Royal Natal National Park - in the Northen Drakensberg - boasts some of the most splendid mountain scenery in Africa. The main feature is the world famous Amphitheatre, a rock wall approximately five km in length, and 500m high.
Above the amphitheatre is Mont-aux-Sources peak where, as its name implies, the Orange river starts its long journey to the Atlantic ocean and Thukela river cascades down the face of the amphitheatre, in one of the highest waterfalls in the world, on its way to the Indian ocean.
The most popular activity at Royal Natal is undoubtedly hiking. A comprehensive hiking guide is available for purchase at the Visitor Centre, at Thendele camp office and at the main entrance gate.
The guide shows a map of the park and the network of hiking paths which visit every part of the park from the gentle walk to Fairy Glen to the challenging hike up the Crack and down the Mudslide.
Trout fishing at Royal Natal is available in two dams in the park and in the Mahai and Thukela rivers, and picnicking and swimming in the clear mountain streams are popular pastimes.
The stables at
Rugged Glen provide opportunities to ride into the mountains for unique views and sightings of mountain reedbuck and grey rhebuck that seem to have no fear of people on horse back.
AccommodationThe Northern Drakensberg is supported mostly by the town of
Bergville.
A variety of accommodation options can be found in the
Northern Drakensberg - ranging from luxury hotels to selfcatering chalets.
How to get there:
There are two routes from the north (Johannesburg) depending on weather conditions.
The first one is to turn off the N3 at Harrismith and take the N5 to Kestell. Two km down this road turn left on to the R74 to Qwa Qwa and follow the signs to Royal Natal National Park over the Olivier`s Hoek Pass.
This route is considerably shorter than the following more conventional route and saves an additional toll fee.
The alternative is to turn off the N3 just past Ladysmith on to the N11 and proceed to Bergville. The reserve is well signposted from here.
From the south (Durban) turn off the N3 at the Winterton/Berg Resorts off-ramp and proceed to Bergville.
