Down time in Dundee & Drakensberg detour

Our next stop was Dundee, in the famous Zulu battlefields area.  Since we had toured the three major battle sites when we were here three years ago, our primary objective was to relax and enjoy the scenery - and the beautiful bed & breakfast where we stayed -



John promptly made friends with several of the ten cats in residence (the owner has a soft spot for rescue kitties).



We did take a drive out to Rorkes Drift, stopping at the hotel where we had stayed before to get a cold drink.  (It’s a beautiful place, but no air conditioning - and it’s hot here.)



Since we were here, we thought we’d go to the site of the Battle of Rorkes Drift.  It wasn’t easy to find, and wasn’t nearly as impressive as the memorials at Blood River (Voortrekker victory over Zulus) or Isandlwana (Zulu victory over British), even though it was considered a great British victory (many Victoria Crosses were awarded).



Leaving Dundee, we headed for Himeville and the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains via the scenic Nottingham Road.  The first part of the trip was easy - take the major toll road to a clearly marked exit, then follow road signs to towns along the way.  Then it gets challenging - the pavement ends, and so do the road signs.  




We tried this three years ago and took a wrong turn somewhere.  This time we had both a new GPS chip and a detailed road map, which we studied carefully.  We got within 10 miles of our destination when our map and GPS failed us.  Two and a half hours and many extra miles later we finally made it to KarMichael Farm bed & breakfast in Himeville.  Whew.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 8, 2018 at 9:59 PM

    Your pictures are wonderful, Carol. I hope John’s adventurous spirit prevailed when the GPS failed... heeheehee Better pack extra snacks in the car 🚗

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last stop - Clarens

Image
The drive from Bloemfontein to Clarens brought us back to the Drakensbergs, this time along the western border of Lesotho.  We turned off and followed signs to the Queen Victoria lookout, which brought us here.  Certainly looks like her. This area doesn’t appear to be experiencing the drought that’s plaguing the south. As we left the Cape provinces and entered Free State, we noticed a decided decline in the state of the roads.  Potholes.  Lots of them. Clarens is a small resort town in the mountains near Golden Gate National Park, and it’s our last stop before heading home.   We drove out to the national park this afternoon - the mountains are gorgeous, and we saw several wildebeests and a herd of antelope (not close enough for photos, though, unfortunately).  There were some brief but intense showers this morning, resulting in a pond in the road. This time John decided to brave it - until the water came up to the door sill.  So we had to back up the h...
Read more

Malelane

Image
We were disappointed that Jock Safari Lodge in Kruger National Park had become too expensive, but John found Mhlati Guest House, located just outside the Malelane Gate, which had excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.  We thought it would be fine.  Little did we imagine just how fine it is!   The owner, Eric, is a retired architect who designed and built the complex, with incredible attention to detail.  One of the first things I noticed was the thatched roof over the “lapa” (gathering area).  The bottom layer - visible from inside - is an attractive reed-like grass, which is then covered by many layers of the traditional grass that provides rain proofing and insulation. The pool and gardens were inviting - a welcome relief from the heat and oppressive humidity. One of the flowering trees was frangipani - complete with the wonderful scent that’s used in soaps and colognes. We did have to be careful where we parked, though.  One of the trees dropped hard, heavy p...
Read more

By the sea

Image
Hermanus is an upscale beach resort town on the southern Atlantic coast (the Indian Ocean is east of here on the other side of Cape Agulhas). We’re staying at the Walker Bay Manor Guest House, which is in a great location with lovely public areas. However, our room is less than optimal - lots of street noise (we have to keep the windows open since it isn’t air conditioned), and a shower that’s barely big enough for me to fit into, much less John. But it’s located across the street from the Cliff Walk - so I opted for a morning walk along it. I walked as far as the mouth of the Mossel River, about a mile or so, and then back again. All along the paved pathway there were viewpoints with benches. There was a small sandy beach amid the rocky cliffs. Much to my delight, I came across Moby Dick’s final resting place - I didn’t recall from my multiple forced readings of that interminable novel that the great white whale ever dies, unlike crazy Captain Ahab and most of the rest of the crew of ...
Read more