I’ve managed to pick up a crippling stomach bug while down the south coast at Pennington (45 minutes south of Durban). We invited ourselves for the weekend to Alex’s (University friend) beach cottage-it was great until I got sick. At the same time the throat infection I had got worse, and after fighting it for over a week but getting progressively worse, Maria finally convinced me to go and see the doctor. Antibiotics, a couple other pills and two days resting at Alex’s house up at Donnybrooks put me on the road to recovery. The weather here, although warm, has been dismal, with lots of rain.
In fact according to everyone I meet the weather is ‘weird’ and the rains where very late this year. Right now we are experiencing weather more accustomed to spring.
We left Alex’s and drove to the burg, where we stayed for 3 days at Inkosana Lodge – outside Monks Cowl. The entire Drakensberg area of Natal was given ‘World Heritage’ status not so long ago. It’s a magical place and the hiking is world class. The Drakensberg range is a mountainous basalt escarpment which forms the border between Kwa-Zulu Natal and Lesotho- and the Zulu word for this place translated into English literary means “ Battlement of Spears “ and is an accurate description of the sheer and jagged rock mountains that rise to over 3km above sea level. We stayed in a small hut/rondaval set in beautiful indigenous gardens looking out towards the misty mountains. With its outdoor showers and well kept grounds its not surprising it got voted best backpackers in S.A.
We managed a few walks with Emilia. Spotted some monkeys and had a dip in the freezing river. We met up with an American girl – Sarah, whom had been at Coffee Bay Backpackers while we were there 2 weeks before. She hitched a lift with us further north to the Amphitheatre, but after a run in with the renowned pushy and rude owner of the Amphitheatre Backpackers, she opted to camp in the actual park. Maria and her had planned to climb the chain ladder to the very top of the mountain, while I waited with Millie down below, but once again bad weather washed that idea away. So we decided to head to Johannesburg.
The green rolling hills are dotted with rondavals, (round thatch huts big enough for a bed and table) and the very friendly locals that wave as you drive by. After endless dirt roads we finally caught a glimpse of the sea, a light south west blew, flattening the ocean and cleaning out the water. We stayed at Umdumbi backpackers, a minute from the best beach in Southern Africa as voted for by a local travel mag, and if you saw what we saw you’d have to agree! A long white beach, flanked by green rolling hills. You have the entire place to yourself, and are kept company by the cows. It’s a bit of a strange site and totally unexpected but somewhat stereotypical of this place- the cows that is. The backpacking scene in S.A is class and well organized, and I’ve been very impressed with just how friendly everyone is with us, no more so than here. (Transkei). After 4 days surfing crystal clean waters and spotting marlin tailing just beyond backline the weather forced us back to Durbs, where we are staying with granti , my roomie from kibbutz. 
