South Africa Fly Drive - Beaches, Battlefields and Bobotie
Flying with British Airways via Jo'burg in to Durban, it was very easy to pick up our hire car at the airport, and with South Africans driving on the left, it was a leisurely short drive to our first stop. We spent a couple of nights in the upmarket suburb of Umhlanga Rocks, a great location for a day trip to Durban and offering a lovely choice of night-time restaurants and bars. A visit to the iconic Oyster Box Hotel should be on everybody's itinerary, where you can sample their legendary High Tea, or perhaps opt for the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet (our preferred option). If it's just a snack you're looking for then head to the many restaurants serving up the South African Cape Malay dish of Bobotie, curried meat and fruit topped with a creamy golden topping - my personal favourite dish.
And so, the big drive began. Our first destination was the area known as the Midlands Meander, a hill-climb out of Durban and a region famous for its arts, crafts, galleries, artisan foods and boutique breweries. And boy did we sample the lot! Staying in the quaint Granny Mouse Country House as a base, you pick up a map and then explore away, with self-guided maps highlighting all that this region has to offer. And if that wasn't enough, finishing the day with a 7-course tasting menu at the hotel, with delicious matching wines.
Having filled ourselves with various chocolates, cheeses, bread, meat and wine, where better to burn it all off than the stunning Drakensberg Mountains? It only takes a few hours’ drive and you arrive in this truly awe-inspiring region. The views from our resort hotel were incredible, basing ourselves near the Giant's Castle Game Reserve, a magnet for walkers, ramblers and enthusiastic mountain climbers. The helpful information centre provided informative maps for different walks available, varying in distance and difficulty. It's a stunning area to visit with some incredible views over the deep valleys. It was a well-earned cold beer taken in the micro-brewery on the way back to the hotel.
After our exertions in the Drakensberg, a 3-hour drive took us east towards the town of Ladysmith, a great base to visit the famous battlefields of the region. A good option is to book an organised tour to make sure you see as much as possible of the main historical sites. With limited time, we decided to drive ourselves, though in hindsight, having a guide would have given us much more information and insight at the locations we visited. We had chosen to visit two of the most famous - the site of the Battle of Spion Kop, fought in 1900 during the Boer War, and Rorkes Drift, the legendary site of one of the British Army's bravest battles, where 140 soldiers fought off 4000 Zulu warriors for over 11 hours in 1879. It was made famous in the film Zulu, though I did at least resist the temptation to attempt my Michael Caine impression.
Both sites offered up a lot of information, with moving monuments and gravestones high up on the plateau at Spion Kop, and at the re-built Mission Station at Rorkes Drift, a very informative museum and Interpretation Centre, with some very moving stories of the heroics and tragedies of these two battles. All in all, visiting this area is a must for any history buffs out there.
It was also here that we experienced just how wild and powerful the weather can be in Africa. Roasting away at 37 Celsius in the afternoon, the area was hit with a spectacular hailstorm of biblical proportions in the evening. Taking shelter in a restaurant it sounded like the Gods were taking it in turn to drum out a beat on the roof. When we returned to our hotel, our room had been deluged and our car was covered in hailstone sized dents, despite being parked under an awning. In true South African hospitality, our hosts re-housed us and washed our soaked clothes. Also, a good lesson was taken on board with the car hire - taking out worry-free nil excess hire avoided any penalty for the car damage. The next day it was back to sunshine and 30+ degrees!
If we had had more time, we would have extended our stay in this region with a visit to one of the fantastic game reserves available in the region. A safari in KZN delivers stunning mountain backdrops, as well as the chance to encounter the Big 5 and the thousands of different endemic birds. My choice would either be a stay at the Thanda Private Game Reserve, or perhaps a visit to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of the oldest game reserves in Africa.
Our trip though, finished with 2 more nights back on the coast at the lovely seaside resort of Ballito. Here we did encounter some poor weather, but the beaches were beautiful and great for a stroll, and there is a good collection of restaurants in the town, offering delicious fresh fish dishes, hearty meats and of course, South Africa's incredibly tasty wines - just wish they would ship a bit more of it over to the UK.
All in all, as much as I love Cape Town and the spectacular Garden Route, this area of South Africa should not be overlooked and is well worth a visit. It truly reflects the astounding diversity of this country, offers terrific value for money, and has some of the friendliest people on the planet. A magical country.