Weekend in The ‘Berg

Our weekend started off on August 3, with a quick stop in Bhambayi before we started the four hour drive to the berg. The berg, or Drakensberg, is a very gorgeous mountain area right on the edge of Lesotho, sort of the a national forrest equivalent. The drive was very long and very hot, especially in the back because we had four people in three seats! When we finally got there, I couldn’t see anything because it was dark, so when I woke up the next morning I was shocked to see a giant mountain outside my window. We stayed at a place called Castleburn, which is named that way because of the large mountain that looks like a castle. Castleburn is a resort, so families rent their own 1-4 bedroom cabins, instead of staying in a hotel. The Pearsons stayed in one, the Honeywells, Amy’s family, stayed in another, and all the exchange girls stayed in the third. We had six exchange girls; me, Jenna, Amy, Frances, Claire, and Lolly. We had a small dinner of pasta on Friday night, and then went to bed early because we were all exhausted. On Saturday, the Pearsons and the girls decided to go on a hike through the mountains. We went about 3ks up the beginning of a mountain called The Rhino, then turned around because The Rhino is a ten hour hike. The mountains were so beautiful! The berg is where the original cavemen lived, and it has cave etchings that are one of the first ever signs of humanity. The hike took around three hours, and I really enjoyed it. After that we went back to Castleburn and had lunch and a siesta. There is a small lake at there, so all the girls decided to go kayaking. I went with Claire, and after a rough cast-off, we had a great chat and watched a beautiful mountain sunset on the water. For dinner that night we had a giant braai of steak, chicken, and boerewors, a South African sausage. We woke up early on Sunday to surprise Jenna on her birthday. Our brunch was delicious, we had croissants, bacon, fruit, eggs, braai meat, and more! We had to leave by 12, so we did presents with breakfast, then went on a group walk around the lake. When it was time to leave, I was sad to go because I really enjoyed being in the mountains again, and I couldn’t stop gawking at how beautiful it was there. We took the scenic route back to Durban, and made a stop at Nelson Mandela’a arrest site, where he was arrested before being sent to Robben island. The sculpture was incredible, and I was really happy we got to see it. I have been super busy recently, trying to cram everything into the little time I have left here, so stay tuned for an English literacy program, a harbor cruise, a city tour, a bead market, and a women’s conference!