MZANZI ISSUE 16

Discover
Fauna, flora and San rock
art
The Drakensberg has been blessed with an astounding variety
of fauna and flora, much of it unspoilt in the higher regions
because of the inaccessibility there. The lower slopes support
much wildlife, perhaps most importantly the rare southern white
rhinoceros - which was saved here from extinction - and the
black wildebeest.
The cliff sides and caves around the mountains are also home
to some of the most famous and well-preserved San (bushman)
rock paintings. The Drakensberg along the KwaZulu-Natal border
with Lesotho has between 35,000 and 40,000 works of San rock
art and is said to be the largest such collection in the world.
Around 20,000 individual rock paintings have been recorded
at 500 different caves and cliff sites between the Drakensberg
Royal Natal National Park and Bushman’s Nek alone.
Nevertheless, my exciting trip to the Drakensberg started when
my flight from O.R. Tambo International touched down in Durban,
from where a very memorable, scenic albeit long and winding
bus journey brought us to the Alpine Heath Resort. Being in the
evening already, we were welcomed with a friendly smile, some
refreshments and the keys to our rooms. I was delighted to find
that I had been given a luxurious double room en-suite with two
twin room beds.
Alpine Heath Resort
The aha Alpine Heath Resort & Conference Centre – its full
name – is tucked away in the foothills of the Drakensberg and
is an award-winning four-star, self-catering mountain village - the
perfect getaway destination. It’s also ideally situated midway
between Durban and Johannesburg. The resort gives families and
nature-lovers the opportunity to explore their surroundings with
luxury Drakensberg accommodation as a home base, whether
it’s for a day, a weekend or even longer.
All of its newly refurbished 100 Deluxe Chalets are self-catering,
superbly equipped and offer breath-taking views of the majestic
mountains. Each chalet has private braai facilities, a comfortable
lounge, kitchen dining area, a fireplace and patio, plus the
convenience of a telephone, satellite TV, good cellular reception,
and a hairdryer (important if you are a woman!).
But it was only in the morning that the full impact of the
place hit me, when I woke up to a view that looked like an
exquisitely painted canvas. I could not wait to start exploring
the resort. On my way to the reception area I got distracted
by different pathways – exploring each, and simply losing
myself, speechless, to the variety of views that opened up
in front of me. Just yesterday I was stuck in suffocating city
traffic, and here I now found myself in paradise!
I was so at peace with myself and these beautiful surroundings
that I decided even my breakfast could wait. Finally hunger
won, however, and I walked over to the restaurant, passing
the pool area, a mini gym, mini golf (putt-putt) course and
tennis courts. I also came upon a beautiful peacock that
was walking through the main building as if he owned it, not
perturbed by the gawking guests at all. And when he had
everyone’s attention, he spread his feathers to show off the
full glory of his beauty. Finally, arriving at the restaurant an
added bonus for me was when I was told that it was halal
friendly. The perfect end to my perfect early-morning start.
(For more information about Alpine Heath Resort or to book,
go to our website.)
Scootours
Ready for a full day’s action after a lovely breakfast at Alpine
Heath Resort, we were taken to a place called Scootours
where we were broken up into smaller groups. What awaited
us were loads of fun activities, perfect for team building and
ideal for some unforgettable family fun, but sadly not quite
so agreeable for me. Unused to scooters and cycles, racing
downhill I found myself doing an unimaginable balancing act
on two wheels trying to stay upright for dear life! The rest of
the group went zooming passed me with no problems at all,
but I ended up falling and walking the rest of the way.
But even so, the surroundings made up for it as did all the
38 |ISSUE 16|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZITRAVEL