Mountain Majesty - Drakensburg Mountains, South Africa
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Tue 17 Jul 2012 13:41
| 29:03.25S 29:25.20E July 7, 2012 - July 11, 2012 Mountain majesty served up with a little tennis. Yes, that's a fitting way to describe the four days we spent in the Drakensburg Mountains. But first things first - after St. Lucia, we spent a few days back on Harmonie while Sue, John, Ray and Helen enjoyed life in an exclusive private game reserve. Seeing 'the big five' (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant) is the thing all tourists strive for when visiting game parks in Africa. We did well except for the elusive lion and leopard. However, had we gone to Phinda, the private game reserve our four traveling companions visited, we might have had a close encounter with a lioness while peeing behind a bush after morning tea served on safari (geez, and I thought nearly getting caught by a park official while peeing behind a bush in the botanical gardens of Mauritius was exciting!). It was Sue who had that particularly invigorating experience. Phinda did sound fantastic - a veritable National Geographic come to life. Ray and Helen dropped Sue and John off at Harmonie on their way through to Durban, where they picked up a flight to Cape Town to finish off their African adventure. We hope to see Ray and Helen some time in the not too distant future, whether it be on our side of the world or theirs. After a quick good-bye, John, Sue, Don and I set off on the five hour drive southwest to the Drakensberg Mountains. Once there, we stayed two days in the 'central' area, and two days further along the range to the north. When seen from a distance, the Drakensberg Mountains rear up as if from nowhere, and end in a line of jagged peaks. In Afrikaans, Drakensberg means 'dragon mountains'. In Zulu, the name is Quathlamba, which means 'battlement of spears'. Either name works, but each only tells half the story. The impressive wall of spiky peaks is indeed the thing that draws the tourists, but the miles and miles of open savannah grass stretching over graceful rolling hills leading up to the mountains is the other half of the story. This is the place where the northern slanting afternoon sun shines through the yellow grass making the entire vista sparkle. It's magical, but without the mountain backdrop, it wouldn't be the same. Like they always say, the whole is always greater than the sum its parts. So...that's the majesty, but where's the tennis? A strange thing happened on our first full day in the mountains. It rained. The mist rolled in, and it was generally miserable outside (and to think we paid extra for our deluxe mountain-view rooms!). Being the eternally sunny foursome that we are, we decided not to let one day of bad weather get in the way of a good time. So we spent half the day in the hotel's 'formal lounge' next to a cozy fire (with a chimney that didn't seem to draw properly, but never mind), and within the hotel's wifi signal range. Who needs a mountain view when you've got the internet? We spent the second half of the day holed up in one of our adjoining rooms, doing our best couch potato impressions as we watched the Wimbledon men's finals from start to finish. Because we are retired people, you may think we do this kind of thing all the time, but truly, it isn't so! Wiling the morning away in front of the fire in the Champagne Castle Hotel's 'formal lounge'. Mist covered mountains (these are just the foothills, the real mountains are hidden). We did drag ourselves away from the fire and the tennis long enough to take a short walk through the blue gum tree forest. Ahhhh….now that's what I'm talking about! Mountain majesty. This lovely photo was taken on day 3 at sunrise (the alarm was set the night before for this purpose alone…very commendable). This was the view from our second, and most marvelous, Drakensberg accommodation: the Montusi Mountain Lodge. Each couple or family had their own thatch roof luxury version of a rondavel (there were only about 15 in total), complete with sitting room equipped with gas fireplace, small kitchen (not that it was needed, the lodge has a superb chef and like most South African rural accommodation, most meals are included), under floor heating, and mountainous bed. A perfect way to end our South African travels. Tea at the top. Sue, Don and I hiked to the top of Montusi Mountain with Zulu guides David and Robert, as well as some of the other guests. Nice view. Don and guide David. When he pointed out where guide Robert's two homes were located, Don asked Robert if he keeps two homes in order to house two wives. This brought a big guffaw from Robert. "No! I have only one wife! One wife is enough!" he exclaimed. To the delight of the group, David went on to explain the intricacies and unique challenges associated with having more than one wife (based on his observations of other Zulu families - not based on his own experiences). For example, he said, "If I am a Zulu man with two wives, and I get up early one morning and cook breakfast for one of my sons, my other wife will get up and say to me, "Why you cook breakfast for this son? Why not cook breakfast for my son?", and she will get angry with me." Explaining further, he went on, "Besides, it's too expensive to have more than one wife. When a man marries, he must pay a bride price to the family, and also buy clothes, head to foot, for the entire bride's family to wear to the wedding. And the wedding is not just one day, it goes on and on and the man must pay for all of this. Your tradition is better with only one day for the wedding - not so expensive." One of the other guests (a man) wryly added, "Yes, but you end up paying for the divorce!" The topic then moved on to funerals. "Also expensive!", David said, "If my father dies, I have to slaughter a cow for the funeral. I do not have a cow, so I will have to buy one. Very expensive!" Trying his best to be helpful, Don suggested David keep his father in good health. On top of Montusi Mountain, looking down at the Montusi Mountain Lodge (near the pond in the center of the photo), with the Drakensberg range in the distance. The dark stripe in the upper middle of the photo is a swath of land burned purposely to act as a fire break. Winter is a very dry season in the mountains, and fire a very real threat. Each winter, large bits of land are burned, causing a pall of yellowish smoke to constantly hang over the foothills (seen here obscuring the mountains). We were advised by the lodge owners to come back in the autumn (April/May), when the savannah grass is still green, and the view is crystal clear before the fires are lit. Hmmmm…..now there's a thought. Next up: Season Five Ends Anne |