DAY 1    Durban – Pietermaritzburg –  Drakensberg Mountains

Drive inland to Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, for a brief city tour. First of all we visit the railway station where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off the train because of the colour of his skin.  We enter the waiting room where, in the silence of the night, he formulated his philosophy of passive resistance.  Continue to Howick where we visit the 100m high Falls. We visit the monument erected on the spot where Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962.

Continue to the Drakensberg Mountains through an area of gentle pastoral beauty called the Natal Midlands. We pass through grassy plains scattered with villages and lush farmlands where plump cattle and thoroughbred horses graze. Visit the spot where the Boers arrested Winston Churchill during the Anglo-Boer War. We enter the Spionkop Game Reserve for some  game viewing. We have a good chance to see white rhino, giraffe and zebra amongst other wildlife.Then we travel to our hotel from where you can enjoy magnificent views while enjoying sundowners.

DAY 2   Northern Drakensberg Mountains – Golden Gate

After breakfast we travel through Qwa Qwa, a former homeland, and watch the locals busy with their daily chores.  We continue to the Golden Gate National Park and see amazing views of the black basalt and golden sandstone cliffs which gave its name to the park. Afterwards we enjoy a light lunch. We round the day off with a visit to a cultural village. Here we experience  demonstrations of the local people’s culture. Return to your hotel late afternoon.

DAY 3    Drakensberg – Giant’s Castle – Rock Art

We depart after breakfast we drive to the Giant’s Castle Complex. Here we embark on a walk with a few steep and strenuous inclines to some of the country’s best preserved ancient rock paintings. The roundtrip is around 3 km. We have a peek into the mystical existence of these extraordinary little people who nearly became extinct at the beginning of the previous century. From here we return to Durban arriving late afternoon.

NOTE: We also offer the Drakensberg Highlights tour (two days) where we visit the southern part of this mighty mountain range and we ascend to the top of the mountain with a 4 x 4 vehicle and have a pub lunch in the highest pub in Africa! See the itinerary here.