Hiking to the Tugela Falls in The Northern Drakensberg

And here we are now at the highlight of the whole Baz bus trip: a hike to The Tugela Falls in the Northern Drakensberg, the 2nd highest waterfall in the world at 3400 metres. This is possibly the best hike I've ever done. The scenery was so spectacular that I had to keep pinching myself. I'm so totally in love with The Drakensberg.  I can't wait to come back here.

Just look at the scale of that rock face.  You almost expect to see the faces of American presidents carved into them!

Lovely flowers along the way.

A steep climb up a narrow gully ...

... brought us out onto the ceiling of the world.

Beautiful and exhilarating.

The iciest leap into water I've ever done. In fact, it was so frightfully cold my heart nearly stopped. But then what do you expect at 3400 metres!

Climbing down the chain ladders on the way down was a nice little adrenaline rush!

There were plenty more awe inspiring views on the walk back.

Here I am with our awesome guide.

The Amphitheatre Backpackers has to one of the best backpackers I've ever stayed at.

Such a relaxing setting...

... with a lovely bar, chill out spaces and even a jacuzzi!  The restaurant served the most amazing food - three courses every night.

From the backpackers, there was a beautiful walk through the grasslands...

... with a gorgeous mountain backdrop.

The grassland flowers were absolutely spectacular.

Special connections (2015)

Friends

• Chicken soup for friends
• Srini friendship conversation, mutual support, sharing
• Organise Jilly party
• Organise Jilly music concert
• Jilly appreciation letter
• Chris cleaning yard and my thankfulness
• Family
• With Matt:  Lazer, pretend shot, GTA, Siri fun
• Get Jo into Lightroom
• Jo "I love you."
• Tokai & Kalk Bay with Jo
• Talk to Ant re case in car (art, not science)
• Sharon at Eckhart
• Joanna (brother)
• Chris - photo, painting, speech, meals, Eckhart at his place
• Craig - support of me in HDU & friendship
• Chris, Craig, Graeme: The Three Musketeers

Service

• Help Lydia - prototype
• Sue - declutter
• Heather - Kindle
• Set up computer for mum & Jo
• Jo Gmail skills
• Srini - mutual support

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.