Royal Natal National Park
The Drakensberg mountains are the central spot for various hiking routes. The Royal Natal National Park is the nearest to our campground thus the reason for us visiting it quite often when we are camping at ATKV Drakensville. The park is part of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. The rates are R60 for South African citizens and R260 for International visitors. The road to the entrance of the park isn’t that great as there are a lot of potholes. There is a shop where you can buy physical maps of the different trails or some snacks. If I am being honest though, the quality of this shop declined. Usually it was stocked to the brim with snacks, gifts and equipment which was still the case a few years back when I last visited in 2019, but now it is empty.
Except for these unfortunate qualities, the park is still the number one spot for hiking in the Amphitheatre in the Northern Drakensberg.
Parking and safety
The Tugela gorge has its own parking space because it starts higher than the other trails. There is a logbook where you have to give specific details from what you are wearing to what gear you have and how long you wil be gone. This is for your own safety. If something happens and you do not have service to call for help because there is little to no service, help will arrive eventually. There are rangers in the mountains, but they aren’t visible. We have come across them twice when we hiked a few years back. They wear ghillie suits to remain invisible and they carry weapons. Do not be afraid, it is for the safety of the hikers because there are criminals part of trafficking illegal goods between Lesotho and South Africa. There is also petty thieves with multi-day hikes like hiking boots being stolen overnight. Personally, I have never experienced anything of the sort just accounts of others.
Ascend
The trail started next to the Tugela river and after a short while we crossed it. The ascend starts rather quickly, but it isn’t overwhelming. If you embrace the beauty around you you would not even notice how quick you rise above the river. I was in awe with the constant view of the Amphitheatre to even notice how much we ascended. It is mostly a straight path going around the hills, fortunately not over otherwise it would be extremely tiring.
I was also intrigued by the berries that grew along the path. If I am not mistaken, it is mulberries but I was too scared to try it.
Forest corners
There are small forests that formed in the small gullies between the hills. You enter the humid and lavish forest from an open and sunny path. The small forests are a break from the heat as the temperature is very different from the path in the sun. It is interesting to see the change of vegetation as well. On the path in the sun there are the golden grass and surprisingly a lot of protea trees, whereas in the foresty areas there are different types of moss and ferns. The foresty areas consist of various indigenous trees like the real-yellowwood tree, our national tree. There are a lot of streams goings through the forests creating an astonishing scene.
An orange crab and turquoise fungi
At one of those small forests we saw a crab, but it was this radiant orange. I have never seen such an unique crab, not at the beach and never in a mountain.
Another rare sighting was blue fungi which I learned are called Turquoise Elfcups! It is such a deep turquoise colour with a glint in the sunlight. Just like the orange crab, have I never seen this colour of fungi. I feel immensely lucky to have seen these peculiar creations of nature.
The gorge
It was +-7km until we reached the gorge. The old path that we took previously was closed off which led us to a quite difficult path around the old one. I think the reason why they closed the old path was because of the river that washed it away during heavy rains. It is actually terrifying to think about it, you are in a gorge with both sides being solid rock and nowhere to go when the river comes down with a decided force.
I remember the first time we had done the Tugela Gorge trail, the best part was removing my hiking boots and dipping my feet into the water. I had done the same this time. The water is freezing. My feet became red and numb after a few seconds, but it was heavenly after the distance.
While exploring around the gorge we came across a small crack which we did not see the previous time. It was a scene out of heaven, I am sure about it. There was a stream coming down with a peak in the distance. It was picture-perfect!
Going back
I was sad to leave. I wanted to explore the whole day long, but the heat would be excruciating when we would go back as a whole stretch of the path is in the sun. I looked back constantly to savour the view just a bit longer. Along the trail we saw a small grey snake which my mother absolutely hated and we passed a few people. The trail is quite popular, but we started the trail with our car being the only one in the parking lot at 06:40.
Halfway back we saw a baboon sitting on a rock and eating a plant. After I looked closesly I could see that it was a mother and her baby.
The last 2km the heat started catching up on me. I was tired and I felt a blister forming on one of my feet. It felt as if we were walking on a treadmill because the car did not come into sight as I hoped. Eventually after a bit of frustration the end was here.
An 8 year old’s nightmare
Years ago when I was still in primary school between 8-10 years old, my parents decided that we were going to hike the Tugela Gorge. Please, if you have a small child do not torture them with this hike. It is a very demanding hike in terms of distance and trail difficulty. It is a 14 km hike in total to the gorge and back. The trail starts to ascend rather quickly and there are a lot of parts where you have to tread over rocks and water. I enjoyed the hike a lot more now that I am older and I also appreciated the beauty of nature more. When we hiked back to the car park we passed a couple with a small girl which reminded me of myself at that age. All that came to mind was “shame”, she had all my sympathy and that she deserves two ice creams!
Virtual journey
Thank you for going with me on this trail! I hope you enjoyed the photographs just as much as I do. If you find yourself here in the Drakensberg mountains, add the Tugela Gorge to your bucketlist. It is a day hike and it took us 5 hours, but nothing is rushing you. Remember to smell the flowers along the way!
(This post is my own creation and the photographs were taken either with my iPhone or 