Back Blog 2 -South Africa's Mountains

Before we went to South Africa everyone we spoke to who had been there told us, "Make sure you go to the Garden Route" or "The Garden Route is the most beautiful part of South Africa." As a result I had a certain preconceived idea of what it would be like. I had a picture in my head of a dramatic road along the water with sheer cliffs down to crashing waves, and well, lots of flowers...like a garden. Well, the garden route is not that, and well, unless you get off the highway and on to the mountain passes, you will not experience the Garden Route to its fullest.

There are actually numerous mountain ranges in South Africa - and the ones we saw were all magnificent. We saw familiar looking mountains when we were in the wine region that reminded us of the mountains near our home in Oliver and the Okanagan Valley. Then we explored the mountains in the Kruger region on a series of roads called the Panorama Route. There we saw really unique and beautiful vistas along the Great Rift Valley. It was a bit like the Grand Canyon, dramatic and awe-inspiring.

We also spent a week in the Drakensburg mountains west of Durban where we were amazed by Giant's Castle and Cathedral Mountain. Coming from Alberta, I really did not think mountains could impress me. I have seen the Himalayas and the Alps, and while they were amazing - they looked a lot like the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. But South Africa's mountain ranges did not disappoint, and next to the animals in Kruger, were the highlight of our trip. The colours, the trees, the animals - they were all so unique from my experience that I really enjoyed our various drives and hikes. When I think of the Canadian Rockies my mind's eye sees blue and gray, sharp edges topped with snow, chipmunks and deer, and oh so many pine trees. But these mountains were a mosaic of endless shades of green rising upward to rounded rocks of red, orange and yellow. The green slopes were fringed with tall yellow grasses and dotted with clear blue lakes.


We also traversed stunning dirt road passes in the Garden Route. They were a challenge to drive, and at times a bit scary, but mostly they were just plain breathtaking. The mountains were mostly barren, dotted with low lying purple flowers and succulent shrubs. From there we took a side trip to see the brilliantly coloured mountains on Route 62 as we drove through the Little Karoo region.


Occasionally, when you are driving through one of the many pine tree plantations that dot the hillsides of the Garden Route you can almost feel like you are in Canada. That is until monkeys
or baboons run across the road - a fun reminder of which continent you are on.

In the mountains we also enjoyed ziplining, seeing caves, cliffs, waterfalls, and lots of villages dotting countryside. The villages are a mix of small cinder block houses and mud brick rodovals - the traditional round hut of many of the South African people and a stark reminder that this is Africa.

In general, the roads were well cared for, but occasionally a regional road was so full of deep potholes that you risked losing your car in one if you did not drive slow. Driving is stressful in South Africa. Not because the roads are bad, and not because you have to drive on the opposite side of the road. It is stressful because South Africans are very aggressive drivers. They honk at you or tailgate dangerously if you are driving slow, they pass illegally - both on the right and the left - they pass on blind corners, drive in the shoulders, and speed all the time. Having said that, I am so very glad we rented a car. It did not take long at all to get used to driving on the left side of the road, and having a vehicle allowed us the freedom to really explore and see things we would never have seen if we had done a tour. And renting a car was very inexpensive. By booking several months in advance, prepaying, and using a Costco discount code our car rental averaged less than $15 CAD a day.

We had some apprehension about driving. Fear of the unknown, fear of smash and grab crimes, fear of getting lost, etc. And it was at times stressful and caused a few arguments. But I have learned in my life that when I push myself a little outside my comfort zone and suck it up and deal with a little stress, I am never disappointed. And this two month long road trip through South Africa was no exception.