Hike Through the Drakensbergs

On this past Sunday (the 11th) Dan, Yvonne and I left to spend a couple days in the Drakensberg mountains. They know of a little resort type centre that has a few cottages and a little dam that you can fish in, if you so desire (and we did, or at least Dan did, and I wanted to learn). So, this place is actually only about a 90 min drive from their flat in Pietermaritzburg, so after church we set off for the trip.

On the Way to the Resort

Typical to my style, I was sick for the car ride down, but the ride was pretty short, so it wasn't a huge deal. We did actually stop for dinner though, for a typical "Sunday Roast" at a hotel restaurant that was on the way. The restaurant was styled in the theme of the area, called "the Midlands" after the region of the same name in England (or so I am told). So it's in the style of quaint little cottages in the midst of rolling green hills and all that. Truth be told it's very lovely, but certainly only accessible to those who can afford the kind of high-middle class way of life, so a little discriminatory in that way. It's very much a tourist trap type deal, but it didn't feel so inauthentic as all that. A "Sunday Roast" in case you were asking, is a common feature that many restaurants offer: on Sunday their main special will be a roast of some kind that has been prepared for the day, and it will be extra fancy and extra special. So we took that option, and despite my general nausea, it was very nice.


The Resort

We did arrive at the resort soon after the restaurant, and 'resort' is perhaps a bit of a stretch. It was certainly very nice, but don't think 'resort' as in posh, upper class, in-room service, swimming pool, open bar, type resort. It was more a rustic type thing with a little kitchen in the cottage. So, we got there on Monday night and had a nice dinner (I had a big nap once we got there and felt MUCH better afterwards) and a relaxing evening.

Dan was up early the next morning to try out the fishing there, and I joined him around 8:30 to try my hand at the business of fly-fishing. I have to say, it was quit enjoyable. I was terrible to start off with, but eventually I got the hang of this casting business. And Dan actually caught two fish! In a mere four hours of fishing! Impressive. For me, getting three good casts in a row was something to be excited about, so, actually catching fish was quite the feat.


Into the Mountains

After a nice morning of fishing and relaxing, we left for a hike into the mountains. As usual, I have posted some pictures, feel free to peruse them at your will. It was a very nice hike. Lovely views, mist coming off the mountains into open plains of sunlight, all very breathtaking. We hiked for about an hour and then came back for the ride home. I feel I owe you a bit more of an in-depth description of the hike, but really, the pictures are your best bet there. The only thing with that is I didn't get any great pictures of the baboons we saw! There were four of the, two older and two younger, but they were quite far away, so pictures were difficult.

After the hike we drove home and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening, and prepared for an adventure in Pietermaritzburg the next day.