Head South: hiker's paradise (drakensberg mountains, south africa)

Our friends Straub and Heather came to South Africa for about a month, early April to early May, and took an amazing road trip from Cape Town up the coast to Durban, then inland to the Drakensberg - Dragon Mountain. We were lucky to have a few long weekends while they were in the region, and took one of them to fly up to Durban and hitch a ride with them into the Drakensberg.

We had an absolutely incredible weekend of hiking. The Drakensberg is a long mountain range that sits on the border of Lesotho, creating a giant natural wall between South Africa and that land-locked country still inhabited by the Besotho people who took refuge there during all the fighting in the 19th and 20th centuries that made South Africa what it is today.

The mountains are the highest in the country, up to around 9,000+ feet, and come with beautiful grasslands, steep escarpments, caves for sleeping, and fresh, frigid streams and pools for drinking and swimming. The second-longest waterfall in the world, Tugela Falls at around 900 meters, is also in the Drakensberg. It was dry when we visited the park it is located in.

Our first day in the 'Berg, we drove to Royal Natal National Park, about 40 minutes from our campsite at a backpackers. We got in an afternoon hike, and drove back watching the moon rise and the stars come out. It was a holiday weekend, so young people in the small villages dotting the road were out in force dressed for a night on the town. There were horses tied up outside a few of the bars we passed, and women were carrying water in 5-gallon jugs on their heads.

The second day, we climbed to a mountain called Cathedral Peak. We had been warned that this was a strenuous hike, so we decided to call it good shortly before the scramble to the top of the peak after our lunch break. We enjoyed a leisurely hike down, but heard that another group we had passed on our way down attempted to summit and one member of their party fell on the descent. He had to be airlifted to Durban for medical care. Hope he is healing well.

On our last day in the Berg, we did a beautiful hike back in the Royal Natal National Park, complete with a dip in a pristine mountain pool, a climb up some chains to a stunning viewpoint, and a long and slow descent down more chains, ladders and tree roots. All made it back in one piece for a braai at our backpackers and a little too much red wine. We drove back to Durban and enjoyed curry and "bunny chow" - curry served in a giant loaf of bread - on the beach.

Fantastic weekend!! Thanks to Straub and Heather for letting us tag along!

Setting off on our first hike in the Royal Natal. The giant rock structure we're looking at is called the Amphitheatre.

A few back toward the road we drove in on as we climb up the ravine, following a stream.

We were keeping a close eye on the time and sunlight - as you can see, we're already in shadow.

Our stopping point for the day. This hike would continue up this ravine and eventually end at the bottom of Tugela Falls, but we had a late start after driving up from Durban and need to get back before dark.

Amphitheatre at sunset.


Day 2 dawned in a dense fog! Jim snapped this shot just as it was lifting over our camp.

Setting off on trail toward Cathedral Peak. We have a lot of climbing ahead.

We're just getting started here. The trail climbs the hill in front of us, and then along the side of a ravine up onto an escarpment. The entire hike had absolutely stunning views under a bright blue sky.

Heading up the ravine. See the stunning green hillsides?

Our fearless crew on trail - about 45 minutes in, we've already climbed some elevation.

The hillsides surrounding us.

On top of the escarpment now!

An accidental short detour took us along this beautiful path. We should be on the top of the ridge to our right; we figure this out just a few hundred yards ahead.

This ridgeline ran on for some distance, with hills on either side of us and the appearance of two colors of grass in front. It was a challenging climb.


Cathedral Peak is the tallest, pointiest one on the left. That's the one we didn't summit. We do continue on, through a steep ravine on the right called Orange Peel Gap (I'd like to hear that story), and along a contour trail to a beautiful lunch spot.