Thendele Hutted Camp and the Drakensberg Mountains

After spending a week in Cape Town, we flew to Durban and rented a few cars to drive the 5 1/2 hours or so to the Drakensberg Mountains in the Royal Natal National Park. On the way there, we had to pass through what we now call the infamous Bergville. I can't think about the Drakensberg Mountains without thinking of this random town in the middle of nowhere. I was following behind Cody in our car at night when I swear we starting to see people popping out from the sides of this deserted road! They looked like zombies. No side walk, no buildings, nothing...just random people walking alongside the road in the dark. Where did they come from? No idea. Then low and behold we come upon Bergville. You see, we were going to stay in the "self-catered" chalets in the Thendele Hutted Camp in the Royal Natal National Park, right next to the Amphitheatre. Bergville was the last stop to load up on supplies before heading into the park. Apparently this is where everyone resides. But it was the scariest, creepiest place on the trip. We drove around this little town trying to find a decent place to get out of the car. We settled upon the gas station, and made everyone buddy up when getting out of the car. Posted on the wall of the gas station was a sign. On this sign was a photo of a scary looking dude in sunglasses wanted for human trafficking in the area. Uhhh...time to get our food and get the heck out of dodge! We decided, if there was anything the opposite of "Ayoba", it would be Bergville. Bergville = NOT Ayoba.

Not quite sure what to expect at this chalet, we bought some firewood, bread, soup, etc. Everyone had me second-guessing myself on what it meant to be "self-catered." Did that mean that there were no beds, and we were supposed to bring our own sleeping bags? Would it be so basic that there would be no running water or even a fridge? We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to beds, shower, fridge, stove, fireplace, and even a living room! We were not in the mood for anything primitive after passing through Bergville.


We woke up the next morning to a great view of the Amphitheatre! The Royal Natal is home to some of the most spectacular scenery, and the Amphitheatre is the main feature. It is a rock wall approximately 5km in length and 1000m in height (I'll let you do the conversion) between the Sentinel and Eastern Buttress, with a number of domes rising from its relatively flat summit plateau.


Outside of the chalets were a ton of the guinea fowl. These were definitely one of my favorite little critters that I'd seen. It might have to do with the fact that I grew up with chickens in the back yard. I thought it was funny that they had this big body and a really small little head that was blue. They have dark gray or blackish plumage with dense white spots. They are typically monogamous - mating for life - and are quite social. That's probably why we usually saw them in numbers.



We only stayed 1 night in the chalet and went for a long day hike to the Tugela Gorge. It was a nice hike along the Tugela River with views of the Amphitheatre, alternating between stretches of protea veld (grassland in southern Africa with scattered shrubs and trees) and forest.


When we reached the gorge, we picknicked and climbed up the ladders on the side of the gorge for alternate views. You had to climb these one person at a time, and that first rung down was a doosy!
The hike back wasn't bad at all, but we still had to make the long drive to Umzumbe for the night. Since I was sick this entire time with a fever, Juli was nice enough to drive the 2nd car the long trek while I crashed out in the back of Cody and Nicci's car. I still hear stories about a a flying Dassie.