Drakensberg,tour,This,Drakensb travel,insurance Drakensberg tour

Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes

This Drakensberg story is one of retreat, beauty, relaxation and goodeating. The drive towards the Drakensberg Mountains swept over the undulatingfoothills down side-roads that snake along meandering countryside to our firstdestination Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse. Cleopatra is tucked away in thebeautiful Kamberg valley in the Drakensberg Mountains, it is a gourmet getawaywhere attention to detail is evident everywhere. The dining room and lounge areextended over a trout-filled dam that looks out across the water to the stunningmountains of the Southern Berg. It is a magical place - a secluded luxuryhideaway where the most important factor is not to come here if you are on adiet!The build up to dinner was an event in itself with all the guests meeting at7pm for drinks and given an entertaining, detailed account of the gourmet mealthat was to follow by Richard the chef and owner. Everything is hand prepared onthe premises, some of the sauces (the highlight of most plates) take up to threedays in creation. It's three fabulous starters each, in our case a plate ofmeltingly succulent scallops, then a rich, baked butternut soup with a dollop ofcreamy pesto and a plate of Mozambican king prawns. A small freshening sorbetprovided Richard the time for final preparations of the main course, anelaborate plate of choice lamb cuts on rosti with three different chutneys, androunded off with a rich chocolate concoction, perfectly offset by homemadeorange-infused vanilla ice cream.Breakfast the next morning followed in a similar style and although difficultto leave we knew that we had to walk some of this food off or we would nevermake the next meal. That food was possibly the best I have ever eaten butseriously doubt having survived 2 days of this non stop eating.Kamberg hosts a site of Bushman rock art with relative easy access, astunning walk including a waterfall, and particularly well preserved examples ofBushman paintings. It is here that the "Rosetta Stone" of San artfirst provided archaeologists with the key to interpreting the symbolism of thepaintings as spiritual in content - showing how hunters gained power from theanimals that they killed. Its all professionally explained by guides andalthough I had seen these paintings before I was again moved.The road to our next stop the Antbear turned out to be just a little hop awaymainly because Richard had guided us via the back roads. The Antbear Guest Houseis one of those seldom found gems hidden away in a network of rural roads in theDrakensberg foothills. The little white washed farmhouse has been converted intoa place of artistic elegance. It is full of hand sculptured wooden furniture, alabor of Conny and Andrews love. Andrew greeted us dressed in very flamboyantlyAfrican dress and welcomed us with a cup of tea. He is a humorous character witha passion for entertaining, conversation and alternative living.Andrew is a dab hand in the kitchen too. The food is very different to thatof Cleopatra definitely not as rich but no less of an experience. Supper was thebest Indian food I have ever eaten with a selection of curries, papdams, onionbadjis, sambals and naan bread to boot. Andrew quite likes the company in thekitchen and its really different watching this kind of cooking. Its like acircus as he casually juggles the egg turner or adds a handfull of spice to somefrying onions. The hosts eat with the guests at a single table with candlechandeliers and a fireplace. Its very welcoming indeed. For desert Andrewwhipped up caramelized cape gooseberries in whiskey with hint of time. Why theAntbear is so affordable is a bit of a mystery me and till today the Antbear ismy favourite guesthouse anywhere.Armed with Conny’s picnic lunch setoff to Giants Castle Nature Reserve.Giants Castle is a spectacular part of the Drakensberg and one of my favoriteregions. Its has less tourism than most other parts and I have always wonderedwhy as it is about as beautiful as it comes. We wanted an easy walk so opted forWorlds View a 14 km trail with a spectacular 360° view at its end. We had lunchand soaked in the views and got back to Giants Castle Camp in time for awell-earned cappuccino and piece of cheesecake.Dinner back at the Antbear turned out to be a Moroccan evening. Again thefood was excellent. Andrews advice and enthusiasm inspires confidence and wereorganised some of our plans The following day was supposed to be a visit tothe battlefields but I had forgotten about the Drakensberg Boys Choir. Andrewarranged tickets for us and this is really something not to be missed under anycircumstances. The day was spent in the Champagne Valley another beautiful partof the Drakensberg.For dinner Andrew had taken the Zulu line. An interesting stew with a type ofdumpling bread baked in the same pot. Butternut and maize meal and some wildspinach added a touch of colour. What I have never seen before was the wildasparagus sautéed in lemon and butter with a hint of sesame oil. I start todrool even thinking about that now.The next morning was a guided horse trail through the Drakensberg foothills.I am not a horse enthusiast normally but with such relaxed horses I would nothave missed it for anything. It was just before lunch we headed of to MontusiMontusi a bit like a hotel with a personal country cottage feeling about it.The lodge is perfectly positioned to catch the surrounding view, fields ofgalloping horses and lakes to fish in. The food here too is excellent perhapsnot as unexpectly different as the Antbear but our lamb with chargrilled lemonand mint was perfect.Our last day in these mountains was spent walking the Tugela Gorge Walk belowthe Amphitheatre in the Royal Natal National Park. It took us to the base of theTugela Falls, where the Tugela River plunges 948m (3,109 ft.) from the plateau,its combined drop making it the second highest falls in the world, and affordedus marvelous views of the Amphitheatre.Our trip back to Durban guided us through the Midlands Meander a place I findto be over rated unless you make the effort to pick out the gems that it doesoffer. We stopped at Marakesh Israeli Goats Cheese for a glass of wine and somecheese tasting. A perfect light snack after that lovely drive to get here. Ournext stop took us passed the Karkloof Falls to the Karkloof Canopy tour.a uniqueeco-experience that takes people on a 3-hr adventure through the magnificentKarkloof indigenous forest. The canopy tour involves traversing from oneplatform to another along a steel cable suspended up to 30m above the forestfloor.It was five thirty when we arrived back at my flat in Durban. We were alltired but satisfied with our week in the Drakensberg Mountains. I know that thisregion offers much more and far greater extremes but for us it was a perfectbalance of natural beauty, good living and just a little excitement. More Information about the Drakensberg www.drakensberg-tourism.com www.drakensberg.net www.drakensberg-accommodation.com www.south-africa-tours.com/drakensberg.html www.south-africa-tourism.com Links to Drakensberg Accommodation Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse R1250 per person includes 3 meals Antbear Guesthouse R350 per person includes dinner and breakfast Montusi R750 per person includes dinner and breakfast. Links to Drakensberg Activities Kamberg Nature Reserve (R15 park entry per person + R25 Rock art presentation + R15 tour guide to game pass shelter) Giants Castle Nature Reserve (R20 park entry) Drakensberg Boys Choir concert (R75) Royal Natal National Park (R25 park entry per person) Karkloof Falls (no charge) Karkloof Canopy Tour (R395 per person)