In early March 2019 I joined three friends for a short trip to the Drakensberg. We had all gathered to celebrate a Rhodes reunion, staying with a friend it Port Alfred. It was from there that we started out on a rainy Saturday morning and travelled up through Stutterheim, Queenstown to Aliwal North where we stopped briefly for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Orange/Gariep river. Then it was on up the R26 bypassing the towns of the eastern Free State while the storms rolled by until we finally arrived at Clarens in early evening.
Golden Gate
After a good night’s sleep and a quick look around the quaint little town of Clarens we set out in sunshine to drive through the Golden Gate park on the R712, stopping several times to photograph the spectacular scenery and the van Reenen family graveyard.
We followed the R74 past the enormous Sterkfontein dam and stopped at the lookout point to read up about the interlinked series of dams and tunnels which capture water in this part of the country for Gauteng. Then it was on down the spectacular Oliviershoek Pass into KZN, where the special umbrella shaped thorn trees typical of this region came into view. We continued past endless lands of maize similar to those of the Free State until we eventually arrived at Winterton where we stocked up for supplies for our self- catering cottage at Champagne castle resort.
We arrived at the resort in the early afternoon and were bowled over by how pretty it all was. After enjoying a well-deserved beer with a late lunch we set off to explore and do one of the shorter walks.
Champagne Castle
None of us were familiar with the area and I think we all found it very beautiful; the resort tranquil and the cottage well appointed. Sadly the weather was not great so we spent Monday and Tuesday just relaxing and doing shorter walks and exploring the shops up the road.
Evenings were spent enjoying supper and many glasses of wine on the verandah and looking up at the dramatic silhouette of the mountains at sunset and the stars later. Friendly peahens and their chicks came by to be fed.
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny and we tackled the walk to Crystal falls and the Sphinx (a big rock) which took most of the morning. En route we passed Robin Hood’s den where big rocks covered in plants made a shady retreat, lots of interesting plants and a few busy dung beetles. The view from the top above the Sphinx was spectacular. That afternoon we went to a performance of the Drakensberg Boys choir whose school is just down the road from the resort. Great to see such an integrated school.
Cathedral Peak
On Thursday we decided to travel further afield to visit the Cathedral peak area. It took us quite a while to get the resort and we passed lots of homesteads on the way. It was interesting to observe the changing styles. Once at Cathedral peak hotel we selected the walk to Doreen falls which were very pretty but the walk there was rather hot in the midday sun with little shade along the way.
After enjoying our picnic lunch we set off back to Champagne castle and continued on the road to the Monk’s Cowl resort. Here we only had an hour before closing to rush down to the Sterkspruit falls which someone had told us about the day before. We 3 old ladies did the walk in 45 mins much to the astonishment of the gatekeeper. The falls were by far the largest we had seen on our brief visit and well worth the rush, I think.
Sadly the next day we had to head off down the N3 to Durban and the airport to fly home. It was lovely to spend this time with friends and to see such a beautiful part of the country. As a plant lover it was also great to see so many new plants and to see plants I grow in my garden growing in their native habitat. I certainly hope to be back again someday to see more of this beautiful part of the country.
Drakensberg 2019 Gallery
