-M-'s trip to the Drakensberg - January 2007

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 02:15:46 AM

This will be the first of my "Memories Frozen In Time" topics, as I'm planning to post another later today. But for now I'm sharing our trip to the Drakensberg (13 - 16 January 2007), and the few photos that I did take. First some general background information:

QuoteThe Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Dragons Mountain") mountains are the highest in Southern Africa, rising up at Thabana Ntlenyana[/i] to 3,482 m (11,422 ft) in height. In isiZulu, they are referred to as uKhahlamba ("barrier of spears"), and in Sesotho as Maluti (also spelled Maloti ).

They are located in the eastern part of South Africa, running for some 1,000 km (600 mi) generally southwest to northeast, with a northwesterly bend forming the northeastern border of Lesotho with South Africa.

Source: Wikipedia: Drakensberg

We spent 5 days at Injasuthi and from there we hiked up the mountains (through valleys and over mountains) and slept in a cave for 2 days. The other 2 days we slept in tents at the Injesuthi campsite.

Here are the photos, in no particular order.

Views from the campsite

Our tent

Above: My boyfriend...

Above: Guess who?

A Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius) lodged in a boulder.

The Cave we slept in

A view from the cave

Marble Baths Rock Pools

The last day...

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I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed the trip, and I hope that the Drakensberg will be seeing you soon too.

For the original size photos, and a few more, -> click!

And before I go I wanted to share this beautiful little Anglican Church in the KwaZulu-Natal town of Estcourt. The quality is bad as I had to take it on the go, (i.e. my boyfriend didn't want to pull over. )

Thanks for sharing in the experience!

Regards,

Marius

Colyn · February 11, 2007, 02:22:26 AM

Houston ... there seems to be a problem with your Image host ? ... I see only crosses.

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 02:32:25 AM

I'll have to check up on that... let's hope you're the only one...

pipishere · February 11, 2007, 02:43:40 AM

High praise for sleeping in a tent & a cave

...i'm more used to Hotels lol! Stunning photo's -M-

BarbyW · February 11, 2007, 02:44:39 AM

I don't see the images either but has a look at the link and they are all vibile there.

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 02:47:08 AM

Thanks Pip! I'm actually used to "roughing it" having grown up here in South Africa and having gone hunting since a very young age.

Colyn & Barby, what browser are you using? I'm using Firefox, and Pip seems to be able to view them just fine...

BarbyW · February 11, 2007, 02:48:14 AM

I'm using IE7 but went to your album so have seen the pics.

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 02:51:09 AM

Thanks Barby!

I think it's because the images have a size 'tag' at the end, i.e. [photo1.jpg=max512]. I'm not entirely sure, I will however repost the images in due time.

Thanks for the feedback!

Colyn · February 11, 2007, 03:09:21 AM

It is not the image size tag ...

Colyn · February 11, 2007, 03:10:55 AM

I have tagged it now from my Browser where the image is actually showing ... could be Google dont like to feed images to SC4Devotion.

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 03:16:28 AM

Thanks for the feedback Colyn, I have now uploaded the images to Photobucket and linked them from there. There shouldn't be any problems anymore (I hope...).

Thanks!

praiodan · February 11, 2007, 03:28:34 AM

Wow... amazing landscape! I hope to be able to visit ZA one day, all these wonderful pictures makes it jump even higher on my list... Btw, in ZA you now have late summer, don't you? Gosh, parts of old europe bog down in snow

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 03:37:42 AM

Quote from: praiodan on February 11, 2007, 03:28:34 AM
Wow... amazing landscape! I hope to be able to visit ZA one day, all these wonderful pictures makes it jump even higher on my list... Btw, in ZA you now have late summer, don't you? Gosh, parts of old europe bog down in snow

You should definitely visit ZA!

I, in my personal and biased opinion, think it's one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

And yes, we do have late summer here now, and you'll see the effect on the landscape, especially up here on the plateau, when I post photos of my folks' / parents' place (where I currently am for the weekend).

And alas, we never have snow here in ZA, but thank God for that! I think the country wouldn't be able to handle snow, not with our road network and the way our houses, schools, businesses, etc. are designed. Everything is "open" and exposed to the elements. But that's the product of the weather which is mostly sunny (okay, it's scorching hot at times!) with heavy rains (mainly in the evenings) in summer (at least up here) and mild winters with cold evenings. But mainly sun, sun, sun!

dedgren · February 11, 2007, 07:42:42 AM

Beautiful area, Marius. Are the rocks sandstone? Some look sedimentary, but then there's that vertical strata.

Amateur geologists demand answers!

Thanks for posting these great pics.

David

Gaston · February 11, 2007, 07:50:20 AM

M,
Very kool stuff my friend. I honestly never really knew what South Africa looked like, I guess. I have seen some pictures but those were mainly of Cape Town. I never realized how green it was. For some reason I always thought of it as sorta brown and dusty. I was deffinately wrong about that.

I suppose it would be like someone thinking all of the United States was cornfields. ( I live in Iowa, the upper midwest, and it is A LOT of cornfields LOL) That area you travelled to looks like it has some very interesting topography. How far is it from where you live? And who are all the folks there in the pics with you? Did you go as part of a group/club/class-trip or is it just a bunch of friends? Thank you so much for sharing your trip and educating me about part of the world I obviously had some misconceptions about.

---Gaston

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 09:28:28 AM

Quote from: dedgren on February 11, 2007, 07:42:42 AM
Beautiful area, Marius. Are the rocks sandstone? Some look sedimentary, but then there's that vertical strata.

Amatuer geologists demand answers!

Thanks for posting these great pics.

David

Thank you David.

Now let me try and refresh my high school geography...

I believe the Drakensberg is largely made up of igneous rock (Basalt) and sedimentary rock (Limestone and Sandstone), and is the result of vulcanic activity fairly recent (in geological terms) approx. 120 million years ago (I'll have to check that out though and verify it).

The Marble that can be found there is metamorphic then, having its origin in the limestone. So the Drakensberg is really a geologists dream to study, as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for stopping by, and it's always a pleasure sharing my beautiful country!

PS. Please correct me if any of the above information may seem erroneous.

Quote from: Gaston on February 11, 2007, 07:50:20 AM
M,
Very kool stuff my friend. I honestly never really knew what South Africa looked like, I guess. I have seen some pictures but those were mainly of Cape Town. I never realized how green it was. For some reason I always thought of it as sorta brown and dusty. I was deffinately wrong about that. I suppose it would be like someone thinking all of the United States was cornfields. ( I live in Iowa, the upper midwest, and it is A LOT of cornfields LOL) That area you travelled to looks like it has some very interesting topography. How far is it from where you live? And who are all the folks there in the pics with you? Did you go as part of a group/club/class-trip or is it just a bunch of friends? Thank you so much for sharing your trip and educating me about part of the world I obviously had some misconceptions about.

---Gaston

Well, I like to think that South Africa is really green.

But saying that South Africa is green all-over would be an outright lie, as we have semi-desert, savannah, bushveld, subtropical forests, fynbos - all-in-all a huge variety of vegetation types. The summers are generally green, with the winters being pale (which is understandable) mainly due to the grass going yellow (the trees are mainly evergreen, well, most of them). The coastal areas are much greener though, and all year round it would seem. The Lowveld is also incredibly green.

The topography is rather interesting with some incredibly steep climbs, but worth it nonetheless. It is about 500 - 600 km south-east of Pretoria (sorry, I don't know the distance in miles...

). I went there with my boyfriend and a bunch of friends, it wasn't a "field-trip" or anything of that sort, and we weren't accompanied by a "tour-guide." So, yes, all the people up there are friends.

Gaston · February 11, 2007, 09:41:05 AM

M,
Thanks for answering my questions. I really appreciate it. Looked like a fun group of people to hang out with. Looks like ya'll had a great time.
One other question. What is a fynbos? That isn't a term I am familiar with.

---Gaston

M4346 · February 11, 2007, 09:52:11 AM

Quote from: Gaston on February 11, 2007, 09:41:05 AM
M,
Thanks for answering my questions. I really appreciate it. Looked like a fun group of people to hang out with. Looks like ya'll had a great time.
One other question. What is a fynbos? That isn't a term I am familiar with.

---Gaston

It's a pleasure!

I can also assure you that it was fun and that the people are great people to hang out with!

We did have a great time.

With regards to Fynbos, I should apologise first of all for being somewhat inconsiderate, or for not thinking twice before posting that.

It is actually an Afrikaans word meaning fine bush, and refers to (according to Wikipedia -> Click!) "the natural shrubland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate," and "the fine, needle-like leaves of many fynbos species. The majority of the plants are evergreen hard-leaf plants. Three of the characteristic fynbos plant families are proteas, ericas and restios."

I hope that answers your question, and feel free to ask if anything is still unclear!

- Marius

Gaston · February 11, 2007, 12:35:27 PM

Thanks M,
I learn more and more everytime I come here. It is like being a world traveller without getting my passport stamped.

Hope you had a great day there. I think it is late afternoon or early evening there. (about 1430 here)

---Gaston

Rayden · February 12, 2007, 12:57:45 PM

Nice scenery Marius. The landscape it's a bit similar to the one I could find somewhere in the eastern part of Angola (Malange).
It brought me very good memories from my childhood there. The picnics on the National Park every Sunday, pedestrian walks through the savana looking for wild life, etc. I wish I could have some photos from there, but I was a child. But I believe my parents still have some of them somewhere. I'll see if I can find them one of these days.