A week in the mountains…. Saturday, 23/11/2024
John, Jane and I had a fantastic week up in the Drakensberg mountains. There has been a lot of rain, so the mountain scenery, which normally looks dry – shades of brown – was a stunning green. The streams and rivers were fuller than usual too and there were still plenty of spring flowers, so altogether it was a beautiful time to visit.
We had a lot of variety. We spent the first three nights in a chalet at Thendele camp, which is situated directly in front of the Amphitheatre, about the closest you can get to the mountains. Happily too, the camp, run by the Parks Board, is in really good condition, with the accommodation a high standard. I had a couple of good walks – including one up to the Policeman’s Helmet (so named because it resembles a London bobby’s helmet).
The only problem we had was being terrorised by baboons, which are aggressive and extremely sneaky – one got inside by creeping past us as we sat on the verandah. I went after it, with a walking stick – it was in the kitchen and had grabbed a plastic container of pecan nuts. John opened the front door; I flushed it out – it leapt on top of the fridge and then onto the top of a cupboard, and then up onto a rafter spanning the high ceiling. It was baring its teeth and screeching at me, but I got it out, then pursued it with the stick – it got away with the pecans, but didn’t try to come back. People staying in the camp must have fed the baboons – they wouldn’t normally be so fearless.
On our fourth day we left and drove up Oliviershoek Pass into the Free State. The drive took us past Sterkfontein Dam, into which water is pumped from the upper reaches of the Tugela River in Natal up the mountains, to feed the Vaal River, where it is most needed. It also generates hydroelectric power, water being pumped at times of low electricity demand and released to generate power at times of peak demand. From there we travelled in an arc to Van Reneen’s Pass, over which the main route from Johannesburg to Durban passes. We stayed in an old hotel called The Green Lantern, which has operated since 1892. The place has beautiful gardens – full of English-type plants which thrive at the high altitude (1,690 metres/5,540 feet) – and an exuberant and historic interior.
On Monday we drove down to Cathedral Peak Hotel. This is a large hotel, situated right in the mountains. Well maintained and offers excellent food on an all-inclusive basis. More walking here – I made trips up to Mushroom Rock and to Ribbon Falls. Both were strenuous, in places requiring scrambling up large rocks, with a great drop below you. What you get in return is a feeling of achievement, and great views. The Drakensberg is all protected area, covering about 2,400 square kilometres (940 square miles), even bigger taking into account the National Park on the Lesotho side of the border. Even below the mountains you are high up: Thendele camp is at about 1,400 metres (4,700 feet), Cathedral Peak Hotel about 1,470 metres. The highest mountain peaks are well over 3,000 metres (10,000 feet).
All-in-all a very successful trip. It seemed a great pity to leave. It was quite a shock arriving back at Durban Marina in the afternoon. There is one very obvious downside to being back and that is the state of Durban harbour. It is by a wide margin the most polluted place I’ve been, and I’ve travelled more than three quarters of the way around the world. On sailing into Durban you quickly become aware of a strong stink. Waste water, including untreated sewage, flows into Durban harbour – and unfortunately the worst place is from (the ironically named) Lavender Creek, which flows directly into the marina. Matters were worsened by damage caused by the floods of 2022, and it simply hasn’t been fixed. It sounds awful, and it is – although happily after several hours you get used to it! One thing you would not want to do is fall into the water – swallow any of this and you’d be in hospital having your stomach pumped. Sadly, this state of affairs is not uncommon in South Africa – in many places the infrastructure is very rundown, typically the result of incompetence and corruption.
Which is all very sad, because there are so many wonderful things here. People are great, friendly and helpful; there is stunning scenery; excellent restaurants and cafes offering absolutely first world quality at cheap prices for international visitors; outstanding meat, fish and wine – so it really is a country of huge contrasts. Well, it makes it all interesting anyway…
