Tarzan, King of the Jungle

After arriving in the Drakensberg Mike and I were keen to tackle some strenuous hikes so we signed up for a guided walk up the amphitheatre. This is one of the many amazing natural features in the park – an 8km long sheer rock face with a 1km vertical plunge off the edge and into the valley below. We set off with our guide and two other couples for the drive to the base of the walk.

This took us through Qwa Qwa, one of South Africa’s ‘Homelands’, areas of land which were designated to black South Africans in the 1960’s with the supposed aim of providing a home where they could be self-sufficient and live in harmony. In reality of course, the homelands were situated in place where there was no infrastructure or industry and many people were forced to migrate illegally to the cities for work. The Homelands made up 14% of South Africa’s land mass while the black population comprised 80% of the people. Today they look like extended townships and it was interesting, and shocking, to see how they have evolved since the 1960’s. This was yet another reminder of how apartheid may be gone but the legacy lives on.

Our guide Sim, a Zulu from the local area, gave us loads of interesting information and his views on what was important to black South Africans today. He told us that education – even primary education - is not free in South Africa. Sim’s view was that free education up to secondary level was the single most important step the government could take to improving the country.
The walk began with a slow but steady climb in the howling wind – so strong it nearly blew us off our feet. After about 5km we stopped at a steep gully in the rocks. Here Sim said “make your way up, finding your own path, and I will see you at the top”. Mike and I headed up first, scrambling up the gorge, each foothold at least knee-height above the last. The climb was 250m and the competitive side within both of us drove us on to get to the top before everyone else. The views down the vertiginous cliff face on the opposite side were well worth the climb. Due to the strong winds we had to approach the cliff with care, but it was pretty dramatic to crawl to the edge, lie down flat and hang your head over a 1000m drop.

After walking along the ridge for a while we turned back towards the face we had climbed for the nerve-wracking portion of the trip. To get back down to the path we had to climb down a hundred meters of metal ladders bolted on to the cliff face. I set off first so that I didn’t have time for my nerves to build and Mike said that as I disappeared over the edge his stomach lurched thinking it might be the last time he ever saw me. The wind howled and the only way to do it was to focus on each rung, not look down, and not think about the fact that one wrong foot would spell certain death. I then had the horrible experience – in reverse – of watching Mike come down as I stood safely at the bottom, willing him to make it safely. Needless to say, after that the adrenalin was pumping and we practically ran back to the minibus.

The next day we decided to attempt the rather more sedate ‘Rainbow Gorge’ in the Cathedral Peak area. It started in rolling grassy plains, slowly creeping deeper into a steep-sided gorge where we had to scramble across huge boulders and bridge the stream. The guy at the hostel had given us a map and said “you’ll know when you reach the end of the gorge”. That wasn’t really so. We reached what looked like the end but managed to help each other over a huge smooth boulder and cross the stream to get a bit further. Then a few hundred metres later we got to a deep pool with a chain ladder at the far end. At this point Mike – a new man after the ladder antics of the previous day – transformed from the ‘play it safe’ man we all know and love to Tarzan king of the jungle. He stripped off to his boxers, waded through the freezing water and hauled himself up the ladder. When he got to the top he urged me to stick our boots and his clothes in my pack and follow suit. The next obstacle was another deep pool with a fallen branch hanging across it, Mike balanced on the branch, using the rock wall for support and made it across and up the next steep rock. Here we decided to stop for a late lunch and I discovered a very cool feature – a smooth concave boulder sweeping down to a deep plunge pool below – a natural waterslide. I willed myself to slide down it – it worked a treat and dunked me deep into the icy pool, Mike soon followed suit. We had a fantastic hour playing about in the pools and eating our lunch in a sliver of sun that penetrated to the valley floor before we decided we should turn back. Tarzan and Jane, happy again.