The Mountains Called and I Went

After a lovely week of game drives and animal encounters, I spent one last night in JoBurg before beginning the last and final phase of my South African adventure. Over the next five weeks, I was going to be taking a “hop on, hop off” backpacker bus, the Baz Bus, from Johannesburg to Cape Town before finally coming home for Christmas. I wasn’t sure how I felt about doing the backpacker thing (I feel a bit too old for it, honestly), but it really is the best option for an independent traveler without having to rent a car. It’s safe, easy, and stops at many of the places I wanted to see in South Africa.

North Drakensberg Mountains

My first stop on the Baz Bus was to the Amphitheatre Backpackers, a lovely little oasis in the Northern Drakensberg mountain range. I planned four nights in the area so I would have an opportunity to do some hiking and visit Lesotho, a small mountain kingdom surrounded by South Africa.  Joining me for at least part of the adventure was Anneke, Therese, and Ashwin who were stopping in the mountains for a few days before heading down to Durban. Anneke was from Austria and had been volunteering in the townships with an NGO for the past few months. Therese was from Sweden and Ashwin was Dutch and they were both traveling around South Africa for several weeks before heading back to Europe. We arrived at Amphitheatre in the late afternoon and were instantly impressed. The dorms were nice, the grounds were lovely, and the place was full of amenities like a restaurant, bar, lounge rooms and a Jacuzzi. We signed up for the Amphitheatre hike the following day and spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards, relaxing, and getting to know some of the other guests.

The following morning, everyone woke up early to take part in the scheduled hike. There were about 25 people from all over the world who would be participating in the full day adventure. It took about two hours to reach the starting point of our hike, Sentinel Peak. It had been relatively warm at the backpackers, but it was freezing and a bit overcast on the mountain. I was really glad that I had brought a fleece and my rain coat for the trek! Even though the weather was not the best, the views of the surrounding mountains were still beautiful.  The hike was to take 6 hours, which seemed like a really long time to walk 12 km. At the start, the hike was relatively easy with some gentle climbs up the mountain. There were a few slippery places, but the terrain was mostly flat and we were making good time. All of a sudden, we reached this massive gully that we had to climb in order to reach the top. It was straight up, and you had to use both your hands and feet to navigate the rough trail. It was really exhausting! Of course, the further you climb, the longer the trail seems to be and I was wondering if we’d ever get to the top! We all eventually made it up the mountain and enjoyed a packed lunch and a foggy view.

After finishing lunch, we hiked to the highest waterfall in Africa, Tugela Falls. On warmer, sunny days you can swim in the pools that make up the waterfall. This was definitely not a day to swim! Since the weather was so cold and overcast, we only spent a few minutes at the falls before making our way across the plateau. In order to descend down the mountain, we had to use these metal ladders that dropped between 15-20 meters off of a cliff (there were two sets to conquer). In theory you could request a safety line, but the guide kept downplaying the difficulty and so the ropes never came out. I’m not going to lie… the ladders were scary as hell. If you slipped and fell, you would be dead or at least seriously injured. It was all I could do to keep it together climbing down each rung. I had to go really slow and keep repeating the mantra “hands, hands, feet, feet.”  In retrospect, I really should have asked for a safety line, because I was quite unnerved. I was definitely in the minority of people who felt this way; the majority of the group had no issues with the ladders and even thought they were fun. I was glad to make it back to the car park in one piece!

Overall, it was a beautiful day and I got to know some really nice people staying at the backpackers. We all went back and enjoyed dinner and drinks at the bar later that night. I kept it a relatively early night since I would be up early again for a tour of Lesotho.

Lesotho

Lesotho is a mountainous, independent country within South Africa. The local people are known as Basotho and exist mainly as subsistence farmers. We were going to visit a village across the border that the backpackers directly support through the funding of a local primary school. Our guide for the adventure, Adrian, was a lively South African who has spent a lot of time with the Basotho and was eager to share with us his knowledge of the culture. We met with the director of the primary school who told us about the education system in Lesotho. Only about 10% of the population goes to high school due to the fact that many cannot afford the school fees necessary to attend.  We spent some time with the children before taking a walk through the rest of the village. The homes are round to help keep them warm in winter and cool in the summertime and it is also believed that evil spirits cannot hide in a round house.

We took a short hike up a nearby mountain to see some San Bushmen rock art and eat our picnic lunches. Afterwards, we went back down to the village to try some of the local beer and meet a healer in the village. Homes that have recently harvested their corn will make the beer and then fly a white flag from the top of their house. This signals to passersby that there is beer at the house that can be bought. A red flag above a house means that there is extra meat for sale. Since many of the families are subsistence farmers, this is one of the ways that they make money.  We found a house waving the white flag and bought a large cup of beer to share amongst the group. The beer is definitely an acquired taste (really sour and thick – eww) but the local women who were waiting outside the home were more than happy to finish off what we didn’t want.

After our beer tasting, we met a man in the village who was a traditional healer. Since most of the villages are in remote locations, people rely on healers for most of their medical needs and travel to clinics for more serious conditions. The healer uses plants to help treat an array of problems. The group was really interested in the work the healer performed so we spent quite a bit of time in his house. Afterwards, we loaded up in the minibus and made the trek back to South Africa. I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn a little bit about Lesotho and the Basotho people.

The people you meet

One thing that I had forgotten about backpackers is how many different and interesting people you meet on a daily basis. The past week has been spent getting to know lovely people from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and the UK. While the majority of the people you meet are very warm and friendly, there are always a few you wish you hadn’t met.  I asked to join a table with few of people for dinner one night and instantly regretted the decision. The moment I sat across from this one guy and he learned I was from the US, he began a litany of offenses for which the US (and myself by proxy) were guilty of. It was awkward and annoying and the guy didn’t know when to stop. I finally told the guy, “I’m sorry, I don’t make those decisions.” There was a sweet Dutch couple next to us that looked embarrassed and eventually saved me from the verbal tirade by asking me about my next stop on the trip. When you travel as an American (or as a German, or a British person, etc) you are always faced with others preconceived notions and stereotypes about your country. Some have horror stories to report “I was asked by an American if there were washing machines in the Netherlands” (there are, in case you are wondering) or many Europeans have traveled through the Atlanta airport with some really nasty experiences (it really isn’t a friendly place to be welcomed to the U.S. in all honesty). 

Over the years, I’ve learned to deal with the people by expressing sympathy if they’ve run into an ignorant person or had a bad experience and also remind them that the US is a country of 350 million different people. Again, the majority of the people you meet are lovely and are smart enough to judge a person by who they are and not the policies of their country. I always assert that no matter how strongly you feel about an issue, it is simply impolite to insult someone’s country or home when you are just getting to know them. If they want to get into a topical debate (which I am always reluctant to do) then you can air your grievances at that point. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to leave the company of “this guy.” Unfortunately, “this guy” lacked serious social skills and had no idea how unbelievably rude he was. I escaped to the bar, “this guy” in tow and spent the rest of the night trying to distance myself from him. A big shout out to my German friends Sebastian and Timo who were great company and served as a buffer between me and “this guy.” Unfortunately, “this guy” was staying in my room and is also traveling the same route I am going. I really hope that I do not see him again.

I’m off to Durban for a quick stop before spending some time on the coast. I have only one more month left in “The Big Trip” and it seems so surreal that I have been gone almost four months. I look forward to catching up with everyone back home. Thanks for following my blog!