Our first stop after landing back in South Africa was a trip to the Northern Drakensberg. Neither of us had been in years, so we were very excited.
We stayed at the truly wonderful Montusi Mountain Lodge. This view from our room made us very happy.This gorgeous chameleon lived in the bush outside our room, and we enjoyed seeing where he was each day.There are some lovely shortish hikes right on the property. This was a cave alongside a river.And this was a much larger cave higher up on the mountain above the lodge.It had some old bushman paintings which is always a treat to see.Next morning I did the Tugela Falls hike. It took some logistics (driving and a shuttle), but the views even from the start were stunning.Some baboons that I cam across way up on the mountain. They were much more skittish than the ones in the Cape.Pretty soon I popped out over a ridge and had this incredible panoramic view of The Amphitheatre. One of the reasons that this hike is famous is this chain ladders section. Hard to photograph properly, there are two tall secions of chain ladders to climb.After jogging across the mountain top I came to this amazing panorama. On the left the top of the Tugela Falls. These are the second tallest in the world (but counting several sections).A view back to the falls as I was hiking up and away.The next morning we drove into the park at the bottom of The Amphitheatre. While waiting at the gate Jules was delighted to do some shopping.At the very start of the hike. The day before I'd been right at the top on the right. And we'd be hiking right into the base of those mountains.We hiked through SO many proteas. Jules was in heaven and took hundreds of photos of them.Eventually we reached the gorge. Here the river has carved through the rocky layer and it's really pretty.We were able to make our way right up into the tunnels which was a real adventure.Exploring the gorge.We found ourselves alone and had a lovely, fresh, swim in the gorge. We could see up to the falls where I had been hiking the day before.The view back as we hiked out that afternoon.Driving out we saw this charming scene.Another day, another hike. This time I hiked up to another set of falls. Again the views were magical.This hike included another chain ladder section.I particularly liked the rolling fields once I topped out over the first layer of rock.Approaching Gudu Falls.Add caption here...
