After collecting my clients from Durban I found out that they were comrades runners and were novices. The Comrades in an Ultra Marathon of 89 Km in distance and no mean feat!
I covered most of the Usual history of Durban, KwaZulu Natal and South Africa as well as the interesting things we saw along the way up to the Northern Drakensberg.
After just over 3 hours of driving we reached our destination Royal Natal National Park (a requested name change by the queen Victoria).
We started with the hour round trip Hike which is now a guided tour due to foolish children vandalising the rock art over the years. This protected area contains painting which are 800 years old which are young compared to the Bushmans history which dates back as far as 30 000 years! The San or Bushmen are the oldest know population of people who have ever lived and in this part of South Africa are extinct due to intolerance by the Zulus, British and Boers in the 1800’s.
The hike was short and steep but more than worth it. This is a special Durban Day Safari Tour to the drakensberg which I do not advertise.
Northern Drakensberg view from the Bushman paintings on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
Northern Drakensberg view from the Bushman paintings on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
At the bottom of the picture next to the road you can see the company car a mere ant compared to the surrounding mountains. The bushman painting hike is very steep and from the bottom to the top about 500 meters above the base level.
Bushman Paintings of Eland and a Cobra on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
Bushman Paintings of Eland and a Cobra on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
The above painting made of white and red Ocre stone mixed with Blood, Egg, urine, animal fat and painted with natural products like feathers, fingers and twigs or 800 years old and still visible under this rock over hang. The sand stone in the mountains acted as a sponge absorbing the paint so that even a bit of weathering would not cause it to be lost 800 years later. The San – Bushman are my favorite people and the Zulus soon after! Living off the land they carved a life for themselves in Africa and were the first to start Iron/metal making. Durban Day Safari to the Drakensberg with Tim Brown Tours.
Proof of the Drakensberg being an inland sea on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
Proof of the Drakensberg being an inland sea on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
The above images is a picture of fossils of sea urchins/shells in the rock next to the San Rock art which proves that even the mighty Drakensberg which reaches heights above 3000 meters above sea level was once an inland sea!
Our Durban Day Safari Tour had only just begun as we now started a 3 hour hike from Mahai parking lot via Tiger Falls, Look Out Rock, Gudu Falls and Forest and returning to Mahai.
I could tell that these runners we a lot fitter than myself especially after the issues I have been having with my back, however I managed to keep up with the pace and drank 3 bottles of fresh mountain water at Tiger Falls.
The views were amazing and from the bottom this is what we saw.
View up to Tiger Falls from Royal natal National Park on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
View up to Tiger Falls from Royal natal National Park on our Durban Day Safari Tour to the Drakensberg mountains 29 May 2014
The above image is a part of the route we walked we covered the grassed plains below to reach the forest in the “V” of trees and moved from left to right and back down through the grasslands. All in all about 6 km of tough hiking.
A great Day Tour from Durban to the Drakensberg mountains.
We stopped for lunch at Hlalanathi – Elements restaurant where a warm meal was welcome and we then has a final look at the mountain before heading back to Durban City. We returned very tired but happy with how the Drakensberg Day Tour from Durban had gone.
