.

We took a drive to Giant's Castle, a magnicient peak standing at 3400 metres tall, and it was here that we experienced our first sight of the Drakensberg Mountains. Actually our first sighting was nothing more than a hill which we all got excited about, then getting closer to it, we realized that the clouds behind were mountain tops capped in snow.


Now, we were really knocked out and once again, the scenery has just blown us away. we stopped short of the base of Giant's Castle on a very narrow winding road where we all got out, screamed, sang, danced in the middle of the road, whistled and generally acted like mindless idiots to celebrate the passing of our 3000th km. Much to the amusement of a passing motorcyle gang who applauded us as they whizzed past.

We drove up as far as we could without having to pay the entrance fee, then turned round and headed for the Royal Natal National Park which was to be our base for the next 2 days. It was nice to arrive somewhere in daylight for a change with time to spare and whilst I prepared dinner the 2 boys went off to explore where they found some waterfalls.


Tip! when asking Dan to check if you have charcoal, ask him to actually look inside the bag!


Still, I managed to save the day by just making do with the few lumps of charcoal that were left and we enjoyed steaks and roasted veg in front of a wicked campfire, dwarfed by the mountains, under the stars and listening to the waterfalls in the distance. My feet toasted by the fire and a cold beer in my hand....does it get any better than this?


The boys decided to sleep outside on this night. Why they chose now, the coldest place we are to visit, where the temperature drops below zero at night, I have no idea, still, I left them to it and whilst I lay nice and cosy in the campervan, they shivvered and fought for space next to the fire under a mountain of blankets, sarongs and towels. I was woken in the middle of the night by Kieran who had decided enough was enough, and he confirmed his arrival by squeezing his frozen little body next to my very warm one, to give the old man a cuddle cos he was cold!

Dan lasted all night, and when I stepped out in the morning, he was laying on the (now extinguished fire) under a bigger mountain of blankets and towels etc amongst a gang of guinea fowl that were busy inspecting every cm of the ground around him, searching for titbits.

We hiked to the Tiger falls whilst in Drakensberg. Our original plan was to hike to the Tugela Falls which is the world's 2nd highest waterfall. Having done the 1st, the Angel Falls in Venezuela some years ago, I was keen to knock off number 2 then work my way down the list. Unfortunately I had not researched properly, and we did not have enough time to do this as the hike to the bottom, then onto the top would be at least a 2 day affair. Also, it is winter at the moment so the falls are just a trickle, so it would be better to plan this properly and return to do it in summer when they are at their prime.

Tiger falls was a 5 hour round trip and took us up many steep inclines and paths. Our route took us via the Cascades, a series of smaller waterfalls in which we stopped off for a rest and a splash about. It was a relief to finally arrive at the Tiger Waterfalls after a hard slog, however the reward was not as great as the hike. These falls were nothing more than a trickle too! Tiger Falls would fall approx. 15 metres and you can stand in a hollow about half way down, where we climbed and imagined what it would be like to look out through the watery curtain when the falls were at their best. Although a trickle, there was enough water falling for a half decent shower and Kieran and I stripped off for just that. Dan was a bit too shy to join us and was visibly cringing at the sight of his uncle and cousin showering butt naked under the icy water.

We drove up as far as we could for a picnic to see the Ampitheatre. One of Drakensburgs most dramatic features, the Ampitheatre is an 8 km wall of cliff and canyon which I am sure would be even more spectacular from the top as it is from the bottom where we were viewing it. Another to add to the list of things to do again and I have a feeling that I will be returning to Drakensberg on the next road trip, which we have decided could be Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and ending in SA.

Both boys are talking of more travelling, I think Dan has made plans to travel with his mates and Kieran has a list of countries to visit as long as my arm. We all feel that 5 1/2 weeks is not long enough and we wish we were here longer. 3 or 4 months would be better though the trip Kieran has planned for himself and the old man could take at least 2 years.

I am so gald that my son is not one to sit and watch TV or play computer games all day, though if he were, it might be cheaper and I would have less grey in my hair. Talking of TV's we haven't set eyes on one, or even thought about it (until now) since Cape Town which feels like an eternity away, and Kierans play station thing hasn't seen the light of day since we left Heathrow. His new game that he bought still has the wrapper on it. Of the 8 books I brought along, I have read about 100 pages of one of them. I guess that is an indication of how much fun we are having. We are still ploughing through the 'Power of One' though progress is slow!

We left Drakensberg for what should have been a relatively short drive to Dundee, our base to visit the Battlefields. Unfortunately 3/4 of the way to Ladysmith, we were one of the first to arrive on the scene of a pretty bad car smash. Having experienced car crashes before in Africa, I had a gut feeling that this might not be too pretty so I insisted the boys stay in the campervan whilst I investigated. The prognosis was as I thought and a matatu had taken a car out and judging by the body parts strewn across the highway, there were at least 4 fatalities. I was told by the police that nothing would be getting through until the coronor had been located and that could take several hours. We decided to turn back and drive to where we almost came from and take a different route which added several hours to our trip. Inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as it was to the poor unfortunate people that lay spread over that stretch of road. We finally arrived at Dundee well into the night.

The campsite at Dundee was stunning when we saw it in the morning. We discovered we had parked on the side of a lake. Dundee was a little bit like a hicksville, or SA equivalent of Sark. People not too sure of their parentage and some dragging one foot along as they shuffled along talking to themselves. Kieran had befriended another dog last night, this time a bull mastiff who did very well with our leftover BBQ, and I was sure that the dog, who he named Bruce dragged one paw as it walked along too!. Still the bathrooms were the best I have ever seen. Urinals and sinks springing up from rocks in an absolution that resembled a grotto. Oh! and hot water too!