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Drakensbergen - KwaZulu Natal and Free State Province:
UKhahlamba-Drakensbergen Park, a spectacular mountain range proclaiming
243000 ha and declared World Heritage Site (WHS) by the United Nations.
In the north Harrismith, in the west Clarens and the
Golden Gate National Park and Underberg in the south. These mountains
are the highest south of the Kilomanjaro and reach over 3000 meter.
In addition to recognising the unique natural beauty
of the Berg, the WHS title also focuses world attention on the park's rich
collection of raock art, the last visible signs of the San People.Within the
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park are some 600 rock art sites, collectively
representing over 35000 individual images. The oldest painting on a rock
shelter wall in the park is about 2400 years old, while more recent
creations date back to the late nineteenth century.
Main attractions in the area are the Golden Gate National Park, Royal Natal Nationaal Park, Cathedral Peak
State Forest (Mlambonja),
Monk's Cowl State Forest (Mdedelelo), the Giant's Castle Nature Reserve and Sani Pas,
one of the highest mountain pass in the world (only with 4x4 vehicles).
The “top” of the Amphitheatre is a flat plateau,
a remnant of the old Gondwanaland surface. In 1836 it inspired the French
missionaries Arbousset and Daumas to call its highest point the Mont-aux-Sources-
mountain of sources. Five rivers originate here, including South Africa’s
longest river, the Orange. Most famous is probably the Tugela River, of great
ecological and historic importance. A short distance from its source on the
plateau, the Tugela plunges over the edge of the Amphitheatre in 5 clear leaps,
over a total height of 850 meters, making it the second highest waterfall in the
world. This river (only a trickle in winter)
has created a magnificent Gorge, with numerous spiraling rock formations, caves,
shaded forests and tunnels. For hundreds of years this wild and fertile area was
home to the San (Bushmen) and their many rock paintings are testimony to their
unobtrusive presence. The Amphitheatre is not only one of the most spectacular
landmarks in Southern Africa, it is also relatively accessible from both below
(the Gorge) and above ( the Plateau)
Imagine yourself standing on the plateau, right next to where te Tugela plunges
into the depths below, with views of KwaZulu-Natal as far as the eye can reach…A
memory for a lifetime and…you don’t have to be super fit to experience it! |
