Somewhat sad to leave Vera and her jams on Thursday, as we drove into the heart of the Drakensberg, a World Heritage Site, which also makes up the backbone of Lesotho’s eastern highlands. After spending a couple of days there, our introduction earlier in the week to the Amphitheatre seemed tame. The craggy steeples of these so-called Dragon Mountains remained in the clouds for most of the day, but in the middle of our half-day hike on Friday they cleared briefly, giving us a spectacular panorama. They reminded us a great deal of the Alps, yet of course the vegetation is quite different. Like in Lesotho, from a distance the mountains look draped in rich green velvet, and there are all sorts of deciduous and coniferous trees dotting the landscape.
Inkosana Lodge was another fabulous backpackers place with lots of comfortable seating inside and out. There were Adirondack chairs on the back lawn, and that made it feel like home. It was a lot more full than any other place we’ve been, but it is the only affordable place in the Champagne Valley, just outside the Monk’s Cowl park. It should be said that most of the “backpacker” places we have stayed at have been nicer than we remember or expected. Of course, they are also more expensive than the last time we were seriously traveling. On average, two beds in a dorm room cost USD 30; a double room is about USD 40-50 which of course is not a bad deal.
We have been reading a lot in the evenings. I picked up a book called “In-n-Out” which is a wonderful narrative about the birth and growth of In-n-Out burgers, as well as documenting the boom in the San Gabriel Valley in southern California, which is where I grew up. Unfortunately, it has left me craving in the worst way for one of their hamburgers. Russ even made me a burger the other day, which while very good, was not the same. Sigh.
Giant’s Castle was another peak two hours south of Inkosana. It proved to be a highlight of the trip, driving aside (since I am doing most of the driving, I need to mention how bad the roads in South Africa are). We had a gorgeous hike through meadows and forests to a series of caves that featured San rock paintings in excellent condition from the past thousand years. The area is one of the richest in all of southern Africa for these paintings, and even with the vandalism, they are well-maintained. It was a great Saturday morning.
From there we drove back through all the small villages. Saturdays are always busy shopping days and people, cows, and donkeys covered the roads, while rows of laundry hung like colorful Tibetan prayer flags. Once we hit the tarmac, I experienced the second highlight of the day: the N3 toll road. We quite happily paid to use this road for fifty kilometers because there were no potholes. Every single other road we have been on in the country has had some kind of road work, and if they are not completely paving a new road involving waits of up to a half hour (and sometimes three waits in a thirty kilometer stretch), there are serious divets in the road that make driving challenging. I guess it provides some kind of employment stability as it looks like these roads will never be finished.
Three and half hours later, we arrived at Dundee, and I wish we could have stayed longer than just an overnight. We are at an awkward stage in our trip where we have a reservation in Kruger National Park in ten days (we had to make the reservation ahead of time to use the credit on our account and we called when we had phone service in Kestell). Anyway, we felt like we needed to move on to Swaziland to not rush that part of the trip, which is where we are right now.
Coal mining is the main industry in the Scottish immigrant community of Dundee and its neighbors Newcastle, Glencoe, and Ladysmith. It is surrounded by battle sites of the Anglo-Boer, Boer-Zulu, and Anglo-Zulu wars. Notably, Rourke’s Drift (where 100 British defeated 4000 Zulu, as you might remember from the movie Zulu with Michael Caine) and Blood River (where the Boers’ victory over the Zulu convinced them that they were the Chosen ones) are close by. Also, interesting is that Gandhi spent some time in the area organizing his peaceful opposition to the way Indians were treated back in 1914. The town and surrounding area have done a great job at recognizing all of the different groups who have a shared history without seemingly alienating anyone. Absolutely fascinating.
Swaziland is more tourist-savvy than Lesotho, but internet access is still expensive and not too reliable. Our computer is good for typing stories up and then uploading when we get the chance. Which is what I will do over the next couple of days while we are in Malkerna.
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