Unexpected Plans in Some of the Oldest Mountains

After a night with Mervin and Jane Wallace, our plans were yet again changed. We had originally hoped to visit the Wild Coast but were told by the Wallace’s that this would really eat up our time because to access the towns, we would have to drive perpendicular to the main highway and then come back up to the highway to head to the next town. We were also told that the roads to these towns were not maintained. So, we took their advice and headed to the Drakensburg Mountain Ranges, which is supposed to be the oldest, or one of the oldest, mountain ranges in the world.

We had no idea where to stay and again, we were given way too many options (we have learned that Katie and I can be very indecisive at times). We made our way towards Durban and we were going to stop at a couple of markets but when we drove by them, it didn’t look too inviting...so we just kept on driving. Our next stop was Pietermaritzburg, which we were told was a nice `College City`. We didn’t spend a great deal of time here but we did get to see the Gandhi statue, several of the civil war memorial statues and a very strange art museum (mainly of the Heath family). We also learned that we could book our accommodations for Drakensburg in this town so we headed to a reservation agency where a very nice man helped us to plan our stay. Our plans changed about twenty times but after talking to the woman at the hostel in the North Drakensburg area, we decided that instead of splitting what little time between the South, Central and North Drakensburg, we were just going to kick it in one spot...and this seemed like the ideal place to do it.

So we didn’t stop very long in Pietermaritzburg either but even though we didn’t spend the night we thoroughly enjoyed the breathtaking views of this lovely place. It has been one of the nicest, cleanest and friendliest cities that we have had the opportunity to see so far.

While in South Africa, one of the greatest experiences we have had so far is the opportunity to rent a car. This has allowed us to drive at our own pace, stop anywhere and everywhere we feel like it and (because of the great distances we have and will be traveling) witness the dramatic changes in topography, landscape and wildlife. It is amazing how much the view can change each hour as we head from East to West and North to South. It was also very nice that we made our destination without getting lost...we must be getting the hang of the transportation system here...or maybe it is just the GPS??? We know it doesn’t seem like a backpackers thing to own, but we figured that it was better to spend our time enjoying each place (and each other) rather than driving around with that lost expression plastered all over our faces.

When we got to our hostel in Drakensburg we were so excited (like kids in a candy store) about all of the things we could do. We had been told by the service person at the national park office in Pietermaritzburg that we could hike the entire mountain range in 4-5 days? This seemed a little bit strange/short but maybe it was our naivety because we believed him and were set on doing that. However, the owner instructed us that it would take us nearly three weeks to do the journey and would be utterly crazy if we were not experienced hikers. So after getting back on the right page, we decided that the day packages were probably our best bet. We signed up for a day hike to the amphitheatre mountain top/Talega waterfall (second highest waterfall in the world), a hike to the Cathedral Peak, a day of rock climbing and a day and overnight visit to Lesotho. I will come to the details later but unfortunately we couldn’t do it all (poor planning on our part and information from the guides).

After checking in we walked around and got acquainted with the nicest hostel we have been to yet. The site is surrounded by the mountain ranges and open lands with rolling foothills. The atmosphere of the place is very lively and all of the buildings are neatly built huts. The staff was so friendly (minus a few key managment players) and were very welcoming to questions (which those who know me (Jeremy) understand I can have a lot!) and the accommodations were very clean.

The first morning came with great anticipation as we had no idea what to expect. Once everyone was ready and the time had come we jumped into our mini bus.

#7) Now for those that do not know, a minibus is what the South Africans call a taxi. If you haven’t guessed already, the reason they call it a mini bus is because it is a miniature bus that can hold 15+1 (not sure why they don’t just say 16 people on the sign) people. In all of our time here, I don’t think I have seen a normal or ‘North American’ style taxi cab, they just do not exist here. Although many of the locals have heard they are safe, we have also been recommended by others not to use them. Because most of the people are very kind here it is probably not so much the people that you would have to be worried about, but more so the driving. After driving behind many of them you can easily see why. Although the back of the vehicle has a sign that says this vehicle should not travel faster than 100km/hr, they almost never drive under 120. Being a taxi, they have to stop and either drop off or pick up people on the side of the road and highways and do so very quickly. We have been told that sometimes you may hear on the radio that 30 people died in a two vehicle collision. Now this may be morbid to joke about, but after seeing how many people (beyond 15+1) that they pile into these things, you can totally understand how the numbers work out. This however, leads to our next point.

#8) When driving on the highway you must be very aware of the people behind you. This is not because they will be upset with you but because they will pass you no matter the traffic situation. This could easily lead to four cars sharing the two lanes if the same is happening on the either side of the road. Therefore, the custom is that if you are the slower vehicle, you should pull over onto the shoulder (only in places big enough) and allow the vehicle behind you to drive straight on through. We soon discovered that this action is followed by a single push of the emergency lights as a thank you. The driver who allowed them to pass is to do the same to acknowledge the thank you and say you are welcome. Now the ‘thank you’ or the ‘your welcome’ is not always an emergency flasher but is sometimes a wave, a honk or a flash of the lights. Although this system may seem dangerous, it would be great if the drivers of Saskatchewan adapted this form of communication as it really has brightened our driving days – Katie and I love to drive just so we can ‘car talk’ with everyone around us.

The first day hike was more about getting to the top of the peak so we were driven to a point which allowed us to reach the top of the mountain in one day. This meant that we had to drive for two hours in the minibus (no AC and 12 people makes for a great deal of heat especially when it is +35 (or greater) outside). The initial part of the hike was quite easy and it was great because we got to enjoy the mountainscape around us. After one difficult gorge we made it to the top to unfortunately be met by cloud cover and a great deal of lighting and thunder. Although, we were supposed to eat our lunch up there, we could not stop and sit for fear of getting struck by lightning - this may seem a little farfetched, but trust me, it does happen and one of our guides is a witness (thank god we are shorter than most other people). Tourists die on these mountain ranges every year, the main cause is being struck by lightning, the second is from walking off of the cliffs due to poor visibility from the clouds and the fog and the third is from venomous snake bites (yep...we had to watch our foot work everywhere for fear of stepping on one of these creatures). This was doubly disappointing because not only did we not get to eat our lunch, but at the top of the gorge we should have been enjoying a panoramic view of the amphitheatre rather than struggling to see ten feet in front of us. Luckily the hike to the waterfalls was short and by that time, the clouds had cleared enough for us to get a good view.

The second day was a lot different!!! We already knew that it was going to be harder because everyone informed us that it would be, but usually with a slight shrug that meant no big deal – right...wrong! The drive was only half as long as before, but we had to leave two hours earlier which should have been our first indication that this was not going to be an easy ride. Not to mention there was only three people on this tour whereas the other had twelve and that tour runs daily. We asked our guide how many times she had climbed this mountain and she told us that she had only done this trip 11 times in the 8 years that she had been working for the company – All we could think of was holy s**t!

The total distance was 19.5 km with only about half a km on flat ground (and not to mention that a good deal of it was quite vertical). After about five minutes even the guide was huffing along with the rest of us. It didn’t help that it was again over 40 degrees outside. The only one who wasn’t huffing was the almost 48 year old German named Andre who we didn’t think we were going to like very much at the beginning. However, everyone on the trip turned out to be great. We even picked up a straggler along the way who had actually stayed at the hostel the night before and was just out to see if he could tag along with a group to the peak. Smart man not paying the 1050 or 530 Rands it cost (depending on how many other trips you took) and still getting a guide to the peak which was definitely required.

After much painful hiking (for those not fit) we made it through to nearly the peak to fear that we were going to be skunked out by lightning. Our disappointment was not going to get in our way, especially the avid hiker Andre who was determined to get to the top despite the threats that it was not safe from the guide. Even us ‘non hikers’ were sceptical of the advice to stop because of how close we were and how hard it had been to get there. I think if we would have had to stop Andre would have just ran up the peak anyways. I mean this guy had hiked probably most of the mountains on all of the continents and you could tell because at one point he lapped us by running back down Bugger’s gully (named that because it is a bugger to climb) to grab our guides bag to help her up. I could not have imagined climbing down that voluntarily and then heading back up.

Anyways the one blue patch of sky above us turned out to be kind to us and we continued the rest of the way up. It was easy to see once we got close how dangerous the rain would have been to us had we made it to the top before it had hit. It would have been the difference between going down and spending a night on the highest free standing peak in the Drakensburg (3050m above sea level-check that because I swear the guide gave us different numbers). Even the rain from the night before made it difficult because the water was still seeping out of the earth and wetting the near vertical rocks. Although, Andre had made it without the use of the rope and chose the most dangerous paths, the rest of the group voted to use the rocks because it was impossible to find hand holds. We still had to climb it, but the rope was a nice security. The top was the craziest part because all you could see around you was shear rock faces and the butt of the person in front of you. But we made it (a mere 6 ½ hours later) and the view from the top was worth every struggle. The view was unobstructed for 360 degrees and it was here that we ate our lunch and had just a few minutes to snap some pictures.

In order to get back down the mountain safely, we had to leave quickly - it was pretty hard to imagine that we now had to head down after working so hard to get up. Although gravity was in our favour, the vertical incline was not, and I think everyone’s knees were killing them by the time we made it to the bottom. And stopping along the way was not easy because it was much too hard to get the engine going again. I think that was the one and only time I have ever felt my legs shaking while standing still. I know that Katie and the rest of the group felt exactly the same way...with the exception of Andre. We finished the night off with a beer as the group had bonded quite a lot on the climb. Our guide Z (first black woman to climb Cathedral peak - it might sound untrue but as she put it, native South Africans don’t climb for fun and the certainly don’t pay someone to climb for ‘fun’), Terrence (our second in command and Z’s boyfriend), Andre (the crazy German or the ‘robot’ as we called him), Louise (the straggler) and of course Katie and myself made it a great and unforgettable day.

Once we got home there was only one thing to do...okay well two...but after cancelling our rock climbing adventure on the account of much needed rest, we had to sleep and sleep we did!

The only thing there is to say about our adventures for the following day is Aleve, Band-Aids (Katie had blisters all over here feet) and rest!!! We did get to see a little bit of traditional Zulu dancing accompanied by great Zulu singing and acoustic guitar.

Originally, we had been booked to stay overnight in Lesotho (pronounced le-sootoo) which we were very excited for. However, it turns out that the owners of the hostel had misinformed us and that the stay at Lesotho would be two days because the hostel only entered the village every second day. This meant that we would have to spend two nights in the village. This would have been great and we would have learned a great deal about rural African culture however this would not work with our timeline (although it is pretty slack). So we discussed with one of the upper management and it came about that we could take our own vehicle behind the tour and then stay the night and take a taxi the next day, so we were set! BUT...we ran into a couple who had done the day tour earlier that week and told us that the road was so bad that all 15 passengers in the bus had to get out at some points and push the bus up the hills. So that kyboshed our plans to stay the night so we decided to just go with a day tour.

So we awoke the next day excited to visit Lesotho especially because it is one of the most untouched and beautiful areas of South Africa...or so we had been told. However, the morning started off badly. We were to leave on the tour at 8 am sharp but the minibus didn’t show up. At around nine thirty we all began discussing how much money it was going to cost for less than three hours in Lesotho. The drive to the village was two hours and we would have to be back at the border by 4 leaving little to no time in the village and it was going to cost 440 Rands a person. So our group of ten dwindled to three because everyone cancelled. We altered our plans (yet again) and decided that we would head down to the Wild ‘Wild’ Coast – YEHAAWWW!!!!!