Giant’s Castle and a Treehouse

This past weekend, it felt like I traveled into a storybook from my childhood. I visited the Drakensberg Mountain region in the KZN province. First stop was Royal Natal park with views of the Amphitheater, a 5 km cliff in the shape of an amphitheater. Hiking past and through waterfalls, The Cascades, Tiger Falls, walking through the forest hearing the strange birds and frogs, climbing the green hills dotted with wildflowers, and walking down the path past red and white sugarbush protea. In one walk, it was like I had been through three different ecosystems, each unique and beautiful in its own way. To end a perfect day, my fellow Fulbrighter and I headed to Sycamore Treehouses. The treehouse was so cool; I have wanted to stay in a treehouse since seeing a sign for one way back in March, so this was my chance. All made of wood (unusual in SA, the land of concrete homes), near a meadow of horses and deer, with views of the Berg mountains in the distance; the treehouse even had a jacuzzi – a great way to relax after a morning of hiking and an afternoon of driving.
The next day was a trip to Giant’s Castle, another national park. Just as the name implies, imagine green rolling hills and a cliff that from a distance looks just like a Giant’s Castle. Magical. The hike led us to the main caves to take a tour of the San Art painted in the caves over 100-300 years ago by the San people. Pictures of eland were plenty, since this special deer-like animal was of special importance and represented a special spirit and strength. One of my favorite parts of the paintings was the San painting of an elephant that was drawn very small, because the San only ever saw ellies from a distance, so they looked small to them. The rest of the day was hiking through tall grasses with the sounds of the river nearby. Back at the treehouse place, we were challenged to a game of pool. Now. I have watched people playing pool, mostly when I was little, but I never really played. Well, in the beginning I was pretty bad, but then with some help, I got three in a row. I was totally psyched. Ok, we still lost, but it was really close. Dinner was a feast of my South African favs: pap, woors, curry, semp and butter beans, and malva pudding for dessert. The drive the next day through the Golden Gate Park was gorgeous; big bright blue skies with clouds that seemed surreal. A quick stop in Clarens for a nice lunch with the best cherry milkshake ever (it is cherry season and fresh cherries, jams etc were everywhere), and then I headed back home. Another lovely weekend.