Head South: still hiking (drakensberg mountains, south africa)

Continuing our posts of photos from the Drakensberg, our hike on our last day in the mountains was one of the best hikes we've ever done.

We climbed a steep stretch for about an hour before jogging along the side of a ravine looking down at a stream. We were in search of the Tranquility Pools. We spotted them, looked in vain for a trail, and scrambled down a hill to reach them.

The water was cold, the sun was hot, and it was an amazing way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon!

After our rejuvenating dip, we turned to try our luck at a route up the escarpment called "The Crack," and down the other side called "Mudslide."

The climb up was pure fun - bouldering and examining caves, plus climbing a few chain ladders. Once we got to the top, the views were simply incredible. The late-fall afternoon sun was low in the sky, grass waved across wide plains, and the Amphitheatre shone in the distance.

We were in a little bit of a rush to get to the descent, because we were a bit worried about how we'd face it and wanted to get down before dark. It turned out to be a challenge, with climbs down chains, ladders and tree roots, but we all made it down in one piece, tired, dusty, and feeling accomplished. We again got to watch the sunset as we drove back across the fields to our camp.

The next day, we drove back to Durban, checked out the beach next to the city, and tried the local cuisine: "bunny chow," curry served in a big loaf of bread before Jim and I caught a flight back to Cape Town and Straub and Heather continued north.

Young James is ready for a hike.

Admiring the local handiwork.

Tranquility Pools


Enjoyed our dip!

Back on trail, we've climbed up to the start of the "Crack" and are standing under a giant rock overhang that has been carved out over centuries of wind and water erosion. Jim was fascinated by some smaller caves, apparently aided by human digging, the perfect size for a person to snuggle up in their sleeping bag.

Eying the "Crack"

The view if you turned around while climbing.

Jim below me, looking at caves.

Andrew and Heather are nearly at the top

The view was rewarding, to say the least!

Jim is in the lower right-hand corner of this photo, just off the trail. The landscape was truly expansive.

Andrew and Heather on top of the world.

Happy crowd.

Jim on the climb down - the shaky photo is either my quaking hands (I'm a little afraid of heights, and I'm standing on a steep grade) or the fast-approaching dark making our auto-exposure long.

The "Mudslide" we climbed down is that patch of green on the cliff, right in the middle of the photo. We looked back after safely getting to the ground and were in a bit of disbelief that they could chart a trail through such steep stuff!