The Flowers of South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains

Tour Code: ZAF02

A 14-day botany and wildlife journey through South Africa's spectacular Drakensberg Mountains.

We hope to run this tour in the future, but have not yet finalised dates and prices. To be added to a waiting list and be informed when details are confirmed, please click on the register interest button, or phone 1-844-433-9473.

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Tour Itinerary and Reports

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1 Itinerary

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Paul Stanbury

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Highlights

Spectacular scenery of the Drakensberg Mountains
Explore the Royal Natal National Park
Botanise along the world-famous Sani Pass
Flowers including Agapanthus campanulatus, Heperantha coccinea & Watsonia confusa
Visit the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve & Howick Falls
Birds including Gurney's Sugarbird, Malachite Sunbird & Lammergeier
Mammals such as Blesbok, Eland & Mountain Reedbuck
Led by a Naturetrek botanist & local naturalist guide.

Summary

The arrival of spring in South Africa is marked by a carpet of wild flowers which blanket the western part of the country from the Cape to the mountains and plains of Namaqualand to the north. This spectacular show attracts botanists from far and wide but few realise that, a few months later, 1,600 kilometres further to the east, another remarkable floral display erupts which, although lacking Namaqualand’s feast of colour, contains a wealth of beautiful flowering plants set amongst some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery. It is not just the flowers that draw naturalists to this dramatic region, however, for KwaZulu-Natal’s varied landscapes and habitats — from mist-shrouded mountains to lush coastal wetlands — are home to a varied array of birds, mammals and reptiles too. Although this exciting tour will focus primarily on the summer flowers of the Drakensberg escarpment, it will also introduce you to some of the other varied wildlife that lives here, before concluding amongst the ‘Big 5’ mammals of the Hluhluwe-Imfolosi Game Reserve, the oldest game reserve in the country.

We begin our holiday with an overnight flight from London to Johannesburg where we will meet our local guide and drive south to the Royal Natal National Park for a 3-night stay, split between one night in Witsieshoek on the western side of the park and then two nights at Thendele Camp on the eastern side of the reserve. The Royal Natal National Park protects the Drakensberg’s most famous vista, the magnificent ‘Drakensberg Amphitheatre’. These 1,000- metre high basalt cliffs stretch for over 5 kilometres and create a wonderful backdrop as we explore the reserve’s upland grassland and forest patches in search of the blues of Agapanthus campanulatus, the whites and greens of Zantedeschia albomaculata and the striking pink flowers of Hesperanthus grandiflora. Gurney’s Sugarbird is frequently seen feeding within the Protea patches, whilst other species to look out for include Cape Vulture, Longcrested Eagle and the beautiful Malachite Sunbird.

Moving on, we will make our way down to the central Drakensberg Mountains, where we use Giant’s Castle Game Reserve as our base for the next two nights. Our camp is situated next to the Bushman’s River, backed by the dramatic central range of the Drakensberg Mountains, whose rocky peaks and high escarpments create the outline of a sleeping giant. Here we will explore the extensive grasslands and forested gullies in search of an exciting variety of flowers including Crocosmia paniculata and Crocosmia aurea, Heperantha coccinea, (Crimson Flag) and perhaps some specimens of the spectacular Brunsvigia natalensis. We must also keep our eyes up, as well as down, however, to be sure not to miss birds such as Cape Vulture, Lammergeier and Cape Rockthrush, plus mammals including Eland, the largest of Africa’s antelope, Klipspringer, Mountain Reedbuck and troops of inquisitive Chacma Baboons.

Next, we will skirt around the base of the main Drakensberg range to the small town of Underberg near the foot of the spectacular Sani Pass. Here we will be based for two nights and, during our full day, we will swap our minibus for 4-wheel drive vehicles for the ascent up the spectacular Sani Pass, one of Africa’s most exciting and dramatic botanical drives. Highlights will be many and varied, but may include pincushion plants such as Helichrysum marginatum, plus Cyrtanthus stenanthus, Kniphofia laxiflora and the pink orchid Watsonia confusa. The higher slopes of the pass are also home to Ground Woodpecker and the endemic Drakensberg Rockjumper.

We now leave the mountains behind and begin our descent to the lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal, stopping en route at the midlands town of Howick for two nights where we will focus our attention on the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve which lies in a valley created by the Umgeni River, not far from the majestic Howick Falls. We then conclude our holiday with two nights in the Hluhluwe-Imfolosi Game Reserve. Here, within South Africa’s oldest game reserve — established in 1895 — we will focus on the country’s larger mammal species on morning and afternoon game drives. African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Southern Giraffe, Hippo and Lion are all frequently observed and, despite the recent increase in poaching, the reserve still holds one of South Africa’s most important White Rhino populations. We will also enjoy the park’s abundant birdlife which includes Grey Crowned Crane, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Crested Guineafowl and White-fronted Bee-eater.

Finally, we must drive back along KwaZulu- Natal’s beautiful coastline to the city of Durban from where we will catch our flight home.

The arrival of spring in South Africa is marked by a carpet of wild flowers which blanket the western part of the country from the Cape to the mountains and plains of Namaqualand to the north. This spectacular show attracts botanists from far and wide but few realise that, a few months later, 1,600 kilometres further to the east, another remarkable floral display erupts which, although lacking Namaqualand’s feast of colour, contains a wealth of beautiful flowering plants set amongst some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery. It is not just the flowers that draw naturalists to this dramatic region, however, for KwaZulu-Natal’s varied landscapes and habitats — from mist-shrouded mountains to lush coastal wetlands — are home to a varied array of birds, mammals and reptiles too. Although this exciting tour will focus primarily on the summer flowers of the Drakensberg escarpment, it will also introduce you to some of the other varied wildlife that lives here and take you through some of the most dramatic scenery in southern Africa.

Our holiday begins with an overnight flight from London to Johannesburg, where we will meet our local guide and drive south towards the Drakensberg Mountains. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park, a beautiful 340-square kilometre reserve, will be our first venue and here we will explore the highveld and montane grasslands in search of our first flowers and a variety of birds and mammals. We next move to the Royal Natal National Park for a 4-night stay, split between two nights in Witsieshoek on its western side and then two nights at Thendele Camp on the eastern side of the reserve. The Royal Natal National Park protects the Drakensberg’s most famous vista, the magnificent ‘Drakensberg Amphitheatre’. These 1,000-metre high basalt cliffs stretch for over five kilometres and create a wonderful backdrop as we explore the reserve’s upland grassland and forest patches in search of the blues of Agapanthus campanulatus, the whites and greens of Zantedeschia albomaculata and the striking pink flowers of Hesperanthus grandiflora. Gurney’s Sugarbird is frequently seen feeding within the Protea patches, whilst other species to look out for include Cape Vulture, Long-crested Eagle and the beautiful Malachite Sunbird.

Moving on, we will make our way down to the central Drakensberg Mountains, where we use Giant’s Castle Game Reserve as our base for the next two nights. Our camp is situated next to the Bushman’s River, backed by the dramatic central range of the Drakensberg Mountains, whose rocky peaks and high escarpments create the outline of a sleeping giant. Here we will explore the extensive grasslands and forested gullies in search of an exciting variety of flowers including Crocosmia paniculata and Crocosmia aurea, Hesperantha coccinea (Crimson Flag) and perhaps some specimens of the spectacular Brunsvigia natalensis. We must also keep our eyes up, as well as down, however, to be sure not to miss birds such as Cape Vulture, Lammergeier and Cape Rockthrush, plus mammals including Eland, the largest of Africa’s antelope, Klipspringer, Mountain Reedbuck and troops of inquisitive Chacma Baboons.

We now leave the mountains behind and begin our descent to the lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal, stopping en route at the midlands town of Howick for two nights. Our main focus here will be the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve, which lies in a valley created by the Umgeni River, after it cascades over the majestic Howick Falls. The greater part of the reserve sits within the spectacular gorge below the falls, while the upper part is the fringe of a rolling upland plateau. The Umgeni Valley Reserve is home to a fascinating and rich flora which includes an interesting variety of cycads and dracaenas and the spectacular Natal Candelabra Flower (Brunsvigia natalensis).

Finally, we must complete our journey to KwaZulu-Natal’s beautiful coastline from where we head a short distance north to Durban airport to catch our flight to Johannesburg and ultimately home.

Outline Itinerary

Day

Depart London

Days

3 - 6

Royal Natal National Park

Days

7 - 8

Giant's Castle Game Reserve

Days

9 - 10

Underberg and Sani Pass

Days

11 - 12

Howick

Day

Depart Durban

Day

Arrive London

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What's Included?

Food

All meals are included in the price, except lunches. Allow around £150.

Accommodation

We stay in comfortable guesthouses, mountain chalets and hotels; all rooms have private facilities.

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Itineraries

Itinerary

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Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

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Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
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Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!