Drakensberg Mountains
Champagne Valley
Jackie, Cameron, and I left St. Lucia this afternoon and headed for, what we hope will be, the less hot and humid Drakensberg Mountains. We took the N2 highway south, then turned east on the R74. We called ahead to Graceland Guest House and booked accommodations.
The drive was pleasant, some hills, but flattened out eventually. After a few hours, we began to see the jagged peaks of the mountains on the horizon. These are not sharp, triangular peaks, rather, it’s like we’re approaching the edge of a plateau, and the land just drops off.
Graceland
We arrived at Graceland just in time for sunset. We found the gate, buzzed ourselves in, and drove down the long driveway, which seemed to go nowhere. This driveway was surrounded by a sprawling field of grass, and the tiny shrubs that meticulously lined the drive seemed ludicrously out of proportion.
We stopped as soon as we drove through the gate and took a bunch of photos of the sunlight spilling over the mountains. It was magnificent.
Sunlight pours over the Drakensberg Mountains in the Champagne Valley area and onto Jackie and our home in Drakensberg.
Jackie photographing Cameron from the driveway of Gracelend, our Drakensberg digs for a couple of nights.
The menagerie at Graceland, our home in the Drakensberg Mountains for two nights.
Having navigated the driveway to the office, we came upon the caretaker, Carol. We talked to her by the office, but our attention was diverted to the sunset and the mesmerizing view. We could not help but snap some photos while we spoke with her. At the end of the driveway sit three houses, which are perched upon mountain’s edge. Okay, it’s not really a mountain, but it’s a hell of a hill.
Carol is the caretaker at Graceland, a splendid house on a hill with full views of the Champagne Valley.
Having a chat with Graceland's owner outside our house for the next two days.
We unpacked and settled in when the owner of the cottage arrived. He happened to be staying here tonight. In fact, we booted him out of the cottage, so he was relegated to the other house they have up the street, with the less superior view. He approached me straight away and asked me, in Afrikaans, if I spoke Afrikaans. Grasping his question as if I did, I said “no.” He regaled us with his story of visiting America. It was 1976 and he was in Montreal viewing the Summer Olympics.
We headed out for food, but the pickings are slim here, particularly at the late hour of 7 o’clock. We tried some country club, but they were under locked gate and it was not trivial getting in. Guards had to radio someone to get permission, plus we didn’t even see the menu. After we were given permission to dine here, we decided to move on. Instead, we ended up at the buffet at the Drakensberg Sun, and everyone else in the Champagne Valley was here too.
After we returned to our cottage on the mountaintop, these three astrophysicists looked to the brilliantly clear sky. And the photographers among us got our tripods.
Stars over the Champagne Valley area of the Drakensberg Mountains. The Large Magellanic Cloud is visible in center frame, Canis Major is in the upper-right, Alpha Centauri is the bright star in the upper-lefthand corner.
The night sky over the small pool at Graceland. Cameron is standing by the pool, which sits on the edge of a drop down to the Champagne Valley. The two bright stars in the upper-left are Alpha and Beta Centauri, and to their right are two bright stars of the southern cross.
The diffuse band of light across the sky is the Milky Way, which I'm seeing for the first time in South Africa.
The night sky, including the southern cross, over the thatched roofs at Graceland.
Blind Man’s Corner Trail
Today we are planning to do some hiking in the mountains. We planned our day while gazing upon this awesome view.
Jackie, Cameron, and I spent the morning planning our day hike in the Drakensberg while gazing upon the alluring view from Graceland, our home in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Perched up on this hill, this morning's view of the mountains are obscured by clouds, which seem to be low enough to reach out and touch.
We drove down to the bottom of the hill and stopped off at the shops. No food—the cafe was closed—so it was “bird food” for breakfast: raisins, nuts, and fruit from the small grocer.
On the road outside the parking lot were a group of five boys who performed a little synchronized dance number in hopes of earning some rand. A look of severe disappointment washed over them when we drove by.
We examined the maps and trails at the Monk’s Cowl office and decided to hike to Blind Man’s Corner. It’s about a six-hour hike round trip according to the rangers.
The bulk of the elevation occurs in the first part of the hike, while the second part is mainly along a flat, grassy mountaintop. Along the way we saw the rocky outcrop called the Sphinx, Crystal Falls, and a small stream from which we filled our bottles.
A cluster of thatched-covered buildings in the valley below Monk's Cowl.
Cameron and Jackie check the trail map to see how far we've come in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Hiking up to Blind Man's Corner in the Monk's Cowl section of the Drakensberg Mountains.
On the way up we passed Crystal Falls, where we filled our water bottles.
Cameron fills our bottles in the pool below Crystal Falls, where the water is clean and pure.
This is the Lion's Tail, or Wild Dagga, flower. This plant is often a substitute for cannabis--who knew?
From the trail to Blind Man's Corner, we can see the trail below snaking up the mountain.
Jackie and Cameron hiking a trail in the Drakensberg Mountains.
We stopped here for some lunch. Monk's Cowl is the mountin looming over us, with Lesotho on the other side of these peaks.
The trail to Blind Man's Corner in the Monk's Cowl section of the Drakensberg.
We reached Blind Man’s Corner at about 2:30, after two hours of hiking. It was warm, but not hot, and the air was comfortable. After some lunch, Cameron and Jackie decided to take a little side trip up the mountain a little further. I decided to take the opportunity to sit and admire my surroundings while I wrote in my journal.
While I sat beside the trail, I began to hear voices in the distance. Blind Man’s Corner is situated such that we can see the just-hiked trail for quite a distance. And, there are no trees here, only grass, so there’s nothing to obscure the view. I heard the voice for awhile before I could see where it was coming from. At first, it was a blur, moving in the distance, too far to discern. As they approached, they were still talking loudly, messing up my “out in nature mojo.” While I sat meditating on this wonderful scene, I was thinking to myself, “Who are these people? Don’t they respect the solace of the outdoors at all? How rude!”
As they came close enough for acknowledgement, I realized they were soldiers, and they were carrying some mighty big guns. We are near the Lesotho border, where there is a lot of smuggling apparently, so I guess its customary to see patrols here. The soldiers were jolly and we talked for a moment before they continued over the mountains and on to the border.
We got back to the car at about 5:30, an hour before the park closes. I pitched the idea of cooking at our luxurious house, but Jackie and Cameron didn’t seem moved by that idea, so we went into Winterton in search of food instead.
We ended up at The Bridge Lodge, a pub of sorts. Food was okay, and, more importantly, the Hansa beer was cold.
Cathedral Peak District
This morning we will leave our beloved Graceland. Why is it called Graceland? Grace of God, of course. Hearing that took the shine off a bit, but the view is still spectacular.
Today the band is splitting up. Cameron is off to do an overnight hike into the mountains before heading to Jo’burg for his flight back to New York, while Jackie and I have several more days before flying out of Cape Town.
Tonight, our destination is farther north in the Drakensberg Mountains near the Royal Natal National Park. On our way, we drove to Cathedral Peak. Cameron took to the trail here, and Jackie and I hiked a short trail into the Rainbow Gorge.
Rainbow Gorge
The trail to Rainbow Gorge is relatively flat along the Ndumeni River that promises to get gorgey toward the end. Along the way, we transitioned from grassy meadows into the narrow strip of forest that lines the river.
Jackie and I decided to hike into the Rainbow Gorge in the Drakensberg Mountains.
We stumbled upon this crab along the trail to the Rainbow Gorge in the Drakensberg Mountains.
This little guy is a foaming grasshopper, or toxic milkweed grasshopper. Its defenses include the excretion of a stinking foam whose nauseating stench extends for about 1 meter around the insect. I guess this little one was not threatened by us, since we detected no foul smell.
We came upon an access point to the river and we left the trail to wade in the water. We had so much fun here, we stayed for about an hour and did not make it any further into the gorge. It was a refreshing break.
Jackie sits among a small waterfall in the Ndumeni River.
Here I am walking in the Ndumeni River. Jackie and I never made it to the end of this trail. Instead, we played in the water here for about an hour.
The Ndumeni River runs the length of Rainbow Gorge in the Cathedral Peak section of the Drakensberg Park. We stopped to take in a few waterfalls and decided to get our feet wet.
Jackie and me sitting in the Ndumeni River in the Rainbow Gorge.
Royal Natal National Park
We made it back to the car around 3 o’clock and got an ice cream before we ventured north to Royal Natal. Along the way, we passed through a few towns, coped with a long gravel road, and navigated our way to the deluxe cottage waiting for us.
Kids bathing in the river just outside the Drakensberg Park.
A woman carries her laundry from the river.
This splendidly dressed woman was waiting beside this cab. I'm not sure if it was broken down, but she was outside for some time.
Rural scene in southeastern South Africa, where the Zulu-speaking population live in clay huts.
Three kids carry large jugs of water across the grass-covered hills.
Rural homes near the Drakensberg Mountains, called 'umuzi' in Zulu, consist of round huts used for ceremonial and spiritual purposes. Other huts are for living, cooking, and the grounds, including the chickens in this case, are enclosed by a fence.
This is a common scene in rural areas in South Africa. People of all ages walking the roads.
People hitching a ride into town, or to the nearest bus stop.
A red-dressed woman walks the road outside Cathedral Peak in the Drakensberg Mountains.
We made it just in the nick of time—the office was about to close. We settled in and asked them about food. We had to venture out of the park, so we needed an exit pass in order to get back in. Once we returned from dinner, we took some shots of the night sky with the Amphitheater as our background. We took in this beautiful scene as we sipped some wine from our porch. At one point, two large animals ran right by our cottage and off into the grassy fields in front of us. I could hear them take a U-shaped path and run off into the distance. We were not as freaked about this as one might expect, but I still wonder what they were.
The night sky over the amphitheater.
Jackie and I take a self-portrait in front of the amphitheater in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Our fabulous accommodations in the Thendele Camp in Royal Natal National Park. Not really a camp in the traditional sense, no tents were needed, but the place and the setting was wonderful.
The following morning we woke up with the Sun, determined to get some photos of this spectacular scene. The Thendele Camp is perfectly situated for viewing the morning sun on the Amphitheater. Jackie was outside and I stumbled out in my underwear and began snapping photos. Our only company was a flock of guineafowl and, later, a baboon.
In the northern Drakensberg is the Royal Natal National Park, and one of the highlights of the park is this steep, mountainous wall called the amphitheater. We got up at sunrise to take it all in from our cottage in the park.
At daybreak, Jackie and I stepped out of our hut and snapped some photos of the wonderful view.
Jackie sits among the guineafowl in the early morning.
Feeding in the morning outside our cottage in Royal Natal was a flock of guineafowl. Hard to catch in a photo on account of their nonstop nature.
A group of guineafowl preening themselves.
A zoom into the cliffs that make up the amphitheater in the Royal Natal National Park.
A baboon walked through camp this morning. The paparazzi was on him.
Our hut at the Thendele Camp in Royal Natal National Park.
The light here is splendid this morning.
Cabins, for lack of a better word, at the Thendele Camp in Royal Natal National Park.
We spotted these baboons feeding by the Royal Natal visitor's center.
A baboon forages for some lunch.
A road through camp under the amphitheater in the Drakensberg Mountains.
We took a short hike this morning, but we needed to get on the road fairly early today since we had some ground to cover. Including today, we have four days until our flights from Cape Town. On our way, Jackie took some shots from the road.
Jackie snapped these four ladies waiting for a taxi outside the Royal Natal Park.
This huge reservoir has the second-highest earth dam wall in the world.
By tonight, we’re planning to get to the town of Graaff-Reinet. Before then, we will leave the mountains behind, drive across the plains, and head into the Karoo, the semidesert region.