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The uKahlamba-Drakensberg National Park in KwaZulu-Natal
is very special in that it meets World Heritage Site criteria
in respect of both cultural and natural resources. AFRICA-O-AFRICA
TOURS will ensure that the magical world of Southern Drakensberg
is revealed to you.
The spectacular escarpment that forms the Drakensberg
harbours untouched mountain and wetland ecosystems with
many endemic and internationally recognised threatened
species of plants and animals and unique, high altitude
alpine vegetation. The summer months see the mountainside
transformed into a mass of colourful flowers. In the winter
iced falls sparkle under brilliant skies. Nowhere in the
Drakensberg is this abundant floral splendour more evident
than in the Southern Drakensberg, because the Sani Pass
makes rapid access to even alpine flora very easy.
Birdwatchers come here to see rare and uncommon cranes,
raptors like the Lammergeyer, and mountain grassland species
like the Drakensberg siskin and the orange-breasted rockjumper.
Some of the oldest rocks in the world are found here.
Over 150 rock art sites exist in the Southern Berg and
are considered to be of outstanding cultural value because
they represent the earliest specimens of rock art where
colour and dimension were introduced. The San paintings
represent a coherent tradition that embodies the beliefs
and cosmology of a people whose cultural traditions are
extinct in the region. They can be visited if accompanied
by a certified guide.
No visit to the Drakensberg would be complete without
a 4x4 vehicle trip up the famous Sani Pass. Originally
a narrow mountain path used by horses, this incredible
track was opened up to vehicles in the 1950’s. It
is the only road breaching the cliffs of the Drakensberg
escarpment and entering the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
Frequent stops are made to enjoy the scenery and treat
your senses to pristine wilderness deep in the mountains.
Smell cleansing sweet air, taste crystal clear water,
place your feet in invigorating streams and pools, hear
the call of a jackal and feast your eyes on a profusion
of wild flowers and indigenous forest in secluded valleys.
At 2873m above sea level you enter the resoundingly stark,
bleak land of the hardy “people of the blanket,”
a place that time might have forgotten. Lesotho is a country
a little larger than Belgium, that provides spectacular
scenery and offers you a chance to enjoy Africa’s
majestic beauty. Visit a small Basotho village and experience
the simplicity of the mountain people and their gentle
way of life.
Later sit back and enjoy lunch consisting of smoked trout,
locally caught, served with freshly baked bread and savour
over a drink in the highest pub in Africa at 2874 meters.
Another 15 kilometers into Lesotho takes you up to the
next pass, Black Mountain. From the top of which a short
hike will take you to a superb viewpoint where you can
view Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest point south of Kilimanjaro
at 3482 meters.
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