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Published: June 17th 2017
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01 Dam
Our last view of Sterkfontein Dam., Geo: -28.6938, 28.9277
After breakfast and packing up it was 9 o'clock. We left the cabin and drove towards Royal Natal National Park. On the way we stopped to buy some food and drinks for the next few nights of camping. This national park is part of the beautiful northern Drakensberg mountain range. The main feature of Royal Natal is the Amphitheatre, which is a 5km long rock wall.
We were camping in the Mahai Campsite. After checking in at the office, we went for a walk around a little lake. Paul and Brett got excited at the fish that they saw in the lake. I stopped to admire the flowers and a female bushbuck that we spotted walking around. It was only a minute or two to drive from here to the campsite. This park is so green and very different from where we live in Madikwe Game Reserve, in the north-west of the country.
At the campsite we set up our tent and had lunch. Then we prepared ourselves for a hike. We left at about 1pm. There are only a few species of mammals in this park, mainly antelopes and many birds. As we walked out of the campsite we
02 Warning Sign
A sign warning us to be careful of dassies when driving around Royal Natal National Park. saw more female bushbuck. At the start of the hike the path was concreted. We were doing the Gudu Bush & Falls hike, which was about 7kms and with a moderate degree of difficulty. There are many hiking paths in this area. I really enjoyed the vegetation that we walked past.
We took it easy and enjoyed our environment and frequently stopped to enjoy the small things. Brett and Paul frequently stopped to identify birds, which was fine by me as it gave me a chance to catch my breath when we were walking uphill! We walked past little rivers, saw mountain tops partly covered by clouds, crossed over small bridges, walked through Protea belts and forests, enjoyed the fresh air and heard various bird calls.
Twenty minutes into our walk and we took a little detour and followed a sign to the Cascades. This would have been a nice place for a dip, if it wasn't such a cool, grey day. There was a short, wide waterfall with lots of icy water flowing, quite picturesque. After a few photos and a sit down at the cascades, we continued on and followed the signs to Lookout Rock.
Now we were walking among
03 Lake
The lake near the reception office that we walked around. large rocks and still going uphill. The mountain tops continued to be covered in clouds. We did enjoy great views of the valley now that we were up so high. When we arrived at Lookout Rock, we walked up the steps to the top. It was a nice view from on the rock. After a quick little rest, we continued on, uphill to Gudu Falls. This was my least favourite part of the walk, as it was very steep.
The path had started to become wet, thin, rocky and a bit slippery as we approached the falls. It had only taken us an hour and a half to reach the falls. Gudu Falls were not very high or wide. There wasn't a lot of water falling, reminded me of a shower.
From here the rest of the walk was all downhill, so much more enjoyable for me than walking uphill. We were now walking through an indigenous forest. In the distance we could see another waterfall, but it wasn't in the direction we were going. Finally we saw some wildlife. It was a mother Mountain Reedbuck and her calf. They were quite close to us and busy grazing. Once they
04 Bridge
Paul and Brett have just crossed the bridge. realised that they had been spotted, they froze until we walked away.
We arrived back at camp at four o'clock, which meant our walk took only three hours and not four. Now it was time to vegetate in our camping chairs for a while and have a snack. Our rest was not very long, as we decided to go for a walk to the little lake where we stopped this morning. The water here was so still that it created a nice reflection of the trees and mountains.
On the walk back to the campsite we saw a male bushbuck and a flock of guinea fowl. Back at camp we started the fire and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing.
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