WHAT a treat, a visit to the Drakensberg. Wherever you go in this massive chain of mountains and whatever the season, the beauty always comes as a bit of a surprise.
Because of its proximity to the coast, Bill and I tend to visit the southern berg more frequently than the central or northern berg, but in recent years we have got to know the Champagne Castle area quite well and really love it there, so we were looking forward to spending a week there.
The simple, comfortable, well-kitted out and homely cottage where we were staying was lovely, set in a beautiful garden with wonderful views of the mountains. Situated in an estate it overlooked the Drakensberg Sun Hotel and we were fortunate to have the use of some of the hotel facilities, too.
We were also close enough to a new bakery to buy the most gorgeous, freshly baked bread almost daily and a nearby shop sold honey products including honey baked cheesecake – the best cheese cake I have ever tasted. All this civilised luxury was rather a change from our usual tent travels, often in wilder places. We could get use to this!
It was summer and very hot so we mostly set off on our walks and hikes early in the morning. By afternoon the mercury would be soaring and we would be more than ready for a swim in the lovely hotel pool. One evening, a very hot afternoon culminated in one of those dramatic evening storms that seem to come from nowhere in the Drakensberg. Watching nature’s firework display from the comfort of a sturdy cottage we had to admit that we were rather glad not to be under canvas, although our trusty tent has provided us with shelter from all sorts of extreme weather.
Friends of ours came up to the mountains and stayed with us for a couple of days – and talked us into doing a rather taxing hike, up and up and up a steep mountain path, in the Monk’s Cowl area in the midday heat. It was exhausting and I was more than ready to try out some of the gentler options the next days. We did another, less strenuous walk – to a waterfall – in the Monk’s Cowl area and I was able to appreciate better the beauty of the summer-green mountains.
The hotel grounds also offered some incredible walks, including a popular and busy trail to the Blue Grotto. We did it the wrong way round, starting with a walk up a steep gravel road. It offered exquisite mountain views and good sightings of the Cape vultures that patronised the nearby vulture restaurant.
Soon we found ourselves walking along a pathway leading into the most beautiful enchanted forest. The flower-lined trails crisscrossed a crystal river, beneath towering, moss-covered yellow wood and white stinkwood trees that must have been centuries old.
One afternoon, once the midday heat had dissipated, we strolled up the mountains behind the cottage past the vulture restaurant. The open views of mountains and rolling grasslands were so different to the magical forest experience but just as wonderful.
Our favourite walk, though, was the Forest Fern Walk, described as ‘easy’ in a pamphlet we had been given. However, a notice at the start of the trail warned that it was rather difficult and this proved to be true. There were some very steep up and down sections and some serious rock hopping as the trail wound its way up a forested rocky ravine via a boulder-strewn river bed.
However, it was even more beautiful than the Blue Grotto walk and well worth doing. Eventually the trail moved away from the river and up a long, steep incline out of the ravine . We were then literally on top of the world, walking through the long green grass on the crest of a mountain then slowly descending into a valley and through the hotel grounds. It is a walk well worth doing if you visit this area – but remember to proceed quietly so as not to wake the fairies.
Our cottage week went far too quickly and we were just getting used to the easy life when we had to pack up and go. It was back to camping now, with two days to look forward to in Highmoor, a place we’d never visited before. As much as we’d enjoyed the comfort and relative luxury of our cottage hide away, we were looking forward to putting up our tent in a new place and enjoying our next tent travels adventure.
