What can you experience in the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa? Here you will find my best outdoor tips from zipline adventures and hikes to helicopter flights.
Helicopter flight to the “Barrier of Spears”
Brett Tungay looks like the stereotypical image of a helicopter pilot: a smart guy with sunglasses, a tan and a big grin. But when you look at his feet, this image is somewhat diluted. His safety shoes? Flip-flops. "No problem," he brushes aside our concerns. Admittedly, flying a helicopter is more hand work than foot work. Two large joysticks in the cockpit are the best proof of this.
This is where our first outdoor adventure in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa begins: Shortly after take-off, we can no longer think clearly, but can only marvel.
Through the helicopter's large panoramic window we have an almost 360-degree view of the jagged rock formations of the Drakensberg.
Brett tells us that they got their name when the first settlers came to the area and clouds that looked like dragons formed over the mountains.
In Zulu, the striking mountains, which are up to 3,000 meters high, are called uKhahlamba (“barrier of spears”) . They are the most powerful elevation in South Africa and their unique beauty, plant diversity and, above all, the more than 35,000 rock paintings have made the region in the province of KwaZulu-Natal a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, we landed by helicopter on a high plateau at almost 2,200 m. The flight was fantastic. We flew very close to rocks, through narrow valleys and gorges.
The flight was like a 3D cinema.
Brett Tungay does not just do this job for fun. He also flies scientists into the mountains to protect the eggs of endangered griffon and bearded vultures or to cut off the horns of rhinos to protect them from poachers.
Click on the first picture to start the photo gallery:
hike to the "Bushman Cave"
We had seen some of these paintings by the San, also known as Bushmen, early in the morning on our walk to the “Bushman Cave”. The San are considered to be the oldest descendants of the so-called Homo sapiens. They lived in southern Africa thousands of years ago. Before sunrise we climbed a hill directly from our lodge. The landscape was bathed in an unreal light:
We walked through the grass, which was already illuminated yellow by the sun, while the steep walls of the mountains, still in the shadow, shimmered blue.
We continued past a lake up to the cave. After the heat of the rising sun, it was pleasantly cool here. No wonder that this place has been an important place for the San for thousands of years. We discovered drawings of antelopes on the rock walls. But for us it was time to go back out into the sun and up the mountain. Our first adventure of the day was climbing the 1,600-meter-high Montusi.
Adrenaline Rush Zipline
Steep rock faces, waterfalls, river valleys, ancient forests, narrow gorges and high mountains are the perfect outdoor playground for adrenaline junkies:
Here you can hike, ride, climb or “slide” through the treetops on a canopy tour.
And just like our helicopter flight, the canopy tour is also about "taking off". After we have been equipped with a climbing harness and helmet, we go over wooden walkways into the treetops.
We are close to the highest branches of the ancient native trees that grow here: Cape ash, Cape chestnut and yellowwood trees that are almost 50 meters high. We find the height pleasant among the leaves. But things look different when we get to the first zip line.
The highest zipline leads 115 meters into the depths.
Our first guide Garreth slides over to meet us on the other side. Thomas, our second guide, expertly hooks us into the wire ropes and repeats the safety instructions he gave us at the beginning of the tour: put both hands under the carabiner and don't touch the wire rope. We all swallow hard and then slide off one after the other. At the beginning the cable car speeds up and the treetops and further up the mountain peaks whiz past us. But towards the end it slows down and we land wonderfully gently on the next platform, where Garreth welcomes us.
Info:
General information at
Arrival:
The Drakensberg is best reached via Durban Airport. Flights with a change in Johannesburg are available from €900, e.g. with Lufthansa, www.lufthansa.de .
Rental car for a week from 110€ e.g. at www.billiger-mietwagen.de .
Sleep:
The Montusi Mountain Lodge is located in the middle of the Drakensberg. The chalets have a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains. Hikes can be undertaken directly from the lodge.
from 220 €
Located on a dam in the Champagne Valley, Dragon Peaks Mountain Resort offers a wide range of accommodation from tents to apartments for twelve people.
from 40 €
Make:
Canopy Tours now has seven locations in South Africa.
40 € adults, 35 € children
Bergflying offers various packages for helicopter flights over the Drakensberg.
from 85 €