The majestic Drakensberg is the country's highest and most
impressive mountain range rising to over 3 000 meters. Known to the Zulu
people as Ukhahlamba, or 'Barrier of Spears', the Mountains of the
Dragon provide a magnificent semi-circular border between KwaZulu-Natal
and the inland mountain kingdom of Lesotho. The watershed of the basalt
peaks divide the rains and snows, some flowing westwards over the alpine
plateau of Lesotho towards the Atlantic Ocean, and some down the
frequently vertical slopes into KwaZulu-Natal, towards the warm Indian
Ocean. The Drakensberg Range is the source of the Tugela River, the
largest river in the Province, and it plunges some 1950 meters over the
edge of the Mont-aux-Sources Plateau in a spectacular waterfall. This
waterfall, the Tugela Falls, is the second highest waterfall in the
world.
The escarpment is frequently covered in snow in the winter months,
transforming the area into a picture-postcard winter wonderland. Popular
with hikers, rock climbers, trout fishermen, and other holidaymakers,
the area offers a wide range of hotels, country lodges, and bed and
breakfast accommodation venues, as well as camping sites and caravan
parks. For the more adventurous there are also many trails which use
caves up in the mountains as overnight stops. A weekend of hiking and
climbing, interspersed with dips in the icy pools and rivers, goes a
long way to restoring those weary of city life.
Most of the Drakensberg makes up the Natal Drakensberg Park, a
wilderness area with an abundance of wildlife. Hikers are frequently
surprised by bushbuck, oribi, mountain reedbuck, tiny duiker, and the
largest of South Africa’s antelope species, the eland, as well as many
others. Enormous lammergeier, or bearded vultures, fly overhead and
baboons bark from the cliffs. The spring is heralded by carpets of wild
flowers and the pink and orange watsonia, like miniature gladioli, bloom
thickly on the hillsides. In autumn the fields and lower reaches of the
Drakensberg are often a waist-high sea of confetti-like pink, white and
deep velvet red cosmos blossoms. In the higher reaches on the slopes of
the Little Berg, varieties of protea trees show their prehistoric
flowers, and ancient tree ferns and the odd cycad dot the gullies.
Hikers should note that there are 24 species of snakes in these
mountains, and not all of them are willing to give way to humans!
The mountains also contain thousands of Bushman painting sites,
evidence of the small, primitive San people who practised a prehistoric
life style in the area long ago. The earliest of these paintings are
about 800 years old, and the golden age of the painters was between 400
and 200 years ago.
The young and vigorous may be anxious to demonstrate their climbing
ability. The trout fishermen may have quite different ideas. The artist
may be looking for something new to put on canvas. The tired businessman
may merely be seeking relief from the heat and humidity of the coast.
But all of them - the climber negotiating his difficult traverses, the
fisherman casting his fly, the artist beside his easel, the tired
business man dozing in the shade over his detective story - all of them
will find refreshment and inspiration in these mountains (FN Broome).
The Drakensberg is divided into the following regions:
Region
Major features
Northern Drakensberg
1. Mont-aux-Sources, Royal Natal
National Park, Amphitheatre, Rugged Glen Nature Reserve
2. Singati Valley, Ifidi, Mnweni
& Ntonjelana valleys, the Mnweni cutback, Mponjwane, the
Saddle
The majestic Drakensberg is the country's highest and most
impressive mountain range rising to over 3 000 meters. Known to the Zulu
people as Ukhahlamba, or 'Barrier of Spears', the Mountains of the
Dragon provide a magnificent semi-circular border between KwaZulu-Natal
and the inland mountain kingdom of Lesotho. The watershed of the basalt
peaks divide the rains and snows, some flowing westwards over the alpine
plateau of Lesotho towards the Atlantic Ocean, and some down the
frequently vertical slopes into KwaZulu-Natal, towards the warm Indian
Ocean. The Drakensberg Range is the source of the Tugela River, the
largest river in the Province, and it plunges some 1950 meters over the
edge of the Mont-aux-Sources Plateau in a spectacular waterfall. This
waterfall, the Tugela Falls, is the second highest waterfall in the
world.
