We had been touring the garden route in South Africa and on our way to Johannesburg, we called in at the Drakensberg mountains for a few days. We based ourselves at a rather plush lodge, Inkosana Lodge (http://www.inkosana.co.za/). Although it calls itself a backpackers, its a rather up market backpackers and you really need your own transport to get to it and to get around here. The meals at the lodge are excellent and the grounds have great gardens and spectacular views of the high peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains.
The host here at Inkosana is a serious walker/trekker and mountaineer from what I could establish although he's quite shy. We opted to stay in one of the thatched rondavels that have their own bathroom with an open air/ensuite shower, very comfortable. Inkosana is highly recommended for both location, facilities and atmosphere.
We did some low level walks to start with in the rolling, lower hills of the Little 'Berg. The scenery here was fantastic although we were hampered with bad weather on our visit but the scenery was still great. You could see for miles even in this weather, it'd be fantastic on a clear day.
The terrain just looked like it had been played with by some giant and molded to suit there needs at that particular time. It was good to be active again having spent so long in trucks and the car, but I had forgotten what a tiring pastime it was!
The landscape here is both beautiful and dramatic. Gigantic hills roll into infinity cloaked in a soft green baize which as they tower upwards gives way to the rocky outcrops of the rugged mountain peaks.
In fact, Drakensberg means “Dragon mountain” and the grey craggy band which runs round the hills in the Monks Cowl area suggests that whilst arguing about the rights to the mountains, the legendary dragons divided the land by cutting though it with a blunt knife.
We walked Mandi Falls, Blind Mans Corner and Sterkhorn. We then went on to to tackle the 1 day hike to Sentinel Peak/Beacon Buttress and Tugela Falls. There are 2 stunning trails to the Tugela Falls. The most spectacular trail is to the top of Mount-Aux-Sources, which starts at the Sentinel car park at Witsieshoek via Phuthadjhaba from where it is a relatively easy climb to the top of the Amphitheatre, however it does take about 4.5 to 8 hours round trip depending on fitness level. You can gain easy access to the summit via two chain ladders . These chain ladders are a great adenaline rush - there are no clip in rails and both ladders are used for going up and down. The ladder ascent is over vertical rockface and is probably about 100m. Coming down is probably the worst bit or best depending on your point of view. The views are spectacular from the ladders, if you can look that is.
Once at the top, its a short walk to the edge of the escarpment and to Tugela Falls.
Tugela Falls is the world's second highest waterfall. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is 3,110 feet or 947m. The drop off is vertical, so tread carefully, the views are out of this world, what an awesome place and walk! If you're only going to do one walk in the Drakensberg, make it this one!
