Middle Drakensberg – Amphitheater – South Africa

The Drakensberg mountains are about 100 miles  inland from Durban. The range extends about 100 miles, in three distinctive sections: North, Middle, South. If you’ve seen the movie Zulu, you’ve seen this part of the world. Every other  winter, there will be a light dusting of snow that lasts a couple of  days. Many of the bushmen caves are to be found here. The hiking is  tremendous and varied, with dozens of resorts to stay at. This area is  mainly populated by rural Zulus. Each year in late winter, early spring,  they burn the grass. The reason is that this area is very dry. If the  grass were long, it would lay flat and the water would run off. By  burning the grass, the water is held, the land rejuvenates, and the  grass returns.

This is a view of the Middle Drakensberg peaks from below Tugela Falls. Tugela Falls is the 2nd highest waterfall in the world, but is dry in August (when we visited).

I am not 100% certain of this location, but I believe it is close.
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Middle Drakensberg – South Africa

Another resurrected panorama from my trip to SA in 1997. Just pulled off the road and took this shot. I swear I did not pump the colors. Some day I need to find and rescan the photos with less sharpening, but oh well.

The Drakensberg mountains are about 100 miles inland from Durban. The range extends about 100 miles, in three distinctive sections: North, Middle, South. If you’ve seen the movie Zulu, you’ve seen this part of the world. Every other winter, there will be a light dusting of snow that lasts a couple of days. Many of the bushmen caves are to be found here. The hiking is tremendous and varied, with dozens of resorts to stay at. This area is mainly populated by rural Zulus. Each year in late winter, early spring, they burn the grass. The reason is that this area is very dry. If the grass were long, it would lay flat and the water would run off. By burning the grass, the water is held, the land rejuvenates, and the grass returns.