Doing the Gxalingenwa hike in The Southern Drakensberg

Oh how I love the mountains. And no mountain comes more beautiful than The Drakensberg.  I absolutely loved my time here - so good for the soul.  I'm so grateful to Chrisèl for inspiring me to come here.  

Our first stop was the Southern Drakensberg where we stayed at the lovely and very tranquil Sani Pass Backpackers.  

Highlights of the two nights here included:

• Delicious home made pancakes with lots of gooey cheese.
• Homemade marzipan from the little shop.
• Making a scrumptious omelette with home made herbs from the garden and blue cheese.
• Doing the stunning Gxalingenwa Hike which started right at the backpackers.  6 hours long, it took us up onto a plateau, then further up and over a little pass and down into a river gorge where I got to leap into a freezing green mountain pool. Then a walk along the lip of the gorge back to civilisation past some of the hugest granite boulders I've ever seen.
• Seeing a Cape Vulture.
• Doing a naughty short cut over a fence to visit a waterfall on the walk back, and cutting off lots of walking along the road.
• Chilling out in the peaceful garden after the hike, watching the sun set.
• Lazing by the fire at night, reading, and snuggling up to the cats.  One of them was a renowned "psycho" but turned out to be a lovely pussy cat at heart.

The climb up the first ridge on the Gxalingenwa hike provided this beautiful view of the surrounding lake ...

... and a great baboon sighting, including a very cute youngster.

Up on the plateau, looking down onto the valley.

Here we are at the highest point of the hike.

Descending down into the river valley ...

... to a stunning pool ...

... and an exhilarating but freezing leap into the water!

Hiking along the river ...

... one of the most scenic sections of the hike ...

... with enormous granite boulders.

Overjoyed to be in such a beautiful part of the world with strong feet.

Stopping off at a beautiful waterfall on the walk back to the hostel after a cheeky short cut over a fence. 

So excited to see a Cape Vulture.  

The awesome Sani Pass Backpackers with its peaceful garden ...

... and perfect setting right in the heart of the mountains.

A gorgeous view of the moon from the hostel.

Exploring the Wild Coast at Port St Johns

I have always wanted to visit The Wild Coast (formerly known as The Transkei) so was very excited to finally get the chance.

Highlights

• Driving through the thriving towns on the way to Mtatha, all bustling with humanity. 
• Arriving in Mtatha and discovering that our shuttle to Port St Johns was an African taxi!  The real deal. We travelled with the locals, driving like a bat out of hell at times through the mountainous roads and stopping many times to pick up locals along the road.  I loved it!
• The beautiful landscape - mountainous, hilly and green with lots of traditional houses along the way.
• Stopping at one point to watch the moon rise from the hills. Sublime stuff.
• The mellow vibes of The Jungle Monkey where we stayed. Sometimes a bit too mellow maybe as the food often took ages to arrive, if it arrived at all.  The staff were all extremely friendly though.
• The three friendly dogs and the one very grouchy, old St Bernard, who didn't like attention very much at all.
• A gorgeous hike along the coast with our friendly local guide, Buntu, and the dogs. The highlight of the hike was a slightly precarious climb down a cliff to view The Gap and Blowhole.  Also the beautiful rock art that Buntu created on the beach during our break.
• Being very tempted to swim in the ocean, but remembering Atony advice not to as Port St Johns has the most shark attacks in the world!  When we arrived back at The Jungle Monkey, we discovered that a local was attacked by a great white while we were hiking!! Thank you, Mr Boting for your sage advice!
• The mellow cows on the beach.
• The Vervet Monkeys "swearing" at the dogs from the trees. Very put out, they were.
• Going for a walk in the town and exploring the markets, then stopping at a river side restaurant for a nice milk-shake.
• Going for a drive with Mike, the friendly owner of the hostel, to the old airport high on a mountain top with amazing views down onto the river.  As we were driving towards the cliff face, Mike jokingly sped up in the car and I just about had kittens!  A total phobia for me it turns out.  Mike let the dogs out and let them run and I have never seen such speed and grace as I saw from the youngest one.  She's just built to run; a beautiful sight.  
• An early morning walk to The Lighthouse that had lovely views of the coast.
• Our relief when the shuttle arrived to take us back to Mtatha. Taxi's are apparently notoriously unreliable on a Sunday.
• Lazing on the grass with a group of fellow backpackers, eating delicious bran and banana muffins at the Mtatha Petrol Port, while waiting for The Baz bus. And a lovely double thick milkshake from The Spur. Their milkshakes are definitely better than their burgers!

We did a lovely hike along the coast with Buntu, a very friendly local guide, with the dogs in tow.

How's that for a stunning coastline!

This was the hairiest part of the climb: a steep climb down to view The Gap and Blowhole. Needless to say, the dogs didn't join us.

Enjoying the view from The Gap.

The dogs loved every minute of it.

Lots of cows on the beach.  Not a bad place for a cow to live, chilling on the sand.  Definitely free range!

Buntu created some beautiful stone art at rapid speed.

Some wildlife along the way: A very curious Vervet Monkey and a Giant Kingfisher that Chrisèl had been hoping to see.

Lovely plants and flowers.

The view from the lodge where the hike ended.

The Jungle Monkey -  a very mellow hostel. 

I absolutely loved their mirror. Every bathroom should have a mirror like this!

Exploring the town of Port St Johns

Enjoying the amazing view from The Airport at dusk.

A lovely morning walk to The Lighthouse.

The beautiful hills of The Transkei from the bus window.

Away with the Fairies at Hogsback

Legend has it that Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit, visited the town of Hogsback as a very young child and its forests and mountainous valleys inspired his future visions of The Misty Mountains, home of Smaug the dragon.  It is a gorgeous place with great hiking but in winter, it's important to come warmly rugged up!

Highlights of our two nights in Hogsback ...

• A fascinating drive to Hogsback from East London with Dan, the owner of Away With The Fairies, the hostel where we stayed.  He regaled us with story after story about the Frontier Wars between the British and Xhosa people that greatly influenced South Africa's history.
• The amazing open air bath at Away with The Fairies, perched on a cliff with extraordinary views across the valley. The bath even comes with hot water straight from the tap if you have the patience to wait for the 2 hours required to heat it up with a real fire.  I lay in the bath for over an hour (without any water!), meditating and filming the shifting light and clouds with my iPhone's time lapse camera.  Extremely peaceful. Except when my phone fell over and nearly fell off the cliff!
• Lazing by the fire in hostel's lounge in the cold evenings, admiring the murals of fairies on the walls, drinking great red wine and munching on the best pizza I think I've ever tasted.  
• Meeting up again with Jarred and Kate (who we'd met at Buckaneers) - a lovely South African couple on their honeymoon.
• A beautiful but chilly hike through the forested valley, oggling at some immense trees and exploring a plethora of waterfalls along the way.  The one waterfall required a steep climb and constant searching for little blue ribbons to find the way. It felt a bit like a treasure hunt! 
• Max, the local border collie, came for the walk and insisted on swimming in the river at every stop, despite the freezing temperatures.  He was a gorgeous, friendly fellow; until we arrived on the road, and then he turned into a psycho demon.  At one stage, he launched himself off a small cliff in order to rush up to a car driving past.  I had visions of telling the hostel their beloved dog was no more!  Thankfully, he survived it.
• Great sighting of Samango Monkeys, a speciality of Hogsback. They are apparently very closely related to Vervet Monkeys but look very different.
• A stunning, early morning walk to The 39 Steps Falls past bushes and trees aflame in berries and autumn colours.

Away with the Fairies, the backpackers where we stayed.

Beautiful wall murals at the hostel.

The view across the valley from the bottom of the garden ...

... and this amazing outside, hot water bath. A bath with the best view in South Africa!

Fairy sculptures around town.

A lovely walk through the forested valley ...

... past enormous and ancient trees ...

... exploring waterfalls along the way, with Max, our very energetic companion.

More beautiful waterfalls.

Sightings of Samango Monkeys, a speciality of Hogsback.

Rameron Pigeon

A lovely early morning walk to the 39 Steps Falls ...

... loving the sublime Autumn colours ...

... and the morning sun coming through the trees.

Playing with time lapse