Last weekend I had the opportunity to go on an overnight backpacking trip in the Drakensberg Mountains with about 10 other students from our group of 53. I'm never one to turn down an invitation to a camping trip, so as soon as I heard that we were organizing some kind of trip in the Drakensbergs, my mind was set. The plan was to drive about 2 hours toward the Lesotho-South Africa border, and overnight in a part of the Giants Castle Nature Reserve called Wonder Valley. I must say, this was one of the best weekends I've had in South Africa.
Our preparations for the trip, after we had settled on a location, began on Friday night as we gathered together 11 sleeping bags and all of the necessary backpacking equipment we would need for our relatively short 6 km hike. Rudi, the general manager here at African Enterprise and avid backpacker, volunteered to hook us up with hot dogs, snacks and way more food than we would ever need for a one night trip. I went with him to Mdeni Meats, a butchery in downtown PMB to pick out some hot dogs. I found out that hot dogs don't exist in South Africa, but "viennas" do. The viennas Rudi picked out for us slightly resembled the American version, but definitely weren't the classic Ballpark Franks. I was a little unsettled by the fact that they were BRIGHT red yet supposedly pre-cooked. My mind was already thinking up plan B for dinner, as I didn't expect the "viennas" to be received so well by everyone. I made sure that we packed an extra supply of peanut butter and granola just in case.
We loaded the van with Reagan, one of our group leaders, and were on our way toward the Drakensbergs at around 9 am on Saturday morning. Somehow, I let my mind wander, and let myself believe that the trip would be smooth and delay-free. I forgot T.I.A. About 45 minutes into our drive we approached the small town of Mooi River. Still on the M3 highway, about 100 meters in front of us, I saw a huge crowd of people gathering in the middle of the road. Traffic became super congested, until we came to a complete standstill behind a mass of police cars. This would turn out to be my first toyi-toyi - a protest, dance, march and song all in one. People of all ages gathered together in the street, blending a dance and march together with political chants in Zulu that none of us could understand. Banners supporting the African National Congress political party and cardboard signs in Zulu popped up all over the crowd of about 100. Apparently, the people of Mooi River were protesting the use of government funds in the region, which manifested in the form of a toyi-toyi. I think everyone in our group of 11 was a little unsettled about the fact that we were only a few dozen meters behind an unhappy mass of South Africans. But Reagan assured us that this sort of thing is pretty common, and we had nothing to worry about. He explained how since the end of apartheid in 1994, the government has insured that every South African has the right to assemble a protest, even if it happens to be in the middle of a highway. I have to say, my adrenaline levels were high, and I couldn't stop snapping pictures and listening to chants as the crowd slowly made its way up the highway. If that wasn't a true South African cultural experience, I'm not sure what is. Luckily, Reagan happens to be an amazing bus driver, and found a detour for us after about 30 minutes of delay.
The remainder of our journey to the campsite lasted about 3 more hours, complete with backtracking, bad directions and bumpy dirt roads. We were all very ready to get on the trail wehn we finally parked the bus. We divvied up the food, viennas and all, and were on our way toward Wonder Valley. We would be staying overnight in a cave that overlooked the valley, so we only needed our sleeping bags as far as shelter went- no tent this time. Our hike began with a river crossing toward a valley that wrapped itself around the boundaries of the stream. The trail pointed us deeper into the valley, as we slowly gained elevation, hugging one of the sides of valley. An overcast marked most of the day, with limited raindrops, so we were blessed with comfortable weather for the duration of our hike. As we hiked along the side of the valley, we walked through thick green grasses with occasional flowering shrubs popping up here and there. We were gifted with canopy cover for parts of the trail, as we crossed one of the small creeks that fed into the river down below several times. The elevation gain got steeper and steeper, until we eventually emerged out of the wooded portion on top of the valley's edge. We reached a vast open area at the top of the valley early afternoon, and were met by stunning scenery. The sun burnt off most of the overcast, so we were able to see a huge section of the valley below, in the foreground of the majestic silhouettes of the Drakensbergs. The valley was more of canyon upstream from us, as the hillsides we climbed up were steep cliff sides a few kilometers up the river from us. The trail continued through the grassy open area on top of the valley for about a kilometer, until we eventually began to drop elevation into Wonder Valley, the valley adjacent to the one we began our hike in. The grassy area turned into canopy cover eventually, just as it did on the other side of the valley, and Wonder Valley came into full view as we reached our cave. We arrived just before sunset, so we decided it would be best to explore and snap photos tomorrow morning.
The cave made for a perfect campsite. It was located in a naturally hollowed out cliff side overlooking Wonder Valley, and was complete with flat areas carpeted with hay - perfect for sleeping bags. With some difficulty due to the damp overcast that day, we got a fire started and prepared the viennas for dinner. Fortunately the sun had set, and there wasn't enough light to see the color of the vienna - I don't think they would have been eaten had everyone seen the BRIGHT red color of the dogs. Color aside, I took my first bite of a South African vienna, and had to immediately repent for doubting the quality of the sausage. They were fantastic! Somewhere between a hot dog and a bratwurst, viennas are the perfect camping food. Placed in a soft chewy roll picked out by Rudi, I couldn't think of any better meal for the evening. We kept the fire going for a few hours, until we eventually crawled into bed, and gazed out into moonlit valley from our sleeping bags.
The next morning, we were woken up by Reagan who had a small fire going for breakfast. We had a couple viennas left over, so I made sure to include one of those in my breakfast of granola and peanut buttered toast. Now that the sun was up, we could see into Wonder Valley (which was appropriately named). The steep grassy sides of the valley transitioned into forest near the bottom, where the stream meandered through cascades and natural pools. We hiked a little ways further from our cave, until we saw a natural pool down at the bottom that looked perfect for swimming in. We eventually reached the pool, which looked like something a millionaire in Beverly Hills would put in his backyard. It was spectacular. A small waterfall poured into a crystal clear pool about chest deep, and was surrounded by an oasis of greenery and smooth rocks. I could have spent the whole day there. But since it was Sunday, we had to be on our way so that we wouldn't be back too late, as we all had service sites to go to on Monday morning. We cleaned up the cave, gathered up our belongings, and were on our way back to bus around 11. The hike back was just as amazing as it was on the way up. Each valley was saturated in natural beauty, and I simply couldn't get enough of the South African landscape. It was definitely a trip to remember, no matter how short or delayed it was. I knew as soon as I climbed back into the bus that I would be back someday to take in the magnificence of the Drakensbergs again.
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