The Drakensberg is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, the steep rocky slopes that border the South African plateau and a major topological feature in South Africa. “Drakensberg” is derived from the Dutch word meaning “Dragon mountains”. The name is fitting because the rock faces are steep, jagged, dramatic and could realistically within its craggy enclaves, hide the lair of a dragon.
The park is just over 80 square kilometers and forms part of the Drakensberg World Heritage Site. Contrary to the name, the Royal Natal National Park is not a national park managed by SAN Parks. Rather, it is a provincial park. The park’s name was changed to its current name in 1947 after a visit by the British Royal Family. According to our guide, the family enjoyed the park so much that they wrote a letter after their visit requesting for the park to be renamed.
The Royal Natal National Park is famous for its natural features. It is home to the tallest waterfall in the world, Tugela Falls, and one of South Africa’s tallest peaks, Mont-aux-Sources. The park is known for some challenging trails like the Amphitheater trail to the top of Tugela Falls and the Tugela Gorge hike. We would have to save those hikes for another day.
We decided on two shorter hikes that would be manageable for our family. The first hike was to see the San Rock Art that adorn certain rock overhangs in the park. The San people or sometimes called Bushmen are the indigenous hunter-gatherer people of South Africa that have lived on the land for at least 20,000 years, before the arrival of Bantu people from other parts of Africa. The local guide took us on a short hike up the side of a hill. We were under the full strength of the late-morning sun and it was hot. But it afforded us some beautiful views of the Drakensberg range and the valley beneath. We could even see parts of the Tugela Falls.
Once we reached the top, the guide showed us the site of the San Rock Art. It is believed that the art was created by male healers or shamans. The art depicts daily life and includes a variety of animals that the San people would have seen including eland and rhebok. We saw paintings of men and women and hunting scenes. The paintings were made in a variety of colors including black, brown, red, yellow and grey. They used various natural ingredients to make their “paints” such as ashes or charcoal for black/grey, eggshells for white, ochre for yellow and blood for red. They would bind their paints with a liquid, sometimes animal fat or egg. To paint, they would use their fingers, a brush made of animal hair or a feather for special details.
We brought a packed lunch so we drove to the picnic area near a small lake to enjoy it. It was very picturesque with a carpet of green beneath us and a backdrop of the mountains behind us. After lunch, we proceeded on our next hike, the Cascades trail that is 5 km round trip. The trail is family friendly as much of it is flat and paved. We veered off of the main trail and onto a side trail. The children were pleased to cross a few bridges and do a bit of climbing, not just walking, through some rocks. The trail took us through magnificent views of the lush greenery on either side of a bubbling stream. All the while, the dramatic mountains hovered over us.
We followed the stream up to a beautiful cascading waterfall. There were huge flat rocks that allowed us to take our shoes off and walk through the frigid waters, from one side to the other. The kids ventured to deeper areas where the water reached up to their calves and knees. They played a game to see who could stay in the freezing water the longest. DY won and emerged from the water with numb feet and purple toes.
The day we spent at Royal Natal National Park was a day spent enveloped in the splendor of nature. There really are no words to describe the breathtaking beauty that surrounded us on this day. For all of the man-made waterparks, amusement parks and shopping malls, there are infinitely more attractions created by nature. In the routine of daily life, the rush to get from school to activities, from home to work and back again, it is more convenient to spend a day in the controlled environment of a man-made attraction. We always have good reasons, like it is close to home, or the kids will like it, or we don’t have much time and it is just easier. But on days like this, I remember why we should make the extra effort to be in nature.
I hope we will never forget how we felt on this day – seeing the majestic beauty in every direction, hearing the wind whistling through the canyons, smelling the freshness of the air, feeling the frigid water of the mountain stream flow through our toes and tasting adventure and freedom, even if only just for a moment.
