Since being told, by a private game reserve manager, that we would “have to stick to the more busy routes, due to some areas being remote and dangerous” I have been scratching my head. He meant unsafe because of people, but how is the coutryside more risky than densely populated areas? Is South Africa so different from the rest of the world? Maybe. I want a second opinion. On the Warm Showers website I send a message to Jean-Paul and Rebecca, in Pietermaritzburg, the capital city of KwaZulu-Natal province, asking about local insight on a potential route towards the Drakensberg escarpment and Lesotho. Within minutes my phone rings. Jean-Paul is suprised about our coming from the coast—apparently bike travelers mostly go directly between Lesotho and Eswatini—and inventories a series of potential itineraries. Mostly, he discredits the idea that the Zulu heartland would be dangerous for us, and highlights that we are about to climb some hills. Both are great news!
Because of the time difference between Florida and South Africa, Donald Trump is delivering his late-night victory speech as Pierre and I are eating muesli and preparing our bikes for a day on the road. The African Tick Bite Fever has loosen its grip on Pierre and, after 10 nights spent in a beige hotel room, my partner is eager to jump back in the Brooks saddle. The tick bite on his thigh is an open crater and the swollen lymph node in his groin is a concern, but he wants to leave Empangeni and ride to Eshowe, then re-evaluate his condition.
By chance, we ride by a monument written in Zulu, Afrikaans and English—only 3 of SA’s 12 official languages! “Here stood the principal kraal of Shaka when Mzilikazi broke away from Shaka circa 1826…”, a small plaque says. The Zulu people were one of many Nguni clans before Shaka, a warrior king, established a centralized military state. Throughout the 1820s, he sent his armies to invade neighbouring territories, integrating conquered tribes thus expanding the Zulu Empire. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Chlorophyll-saturated rounded hills are dotted with clusters of several houses and animal paddocks, the traditional Zulu homestead. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Schools out! The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa. The social organisation is based on paternal authority, and polygyny is practiced. The most famous contemporary Zulu is former South African President Jacob Zuma and his colossal homestead clings to the flank of a nearby hill. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
After passing at 875m, the perfect road descends leisurely towards the Tugela River, the province’s largest river. While we contemplate asking at the local high school for a place to camp, a white pick-up truck stops besides us—the white backie might be SA’s national vehicle. “Are you riding up to Ntunjambili now? You gonna die!”, cries the driver. After learning of our plans to climb the wall ahead only the next morning he convinces us to put the bikes in his truck and backtrack to his homestead to sleep. “I’ll drive you back here tomorrow morning”, he adds to seal the deal. After sitting in the cabin of the vehicle with the samaritan we proclaim our fondness for the bucolic landscape. “You like this? There is nothing! Just cows and goats!”, he retorts. Then, the former President’s grandiose residence comes on the subject. “Do you want to stop there and meet him?”, he offers. We laugh. “He’s my grandfather”, he says seriously. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
After leaving his handgun at the gate with the soldier on duty, “Mehlo The Grandson” drives into the compound and parks besides 3 black BMW suvs. Mr. Zuma is on his way to Durban and the encounter is short and surreal. He shakes both our hands, listens about our peregrinations in Africa and shares that he used to ride a bike when he was younger. When it’s time to take some portraits, he places me between Pierre and himself. Looking at my husband, the 82 years old former anti-apartheid activist and controversial politician—you might want to google him, it’s worth it—says “women in the middle, because we have to protect them from the lions.” KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Promise kept, Mehlo drives us back near the Tugela River the next morning. Doing a bit of online snooping I can’t quite figure out which of Jacob Zuma’s six wives is Mehlo’s grandmother. When we raise the topic of his youngest cousin becoming engaged to the King of Eswatini he has no idea. The family is just too big! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
In the 1800s the Tugela River formed a natural border between the Zulu Kingdom to the northeast and the Colony of Natal to the south—now Durban. Along its course a number of monuments and memorials mark the sites of bloody battles fought between British forces and resident farmers. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
From the river, at 200m asl, we glue our wheels on an unrelenting steep 12 kilometers to 1,160m! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
From the magnificient scenery of the Tugela Basin we emerge into the rolling hills of timberland around Greytown. Tick bite fever headache and rainy season keep us stationary for a day. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
South Africa might be the “rainbow nation”, diverse in its culture and language, but braai (barbecued) meat unites the population. At a shisa nyama (which literally means “burnt meat” in Zulu) we order a large beer and select a long piece of boerewors sausage and a beef steak. Our order is weighted and handed back to us on a wooden board that we bring to the braai master. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Once the meat is cooked we receive a sharp knife, chakalaka (a spicy tomato relish) and a large plate of mieliepap (maize meal porridge). Bon Appétit! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
In Greytown we enter the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands. The area disorients a bit, as many parts resemble the northern European countryside. Dutch and English settlers built large cattle farms and planted imported trees and bushes. This is the home of the Midlands Meander, South Africa’s first and finest arts and crafts tourism route. With a variety of galleries, artisans, leather works, home-baked outlets, pubs and farm-to-table stops we decide to meander our little hearts out!
From Greytown, we continue on the road to Mooi River. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
On a cloudy, windy and cold spring day the road climbs to 1,600 m. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Small Zulu family homestead as we turn south on a sweet dirt road towards Karkloof Nature Reserve. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
On its way to the Indian Ocean, the Umgeni River drops 95m at the Howick waterfalls. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
In 1962 Nelson Mandela was on the run and posing as a personal driver when he was arrested on a country road near Howick. At the end of the Rivonia trial he was sent to prison, with 7 other ANC leaders, for fighting against South Africa’s discriminatory apartheid system of racial segregation. The capture site is now home to a museum and a monument that comemorates that moment. We happen to be there when a tour bus filled with German cruise ship passengers arrived from Durban’s port. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
We spend the afternoon at the capture site museum, soaking it all in. The long and arduous struggle against apartheid is honestly depicted, but also the African rebels who inspired the resistance. Famous historical figures make an appearance: Zulu chief Bhambatha, Mohandas Gandhi, Stephen Biko and…Jacob Zuma! When we finally emerge from the museum the idea to ride to Nottingham Road and sleep there is scrapped, it’s too late. Like Midlands magic, appears a white bakkie, “Where are you going to spend the night?”, asks the driver. And this is how we end up at Piggly Wiggly‘s outdoor shopping centre, on the glass cutter’s porch. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
South Africa’s wettest province during the rainiest month of the year, still not too shaby. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Meandering through Hilton to visit Callan’s Bike Tech for some needed bicycle maintenance we are hosted for the night by Jean-Paul and Rebecca. The couple are leaving shortly for Johannesburg with their tandem bike—one of many mounts scattered around their house—to participate in the Virgin Active Ride Joburg, the world second-largest timed cycle race! The conversation is fast paced, maps are being unfolded, phone calls to friends are made and Pierre and I leave with plausible routes all the way to Namibia! Through Howick, Curry’s Post, Nottingham Road and Rosetta we indulge in cheesecakes, perfect “pain au chocolat”, wood-fire pizza and craft beer, and load up on freshly roasted coffee beans and premium biltong before heading west towards the Drakensberg. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Southern Africa’s Great Escarpment is a complex topographical feature, with rift walls breaking from the central plateau down towards the ocean. The most well-known and highest section of the escarpment, the Drakensberg, is at the border between Lesotho and SA’s KwaZulu-Natal province. Dutch settlers named the mountains Drakensbergen (dragons’ mountains), the Zulu call them uKhahlamba (barrier of spears) and in Lesotho they are Maloti (barrier of up-pointed spears) which all do justice to their dramatic design.
From Rosetta to Kamberg Nature Reserve, lush cow pastures roll softly to the foot of the Drakensberg escarpment. After passing at 1,650m on the Mpofana Road,and descending on the Mooi River, we stop at a working farm to ask if we could camp for the night. Within 10 minutes Carmen has opened a garden cottage for us and Brett is gifting us a homemade salami the size of my forearm! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
With our Ortlieb bags left behind in “our” cottage we ride light to Kamberg Rock Art Centre. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Rock art provides evidence of human culture in the subcontinent dating back nearly 30,000 years. The artists were nomads, hunter-gatherers sometimes called Bushmen, but more respectfully San people. The concept of private property had little meaning for the San, since the environment provided everything for survival. Let’s just say that this hippie communal lifestyle didn’t jive with the newly arrived European settlers who were very much about protecting their assets. Today, the San survive in small pockets of Botswana and Namibia only, but thousands of sites imprinted with their artistic expressions are found in the Drakensberg. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
After a pleasant 2-hour hike Promise, our local guide, opens a flimsy gate to Game Pass Shelter. The site is referred to as the “Rosetta Stone” of Southern African rock art, for it was here that archaeologists first understood the symbolism of San rock art. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
The paintings, made with eland fat mixed with grounded up rock of different shades, are more elaborate than we expected. Minds blown. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Brett and Carmen stay in their paradise valley, attending to their dairy farm, and send us back on the road. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Some of Brett and Carmen’s 700 cows! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Leaving Mpfofana road, we continue on Lower Lotheni road. With a few Drakensberg rock fingers to scale up to 1,800m Lower Lotheni road is what dreams are made of. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Such a peaceful, quiet and breathtaking part of the world. Good for heart and soul. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Small community nestled at the bottom of the Mkomazi valley. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
As a perfect coma between Lower Lotheni road and the famous Sani Pass, we are invited to spend the night at Moorcroft Manor. The former farm has been remodeled as a cozy boutique country hotel and restaurant. The manor’s owner has fascinating stories of working as an engeneer in India, Azerbaijan, Congo, and many more. Over a Windhoek Beer, he recalls some years ago inviting a bicycle traveler to rest in one of the manor’s plush room. The other lucky guest was none other than Swiss travel writer on wheels Claude Marthaler! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Sani Pass
I have screen shots of my googling “highest mountain passes in southern Africa” dating back to July! Unique roads, climbing in “Big Country”, switchbacks and summits have always excited us. On my first bicycle trip with Pierre we crossed the Himalayas, after an epic winter ride in Tibet where we ascended 30 mountain passes. Some years later we spent 2 years following the Andean volcanoes from Colombia to Argentina. My online research all highlighted Sani Pass. Sani is not traditional, it’s more of a hair-pin-bend-filled gravel track desperatly clinging to the Drakensberg sheer rock face, and emerging onto Lesotho’s highest plateaus.
The climb starts gently at 1550 m asl along the Mkhomazana river, with a view on the 12 apostles. Craig, a Himeville resident, is taking his mountain bike for a spin and accompanies us for a few kilometres, until we reach the South African border post at 1950m. “I wish I had brought my passport with me, I would have continued a bit further up with you guys”, the friendly local laments. We shake hands in front of the chain-link fence. “Tell other bicycle travelers to come and stay at my place when they come through, I’ll take good care of them”, he says. So, here is Craig’s WhatsApp number: 27-837757381. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
After the South African border post, the pavement disappears and the first Lesotho plated vehicle overtakes us. Obviously we are about to enter a different world…again! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Most vehicles stop beside us, its passengers enquirying about our well-being. Some are prompt to inform us about what’s ahead, “You have just 8 kilometers to go”, misinforms one lady, “You are almost there” blatantly lies another one. They must not have cyclists as their close friends or they would know that we obsess over maps, use 2 different geolocation apps and bicycle computers with built-in altimeters. In short, we know exactly where we are. These 2 offered no unsolicited advice, and made Pierre’s day! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Afternoon clouds and wind moving in. Sani Pass rises 1332 vertical meters to summit at 2876m. The real challenge comes in the upper section where the road climbs over 900m in 8km! KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
“It is riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them…” -Ernest Hemingway. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
We are pushing both bikes on the steep track becoming mushy after hours of rain when at one of the hair-pin-bends Pierre decides “That’s it, I’m sleeping here, enough!” KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
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The next morning, the last kilometre takes us 90 minutes to climb with the two of us pushing one bike at a time. It’s not pretty, it’s slow and our bodies ache. And then it’s over. We are at Sani Top and the first Mosotho shepherd greets us ahead of the Lesotho border post. KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Lesotho
Lesotho, a former British protectorate, is a small enclaved kingdom, completely encircled by South Africa. Over 80% of the country lies above 1800m earning it the nickname “Kingdom in the sky”. The highlands are rugged and precipitous, crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges, an authentic water tower for Southern Africa.
After Sani Top there is no time to unwind. The road dips lightly before shooting straight up to the double Kotisephola Pass. Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
Wind, rain and cold near the summit have me dig up my emergency plastic poncho! Lesotho’s rainy season is just getting started, “Peace, Rain and Prosperity” is the nation’s motto! Apparently afternoon thunderstoms and the occasional hail will be on the menu, also. Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
A bit of relief at the Kotisephola summit. Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
Hard work rewarded with a 1100m descent along the Sehonghong river. Our rubber-neck-rider disorder doesn’t improve! Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
Our new surroundings: Basotho rondavels, terrace farming, donkey hee-haws, sheep baas and spectacular vistas. Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
After reaching national road N1 we head to Mokhotlong for some much needed rest. The Mantsebo Guesthouse becomes our cozy nest while we write this post and celebrate Pierre’s birthday! Mokhotlong District, Kingdom of Lesotho.
