Category Archives: uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

Our experiences in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, South Africa

Mountain folk

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There’s so much more animal life occurring in the mountainous habitats of the Royal Natal National Park than the butterflies we’ve already shown you, many of them wonderfully adapted to the harsh environmental extremes at these altitudes.

African Firefinch
African Hoopoe
Female Baboon in oestrus
Marbled Fruit Chafer
Bushbuck lamb
Bushbuck ewe
Cape Robin Chat
Cape Wagtail
Common River Frog
Common River Frog
Familiar Chat
Fiscal Flycatcher
Freshwater Crab
Golden Orb-web Spider female with prey
Golden Orb-web Spider – male top left, female bottom right
Groundscraper Thrush
Guttural Toad
Bushbuck ewe
Guineafowl chick (photo by Joubert)
Helmeted Guineafowl (photo by Joubert)
Guineafowl chick (photo by Joubert)
Lazy Cisticola
Mountain Malachite Damselfly
Olive Pigeon
Olive Thrush
Olive Woodpecker
Red-winged Starlings
Swamp Bluet
Mating Swamp Bluets
Variable Skink
This African Wood Owl woke Marilize and me up for some bird-watching at 3am!

 

 

Feeling small in the Drakensberg

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“This mountain, the arched back of the earth risen before us, it made me feel humble, like a beggar, just lucky to be here at all, even briefly.” (Bridget Asher)

Do the mountains have the same profound impact on you as it does for us?

“These mountains, which have seen untold sunrises, long to thunder praise but stand reverent, silent so that man’s weak praise should be given God’s attention.” (Donald Miller)

 

The trout dam at Mahai, with Dooley Mountain and the Drakensberg’s Amphitheatre forming the backdrop
At the Queen’s Causeway on the trail to the Cascades
At the Queen’s Causeway on the trail to the Cascades
At the Queen’s Causeway on the trail to the Cascades
At sunrise, looking back from the Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Cascades on the Mahai River
The Mahai Stream from the Visitor Centre, with Dooley Mountain and Tiger Falls in the background
A tranquil stretch on the Mahai stream
The view from Thendele towards the Amphitheatre and Tugela River on an overcast morning
Dooley Mountain, with Tiger Falls barely visible in the kloof
Looking up at Dooley Mountain rising above Mahai
Above the Mahai Valley, looking past Dooley Mountain towards the Amphitheatre

A bouquet from the ‘Berg

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The mountainous grasslands and forested riverbanks around Mahai in the Royal Natal National Park are adorned by the most beautiful, though hardy, plants – a treat to even the most amateurish of botanists like me; so if you can help with identifying most of these beauties I’d be forever in your debt (I know at least that mushrooms aren’t plants, strictly speaking…)

Everlasting (Helichrysum-species)
Helichrysum-species
Everlasting (Helichrysum-species)
Everlasting (Helichrysum-species)
Highveld Cabbage Tree in flower
Mushroom at the Cascades
Mushroom at the Cascades
River Lily
River Lily
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Wild Flowers of Royal Natal
Female cones of the Real Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius)
Real Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius)

 

The hills are alive… with butterflies!

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I know this is a post that will be very pleasing to several of our regular followers!

With bright sunshine and warm autumn weather in the Drakensberg the butterflies come out to play in their numbers, and we go chasing them with camera in hand. These little beauties were all fluttering around Mahai in the Royal Natal National Park on Monday.

African Monarch
Common Blue (Leptotes sp)
Forest Beauty
Gaudy Commodore (dry season form)
Green-banded Swallowtail
Green-banded Swallowtail
Marsh Commodore
Rainforest Brown
Yellow Pansy

Picturesque Camping at Mahai

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Mahai is the larger of the two camping areas at Royal Natal National Park, and there aren’t very many camping sites that can compete with it for scenic beauty!

Camping at Mahai in the Royal Natal National Park
Camping at Mahai in the Royal Natal National Park, March 2020

Isolation, the way we like it…

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With South Africa preparing for a nationwide “lock-down” of a minimum three week duration in the face of the global pandemic, we’ve returned from the Drakensberg grateful for having had a chance to recharge our batteries in beautiful natural surroundings. We’ll be sharing many more photos from our latest trip in days to come and hope that they’ll bring you as much joy as the memories will for us in these trying times.

God bless you and keep you.

Fresh air and fresh water at Royal Natal

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With a massive storm looming over the Drakensberg this evening we can look back on another fun-filled day in the great outdoors at Royal Natal.

Reflections at Mahai

The Cascades in the Mahai stream

We fled to the Mountains

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Well, not really – our bookings were made long before the current health crisis and we opted not to cancel, figuring that it is nice to know that for a while at least we can breathe the fresh mountain air of the Royal Natal National Park again. So here we are.

Our 2019 in pictures

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Looking back at all the places we stayed in while exploring South Africa’s wild places in 2019!

Cottage 27, Glen Reenen Rest Camp, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, March 2019
Thendele Cottage #12, Royal Natal National Park, March 2019
Giant’s Castle, Unit 7, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, March 2019
Thutong Environmental Education Centre, Marakele NP, April 2019
Pretoriuskop Bungalow 116, May 2019
Hut # 2 at Skukuza’s Nwaswitshaka Research Camp
Camping at Shingwedzi, Kruger National Park, June 2019
Giant’s Castle, Unit 26, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, June 2019
Camping at Crocodile Bridge, Kruger National Park, September 2019
Tamboti Tented Camp, Tent # 6, December 2019
Camping at Satara, Kruger National Park, December 2019-January 2020

Winter Highland Holidays – Giant’s Castle

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Just two days after we returned from Shingwedzi in the Kruger National Park (which we’ll be telling you all about soon, promise!), we headed back to Giant’s Castle in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park to pick up where we left off when we had to cut our trip in March short due to illness.

Part of the planning for our original trip was to spend a day visiting the crafters and speciality shops in the KZN Midlands between Mooi River and Howick along the R103-road, particularly to stock up on a variety of cheeses and other delights to enjoy in the evenings in front of the fireplace. With check-in at Giants Castle being only from 14:00 onwards, we decided for this return visit to then get the “shopping” out of the way first before heading to the reserve. An early (04:00am) start out of Pretoria allowed us to visit all the nice stalls and shops we wanted to, discover a few new ones and do some birdwatching along the Lower Loteni and Kamberg roads on the way before arriving at Giant’s Castle just after 16:00 in the evening (dusk comes really early in the ‘Berg in winter!).

Blue Cranes on the Lower Loteni Road
Secretary Bird on the Kamberg Road
Oribi grazing next to the Kamberg Road
A juvenile Bearded Vulture
A juvenile Bearded Vulture
Black-headed Heron on the Kamberg Road
Giant’s Castle entrance
This Jackal Buzzard (photographed by Marilize) was our first sighting just in at the gate at Giant’s Castle

We were allocated Chalet 26 for our 4 night stay, a 2-bedroom unit which is very privately situated and offers a spectacular view of the slumbering Giant that looms over the reserve named after it below.

Giant’s Castle, Unit 26, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, June 2019
The view from Chalet 26
A close-up view of the sleeping Giant

In a scenically grand environment like you’ll find at Giant’s Castle there’s beautiful landscapes all around, making hiking an absolute joy and the reason why we spent so much time on the different trails (thankfully we had really good weather during our visit)

Heavy clouds descending on the Drakensberg
Scenic vistas along the Bushmans River
The road leading to the REst Camp at Giant’s Castle
Beautiful spots along the Bushmans River
This Crassula is hanging on for dear life on a sheer rockface
Beautiful mountain blooms
Beautiful spots along the Bushmans River
The Main Caves in which you’ll find a fascinating museum dedicated to the San, or Bushman, people
Giant’s Castle scenery
Giant’s Castle scenery
Beautiful spots along the Bushmans River
Deep pool in the Bushmans River
Beautiful spots along the Bushmans River
Giant’s Castle scenery
Scenic vistas along the Bushmans River
Scenic vistas along the Bushmans River
Scenic vistas along the Bushmans River
Scenic vistas along the Bushmans River
This huge boulder looks like it might have been the shell of a prehistoric tortoise!
Beautiful mountain blooms
Sunlight flushing the dark from the valley below Giant’s Castle
Giant’s Castle scenery
Giant’s Castle scenery
Giant’s Castle scenery (photo by Joubert)
Beautiful mountain blooms (photo by Joubert)
Beautiful spots along the Bushmans River (photo by Joubert)
View of the Drakensberg from the Bergview Trail
View of the Drakensberg from the track to the Vulture Hide
View from the track to the Vulture Hide

Of course, being one of South Africa’s oldest protected environments there’s no shortage of wildlife to be found at Giant’s Castle, even if it can often be easily overlooked in the grand environs they inhabit!

Baboons are probably the most easily seen mammal in Giant’s Castle, as they move through the Rest Camp daily
Baboons are probably the most easily seen mammal in Giant’s Castle, as they move through the Rest Camp daily
Baboons are probably the most easily seen mammal in Giant’s Castle, as they move through the Rest Camp daily
A pair of mating baboons high in the mountains
Baboons are probably the most easily seen mammal in Giant’s Castle, as they move through the Rest Camp daily
Geranium Bronze butterfly
Dassie, or Rock Hyrax
Eland were the main reason the Giant’s Castle reserve was proclaimed
Eland on the run along the Bushmans River
At night, Eland often shelter in the camp
Eland were the main reason the Giant’s Castle reserve was proclaimed
Eland were the main reason the Giant’s Castle reserve was proclaimed
Eland were the main reason the Giant’s Castle reserve was proclaimed
Gaudy Commodore (dry season form)
Grey Duiker
Marsh Mountain Blue
Mountain Reedbuck ewe
Red-sided Skink
Little Scarlet Dragonfly
Speckled Rock Skink
Common Hottentot Skipper (female)
Trapdoor Spider on the move
Foam Grasshopper nymph (species unknown)
Yellow Pansy

Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas, and while they’re not indigenous these beautiful animals look very much at home in their highland abode.

Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas
Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas
Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas
Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas
Baboons invading the paddock at Giant’s Castle
Horses and ponies are an invaluable tool to rangers in mountainous areas

The Drakensberg may not boast the richest variety of birdlife in South Africa, especially in winter, but we still had a great time bird-watching while out and about, and often the birds came to visit us while we were relaxing at the chalet.

African Stonechat
Southern Bald Ibis
Cape Crow
Black-headed Heron
Bokmakierie
Buffy Pipit
Cape Batis
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Rock Thrush (male)
Cape Rock Thrush (female)
Cape Turtle Dove
Cape Wagtail
Cape White-eye
Chorister Robin-Chat
Dark-capped Bulbuls
Drakensberg Prinia
Familiar Chat
Forest Canary
Fork-tailed Drongo
Male Greater Double-Collared Sunbird
Ground Woodpeckers
Gurney’s Sugarbird
Gurney’s Sugarbird
Levaillant’s Cisticola
Olive Thrush
Olive Woodpecker
Red-eyed Dove
Red-winged Starling (male)
Southern Boubou
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Tawny-flanked Prinia
White-necked Raven
Yellow Bishop (non-breeding plumage)

We had a wonderful time at Giant’s Castle, and are incredibly grateful that we could return so soon. Along the most direct route, Giant’s Castle lies about 500km from our home in Pretoria, but with our four days in the mountains flying past unbelievably quickly we decided to prolong our return journey by taking a more scenic road over Oliviershoek Pass and through Golden Gate Highlands National Park (where our Autumn Highlands Holidays kicked off in March 2019).