Holiday - Part Two: Mountains of Glee

After our little stint at St. Lucia and Cape Vidal on the eastern coast, we headed inland toward the Drakensburg mountains.

We began in the Northern Drakensburg which is the most popular region of the park. We based ourselves in a woodsy chalet at the Bergville B&B, Bingelela.
Cozy. However, we were slightly surprised to find out that our "fully equipped, self-catering" unit came with only a miniature fridge. No oven or stove. Not even a hotplate. No matter. We got a local tip about a dynamite pizza place just down the road. Wood-fired pizza with delectable toppings...artichoke hearts, butternut squash, peppadews. Yum! And only about $4.50 per pizza. Double yum! Tom Douglas eat your heart out.

After our pizza excursion, we headed back to our temporary, cupcake-looking home. We had to get lots of rest. Hiking was on tomorrow's agenda.

Tugela Gorge
Our first hike was through Tugela Gorge. The path follows the Tugela River through the gorge to a huge, solid wall of rock called The Amphitheatre where you can see Tugela Falls. Beautiful hike. Everything alive and lush and smelling of earth after rain.

This particular hike seemed like it had a little bit of everything...

Thick forests (with glowing men),
sweeping valleys,
dwarfing cliffs,

rock-laden rivers,
massive rock formations,
even modern rock art.
Just when we thought we'd reached the end of the trail and things couldn't get any better, we happened upon a chain ladder that ran from the river up the side of a cliff. Excellent! Because we were feeling adventurous, we decided to see where it led. Up, up, up...
to a steep, narrow junction between two massive cliffs. Thanks to a few well-placed steel rods nailed into the rock and hanging vines from trees, we were able to pull ourselves up this little crevasse. Why we thought this would be fun is as unclear to me now as it was then. But up we went...again. After all this, you end up at the top of a cliff. (No surprise there, I suppose.) From here, you can look down into the gorge and see part of the Tugela River. If we had waited an hour or so, we would have seen half a dozen people swimming down there. A refreshing reward after a hearty hike. On our way down we made sure to enjoy the view of Tugela Falls. It is the second highest cascade of waterfalls in the world. The total drop is about 950 meters (roughly 3,100 feet)!
While being awestruck, we managed to pick up some very valuable information from other hikers about the "must-do" hikes in the area. Everyone (yes, every single person) we spoke to raved about the hike to the top of Tugela Falls where you can look down over the Falls, the Gorge, and even walk across the Amphitheatre. It even involves another chain ladder. Well, that sealed the deal. The next morning we headed off to Sentinel Peak and Mount aux Sources, the highest point in the Drakensburg.

Sentinel Peak/Mount aux Sources
First of all, just the drive up to the trailhead was incredible...up a seemingly endless road composed of hand-laid brick. It feels as though you're driving right into the sky. Then you get onto a dirt road that follows the side of the mountains for several more kilometers.
This road may not look it, but it was quite rocky. Our little front-wheel drive car had a bit of trouble making it all the way. This is mostly because the frame of the car is a grand total of 6 inches from the ground. Oh, yeah, plus it has no shocks. The former is thanks to Volkswagon. The latter is thanks to daily travels to and from work on a road not much better than this one. Somehow, she rallied. Mostly likely because Neil got out and tossed the biggest obstacles out of the way. It was like watching He-Man at work...only with slightly more clothing and sans Battle Cat.

When you finally reach the trailhead, you get a glimpse of what you're about to climb...this time on foot. Exhilarating.
Yikes! What were we doing? No idea. But we kept going.

Here's a closer look at a portion of the Amphitheatre wall a few kilometers up the trail. Tremendous.


And here is a taste of what you get to enjoy if you turn around and look out over the South African province of Free State from the Amphitheatre wall.
We often stopped just to pinch ourselves...and enjoy feeling very small.
But we couldn't stop for too long because a heavy mist was moving in fast.
As the clouds thickened, we lost the trail a few times. No worries. It's an adventure, right? Eventually we managed to find our way to the chain ladders that take you up the cliff and onto the top of the Amphitheatre. The first one is about twelve meters. The second one is about six.

Yeah, I know. We were just happy that they weren't any longer. Since the weather was getting worse (now the wind had picked up) we were hesitant to venture much further. Ah, but we were so close! And when three confident, 20-year-old males passed us without even batting an eye and bounded up the second chain ladder like Bantustan mountain goats, our self-respect was at stake. That's it! Let's go!

Success! Ugh, it's tough to pose for a picture when you're just glad to be alive.
Once on top, the mist was too thick to see anything. We could hear the Tugela Falls, though. Loud and clear. We thought we'd try to ride out the weather and see if the skies would clear. Would be nice to see what we're standing on top of. But 20 minutes later it was getting worse. Now the rain was starting. So, down we went. No worries. There is always next time.


AntBear Guesthouse
By the time we got back, we were tired. Very tired. But we had to drive down to Central Drakensburg to our next stop over in the so-called Midlands of Drankensburg.

Of course, to get there we had to take yet another dirt road. What is it with South African roads? Our poor car can't take this kind of stress. Neither can we, for that matter.
Despite the questionable road quality, we were excited. This was the place we were most looking forward to seeing: The AntBear Guesthouse. The online reviews we scrutinized said this was "the place to be" if your going to visit Central Drakenburg. (Interestingly enough, we found out later that the man who owns AntBear, Andrew, is in charge of maintaining many of these websites.) Regardless, this place was impressive.
Andrew and his wife, Connie, were extremely welcoming. And their cook prepared a tasty dinner, which we devoured. (I wonder if our hunger manifested itself in our table manners. I think I even at pork, but can't be certain.) Since this is a guesthouse, we ate dinner "family-style" with our hosts and the other four guests around a big table. This, as you might imagine, was quite interesting. We met a couple of UK ex-pats who currently live in Spain. They were somewhat less than chipper...constantly lamenting the fact that all of their luggage was lost on their way to Joburg. Bummer. (Note: DO NOT FLY IBERIA!) The other couple, Sonia and Vernon, live in Limpopo (our home province), and are originally from Cape Town. Jackpot! After growing tired of listening to ex-Brits bash "ignorant Spaniards", we found solace in swapping stories with S&N about our two countries. Turns out "W" is reviled worldwide, the Drakensburg rivals any mountain range in North America, and Obama is watched closely with bated breath. I admit, we preferred these conversations to hearing about how difficult it was for them to maneuver the bathtub together earlier that afternoon. Seriously, they were a hoot. We could hardly wait until breakfast.

After dinner we dragged ourselves toward our beautiful room. (Did I mention we were tired?) Within 3 minutes I was asleep. Just enough time to brush and floss. I found out the next morning that Neil made it only about 20 minutes more as the calm precision of David Suchet's Hercule Poirot lulled him to sleep.
All in all, I think the (possibly doctored) reviews were correct. This IS the place to be. All of the woodwork is done by the Andrew's father. Gives the whole place a kind of funky/comfy/outdoorsy feel. Even the bathroom had a cool vibe. And it was super clean. That alone is worth at least three stars in my book.
The next morning the skies were clear and the air was soft. So, we walked around the farm a bit. Relaxing. Rejuvenating.
Unfortunately, we couldn't lollygag forever. Off again...and onto the next adventure...