We will collect you from home and take you to the airport to see you on to your outward flight, our destination being the Royal Natal National Park, and into the ‘Berg. The ‘Royal’ addition to the original name was awarded after the British Royal Family’s visit there in 1947. The Amphitheater - backdrop to our accommodation at Thendele Camp - is widely regarded as one of the most impressive cliff faces on earth. It is over 5 kilometers in length and has precipitous cliffs rising approximately 1,220 meters along its entire length. The Tugela Falls, the world's second highest waterfall, plunge downward for 948 meters from the brink of the cliff face. Mont-aux-Sources - 3254 m in height - is clearly visible from the camp.
We now head further southward, heading for the well-known Cathedral Peak Hotel - a perennial favourite among lovers of the ‘Berg. The hotel is beautifully situated in the Drakensberg foothills, with impressive vistas over mountain and valley. Indoor activities include table tennis, a games room, a fully equipped gym with steam bath, and a beauty therapist where you are encouraged to relax and be pampered. Outdoor leisure activities include tennis, squash, bowls, outdoor chess, fly fishing and an immaculate 9-hole golf course. For those who simply wish to put their feet up, the stylish hotel lounge is a quiet refuge in which to relax.
The rich heritage of the Drakensberg embraces not only San paintings and wildlife but also many sites of fierce battles between Boer and Brit. We will tour the battlefield site of Spioenkop, with its solemn monuments, on a tall hill overlooking the floodplain of the Tugela River. Later we move on to lively Ladysmith, which the Boers put to siege at the beginning of the Anglo-Boer War, and browse the exhibits in the fascinating siege museum.
The next day has many leisure options - you may choose from any of the activities on offer, or simply relax and enjoy the tranquility of the ‘Berg.
Giant's Castle Game Reserve lies in the Central ‘Berg region of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Its name comes from the silhouette of the mountain escarpment that resembles the profile of a sleeping giant. Our camp is situated on a grassy plateau among deep valleys that run downward from the face of the High ‘Berg, offering glorious vistas of the surrounding landscapes. The Main Caves Bushman Museum is a half hour walk from the camp, and the recent upgrade to the camp complex has brought with it a curio shop, pub and restaurant.
Our last night is spent at the charming Old Halliwell Country Inn in the Natal Midlands, near Howick.
We leave Giant’s Castle to enjoy a journey along the well-known ‘Midlands Meander’ from Lion's River to Mooi River. Many artists and crafters of all disciplines have settled here, and we'll visit several of the most interesting studios and shops. Apart from enjoying the work on display, and meeting some of the 'characters' who live and work here, it's a good opportunity to shop for unique gifts.
HOMEWARD BOUND...
We leave the midlands after some curio shopping and sight seeing and we arrive at King Shaka Airport to wing our way to Cape Town or Johannesburg, where Landscape staff will be waiting to whisk you safely home.
