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Map of South Africa |
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Travel Agent |
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Hambanathi Travel
Travel with us! Let us take care of all your travel arrangements, worldwide!
From filghts to cruises, safaris & business trips, we have over 20 years of experience in travel arrangements for people in South Africa to travel locally or internationally.
Telephone: +27 (0)33 394 7870
Mobile: 082 897 5937
Email: barky@lantic.net
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Travel Routes
in South Africa |
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Our travel routes are
more designed for a travelling holiday in
South Africa. (Travelling being the operative
word)
Too often people get to a single destination,
find
their accommodation and hold tight for
the 'prevading' holiday!
We are going to explore the riches of South
Africa travel and bring you holiday guides
and holiday accommodation that you should
take.
Each month we will post our experiences
as we travel South Africa in this section
of the web site; showing you where to stay,
what to do and how to spend wisely when
going on holiday in South Africa. |
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Travel
the Natal Drakensberg |
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First
Trek
KwaZulu-Natal, Central and Northern Berg
- 500km
(Please click for larger map on left)
Our first 'Tourist Spot' is one of my favorite
journeys.
This trek incorporates the KZN interior's
Midlands and the Central and Northern Berg.
We are going to take you on a 500 km experience
and give you a rough breakdown on how much
it will all cost you.
Our base is in Pietermaritzburg, so we head
north along the N3, a national highway towards
the Drakensberg. Taking the Nottingham Road
turnoff; a beautiful village that is renown
for its own beer.
There are several beautiful hideaways located
in this area such as Cleopatra
Mountain Lodge, an amazing gourmet retreat
where the owners are setting up a cooking
school to compliment the world renown chef's
restaurant and accommodation.
A cozier getaway is Rivervale
Stud Cottage located on a stud farm
where the most amazing horses can be seen.
Rivervale is essentially a stud farm, however
accommodation has been set up for those
who want a farm experience with a difference.
Owners of horses studding at this farm can
also stay over in the comfortable lodge.
Kamberg
From Nottingham
Road in the Midlands, we head west toward
Kamberg (one of five rest camps managed
by the Natal Parks Board) where the road
traces the folds of the Drakensberg's foothills.
After roughly 30 km's, this road crosses
a valley of dense, green irrigated pastures
that feed the thousands of Friesland cows,
cuts through the eastern end of the Natal
Drakensberg Park and then follows the Mooi
River to Kamberg.
A pleasant 4km trail, with three 1km loops,
leads along the Mooi River making for a
breathtaking berg hike.
For wildlife enthusiasts hoping to see some
of the 'little 50 000', wildlife here includes
blesbok, black wildebeest (which is represented
on the Natal coat of arms), reedbuck, duiker
and eland, and for the birders there are
plenty birds, such as ground woodpecker,
mocking chat, Drakensberg siskin and Gurney's
sugarbird, and not forgetting the avid fishermen,
just below the camp, a trout hatchery is
open to the public, and fishermen have access
to 13km's of the Mooi River.
Fishing is also permitted in several small
dams located near the hatchery.
Highmoor
After exploring the wonders that the Kamberg
surrounds has to offer, head back along
the road you came in on, only this time
you will head North over the Mooi River
towards Klein Mooi River and a neighbouring
valley called Highmoor.
A dirt road shares
a narrow ravine with the course of the Klein
Mooi River to guide you back into the mountains.
You'll travel for around 10km and eventually
the road reaches the upper end of the valley
and a broad, grassland plain.
At an altitude of 2 000 m, this rolling
grassland, Highmoor, fades north west towards
the distant peaks of Giant's Castle.
Highmoor's only accommodation is a camp
site occupying a superb position on a hill
crest overlooking the Klein Mooi's deeply-incised
valley.
Several lovely trails lead across the surrounding
grasslands, and visitors can venture north
into Giant's Castle, or south across the
Mkhomazi Wilderness Area.
Once again, for the avid birders, many raptors,
such as black eagle, jackal buzzard and
lammergeyer, are found in the area.
Giant's
Castle
Heading out from Highmoor,
back along the road you come in on, turn
right and northwards, over the Klein Mooi
River and continue for 21km's to the Bushmans
River where you take the left fork towards
Giant's Castle, a mere 19km's further on.
Few places can provide better access to
the spectacular scenery of Drakensberg's
jagged, magnificent basalt wall
which is called
Ukhahlamba
by the Zulus,
meaninga
barrier of spears,
than the main camp
at Giant's Castle.
Giant's Castle Hutted Camp is overshadowed
by three of the four highest peaks on the
South African side of the Escarpment:
Giant's Castle (3314 metres)
Popple Peak (3325 metres)
Njasuthi Dome (341O metres)
To get to these magnificent peak bases,
hiking trails generally follow contour paths
which will lead you there.
In winter snow often covers these peaks
and three mountain huts provide hikers with
accommodation.
Game-viewing is a popular pastime, as is
bird-watching, walking and trout-fishing
in the Little Tugela and Bushmans rivers.
Although harsh winter conditions limit the
variety of grassland wildlife, a variety
of animals such as grey rhebuck, mountain
reedbuck, bushbuck, baboon and oribi can
be seen.
In 1903 a game reserve was established at
Giant's Castle to safeguard some of the
last free-ranging eland in South Africa.
The eland flourished and the Drakensberg
now maintains a population of 1 500, the
second largest of its kind in the country.
For birders, the camouflaged Lammergeyer
Hide is open during winter.
Although this endangered raptor is widely
distributed, it is rare throughout its range.
A recent survey recorded only 200 pairs
in the Drakensberg.
Giant's Castle is particularly rich in San
rock art, much of which depicts their great
admiration for the eland. Although eland
have survived, the San have not, and the
5 000 rock paintings that have been catalogued
in Giant's Castle are the only impression
they left on the landscape.
From the camp, a short walk zigzags up the
valley to a unique museum situated in a
sandstone overhang that was once a San shelter.
About 500 authentic paintings, some of which
are thought to be about 800 years old, cover
the cave walls. Artifacts and lifelike models
depict the lifestyle of the Drakensberg's
first people.
Champagne Castle
The second highest summit in South Africa,
the 3377 metre high Champagne Castle juts
out from the Escarpment wall and overshadows
the Sterkspruit Valley.
Other main peaks in the area include:
Cathkin Peak (3149 metres)
Sterkhorn (2973 metres)
Monk's Cowl (3234 metres)
Intunja (2408 metres), a conspicuous peak
with a hole through its summit.
As this lovely valley lies within 31km's
of the N3, it has become the 'Berg's most
popular retreat.
It boasts a cluster of hotels, cottages
and timeshare resorts, and many walks lead
into the State Forest area. Sterkspruit
Valley is renowned for the Drakensberg Boys
Choir School, and for Dragon
Peaks and Monk's
Cowl caravan parks.
Additional accommodation can be found in:
Champagne
Castle Hotel
Champagne
Sports Resort & Golf Club
The
Nest
Cherlou
Chalet
Wits
End
Cathedral Peak
The Cathedral
Peak Hotel high up in the lovely Mlambonja
valley was built in 1937 and has been run
by the Van der Riet family for two generations.
It is surrounded by the Natal Drakensberg
Park, and visitors can choose to ride horses,
fish, play golf and tennis, or flit over
the peaks in the hotel's helicopter.
A labyrinth of paths explore the surrounding
valleys and mountainous spurs.
From the conservation office near the hotel,
Mike's Pass climbs 500 metres in under 5
km's along a route that includes four abrupt
corners and several steep gradients.
From the parking lot at the end of the road,
motorists can enjoy a dramatic view of the
high 'Berg.
Some of the most striking peaks are:
Cathedral Peak (3004 metres)
Mlambonja Buttress ( 007 metres)
Cleft Peak (3281 metres)
Outer Horn (3005 metres)
The Bell (2930 metres)
Inner Horn (3005 metres).
Trails lead from the parking lot into Ndedema
gorge, a delightful valley that protects
the Drakensberg's largest indigenous forest
and its greatest concentration of San rock
art.
Many hikers regard Ndedema as the most spectacular
of the 'Berg's many valleys.
Spioenkop
Public Resort Nature Reserve
The pretty 1500 hectare Spioenkop Dam rests
at the foot of an acacia-dotted hill where,
during the Anglo-Boer War, British troops
attempted to break through Boer lines and
hundreds of British were pinned down by
tire from Boer sharpshooters on the hilltop.
Many graves and memorials are still scattered
across Spioenkop's summit.
Today the 7283 hectare nature reserve that
protects the dam and surrounding land is
perfect for fishing, boating, hiking and
game viewing.
A
camp site is located at the dam's edge
and facilities include tennis courts, a
swimming pool, children's playground, curio
shop and battlefield museum.
Upstream from the camp site lies the secluded
Ntenjwa
rustic bush camp.
It is only accessible by boat, and overlooks
the upper reaches of the tranquil Spioenkop
Dam.
Picnic sites are located along the southern
shoreline, where fishing is permitted and
two short walks have been laid out.
Animals which may be seen here include hartebeest,
waterbuck, impala, springbok and blesbok.
Although boats can be launched from the
southern shore, they are not allowed to
berth on the northern shore which has been
set aside as a reserve area.
Here, buffalo, giraffe, white rhino and
eland are common.
Visitors staying at Iphika
tented camp at the base of Spioenkop
may only explore the surrounds on foot.
Royal
Natal National Park
All roads to the northern 'Berg resorts
lead, at some stage, through the centrally
located village of Bergville, and from here,
the road leads to the 8856 hectare Royal
Natal Park.
The focal point is the awe-inspiring Amphitheatre,
a crescent-shaped basalt ridge that is 6
km's wide and towers 1500 metres above the
lower valleys.
The superb Tendele
rest camp, situated on a hillside above
the Tugela River, provides unparalleled
views of the mountain.
In the lower-lying valleys, the Royal Natal
Hotel and Mahai
camp site occupy idyllic settings, and
provide access to the walking trails that
traverse the park.
The Amphitheatre's summit can be reached
by following the hiking trail that passes
The Dome and joins the road on the Free
State side of the mountain. The road ends
at a parking lot at a lofty 2550 metres.
The trail continues for another 4 km's and,
with the aid of two chain ladders, finally
reaches the crest.
Where the flat summit yields to the vertical
rim of the escarpment, the Tugela Falls,
second highest in the world,
plummet 948 metres to the valley below.
Next month,
we explore a route through the Natal Midlands |
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