Dragon’s Mountains or Battlement of Spears
24 November 2015
The Boers called it Drakensberg and the Zulus called it Quathlamba (Battlement of Spears) – we prefer the latter and they got there first.
We had three nights at a B&B, Cathkin Cottages in the Champagne Valley with its magnificent peaks of Champagne Castle, Monk’s Cowl and Cathkin Peak … er, that’s the mountains not the B&B. The location was good and its proximity to the Drakensberg Sun Resort meant we did not have very far to walk for our dinners – great buffet and enormous bar meals.
We had outstanding views, a great hike to some Rock Art – no, not Peter Blake and 1970s album covers, but art created by the Bushmen or San people – and a 12km hike to Blindman’s Corner rising about 700 metres to the foot of the escarpment. Magnificent.
We hired Sibusiso (082 216 9974) to guide us to the rock art (a three hours round trip at a dawdle) and although we only saw one panel under an overhang, it was around 800 years old. Sibusiso is not only a rock art guide (you cannot go without a guide) but also a herbalist and environmentalist so he showed us many plants and their different uses in treating ailments. Despite this, we are sticking with stuff in tubes, packets and bottles.
The best way to “do” Drakensberg is to pick one of the three main valleys and explore it without trying to see them all, otherwise you spend all the time driving … unless you have a few weeks. For ultra-hikers you can take a tent and your own food and stay up several nights, even booking a cave to sleep in: there are 28 caves sleeping from five to twelve people. Rock on.
Anyways – it is simply jaw-droppingly awesome.