A Sense of South Africa

Helene Cooper (Walks Worldwide Consultant) - May 2006

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to combine two Walks Worldwide trips in one holiday: The Drakensberg and the Cape Trail, with a safari thrown in for good measure....Go, go, go!!!!

I began in the best way possible - a walking safari on the edge of Kruger National Park. I can honestly say that this was one of the most moving experiences of my life. On foot you have a heightened sense of your surroundings, of excitement and inevitably, a tingle of fear. The feeling of being totally at one with the wild animals surrounding you, of tracking such magnificent creatures such as lion, rhino and elephant is something that will remain with me for the rest of my life. My guide was Alan McSmith. Below is an extract from his diaries:

"We arrived at our camp to find that buffalo had passed by the previous evening. An elephant bull had also wandered through minutes earlier. We picked up the spoor of a lioness shortly into our first walk and soon heard the characteristic growling sound made by feeding lion. We sat on our haunches as a male slowly drifted towards us. A lioness sensed our presence and started to back away. 'Let's leave them,' I whispered, 'It's important not to take more than we ought to.' At a nearby waterhole we found giraffe, zebra, impala, warthog and a herd of 10 kudu. A side-striped jackal was loitering nearby.

The lions (and jackal) serenaded us the entire night. The following morning we located two lionesses and cubs lying in a dry riverbed close to camp. As we were watching them two white rhino drifted past. Lion walked through camp that evening. On the way out of the reserve we saw a buffalo herd and caught a fleeting glimpse of a superb male leopard as he ghosted across the road. We had not seen another soul.

Times here offer very rewarding personal journeys of discovery. The early morning starts, the stillness of the bush at dusk, lying in a tent listening to roaring lion at close range are all very memorable. People are very touched by this exclusive solitude and wilderness. There is a time of the night, usually just before dawn, when the bush becomes totally quiet. The wind drops, and in doing so almost eerily commands the silence of every bird, animal and insect. Even the moon and stars hold their breath. It may not last for long, but it is an overwhelmingly powerful experience."

Onto the inspirational geological wonder that is the Drakensberg. Arriving at the Royal Natal National Park at night I had little idea of the view that would quite literally hit me the next gloriously bright, sunny morning. Phenomenal. The entire face of the Amphitheatre curved in front of me. In all my travels I had never seen anything like it - a sheer escarpment rising over 3,000m in places, radiating different shades as the early morning sun grew in strength. A spectacularly panoramic series of peaks, turrets, columns and needles. The Tugela Falls, the second highest falls in the world, tumbled over the lip towards the far end, the water winding its way through an eerily beautiful gorge which led past my thatch-covered rondavel - what a spot! Eight hours later I stood atop one of the 'Barrier of Spears', gasping after a surprisingly physical scramble up the final precipitous section. Surrounded by similar fantastic rock formations named after their namesake titles - Champagne Castle, the Rhino, Cathedral Peak, you could see far into Lesotho and the lowveld beyond. I could have spent weeks there, exploring these mind-blowing mountains, the grassy alpine plateaus, deep forested nature reserves and gorges. But I will never forget that first view. As the Drakensberg's jewel in the crown, the Amphitheatre offers a sheer dramatic spectacle, certainly living up to its name - a real showstopper.

Finally, I renewed my acquaintance with the fabulous city that is Cape Town. Strange to think that last time I was here Mandela was still imprisoned and yet now I was wandering freely around his former cell on Robben Island. Your average tourist attraction - no. A powerful and emotive reminder of what humankind is capable of, most definitely.

I was here to step out on the new Cape Trail. Devised as a logical geographical route from Table Mountain to the Cape of Good Hope this is set to become a future classic. On the well-known Cape Peninsula we did not pass a single person. What we did pass were east coast bays, west coast beaches, constant views along the spine of the entire route and an endless vista of crashing waves - in season, whales and dolphins follow the shoreline. The memorable horizon of the Hottentots Mountains reached out into the ocean, creating the image of the trail's subtitle - the Mountains in the Sea. On top of this, through my highly experienced safari guide and botanist, Steve, I discovered not only countless varieties of fynbos, the plant most typical of the Cape Floral Kingdom but the immense wealth of wildlife that existed here unbeknown to me - zebra, eland, antelope, ostrich, even a rare Klispringer. It made me realise just how much I had missed before.

After a detour to go kayaking amongst the jackass penguins at Boulders Beach I spent my last night in a cottage hideaway built into the cliff-face looking out to the ocean and the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve itself. Quite a finale.

I was fortunate to experience such variety in one trip - the wonder of wildlife, the splendour of the mountains and the very fitting climax at the southernmost point of Africa. Never been there? Then go there you must. Already been there? Then go back again and see it with different eyes! But take your time as South Africa, like its food, nature and scenery, is there to be savoured.

STOP PRESS! Our revised (and improved) Drakensberg itinerary allows for a full week in the Drakensberg, combined with safaris in Kruger National Park and walks in the Blyde River Canyon and Swaziland. Please see our website or call us for more details. Click here for the Cape Trail itinerary.