South Africa (5) Kwazulu Natal Province - The Drakensberg for hiking and St Lucia with Hippos and Crocs

After our safaris, we drove back to Johannesburg airport. We had an unfortunate incident along the way when we stopped for food and took cash from an ATM machine. A sneaky move from a local guy allowed him to remove $$ from our account. At the end, everything worked out fine but it was quite unsettling at the time it happened. Trust was abused.
We rented a car at the airport and set to cross the country with it. We established the following itinerary: Johannesburg - Drakensberg - St Lucia - Hluhluwe/Imfolozi reserve - Ado elephant park - the garden route - Cape Town.

Our first stop was the Drakensberg in Kwazulu Natal, for a difficult 6 hr hike that we really wanted to do. We stayed at the Ampitheater Lodge & Backpackers that was lovely and in the middle of nowhere. We were extremely fortunate with the weather on the day of the hike and truly enjoyed it. You will see on the pictures that the hike was difficult in some areas and we were hiking only with young folks :)) The pace was sustained.

Our guide with the blue shirt

The Drakensberg is at the border of Lesotho. We met young sheppards from Lesotho dressed only with a blanket and a short underneath. They had their dogs with them. Our guide was able to talk to them for a while.

Beautiful waterfall - the tallest in South Africa

B

We then went to St Lucia, still in Kwazulu Natal. St Lucia is known for its beautiful location near St Lucia's lake and estuary, home for many hippos and crocodiles. There is also a park nearby with many animals and a crocodile center with lots of interesting information on crocs. We stayed at the Monzi Safaris Lodge in a tent nicely set with a double bed and a fan inside. Very comfortable and cool :)) There was a swimming pool and a large kitchen opening up on the pool. Cooking and talking to others in the dining area was fun.

The tents on the second floor - super comfy :))

A park just outside of St Lucia

 Red duiker

 Pumba

Wildebeest

The Crocodile Center

 Serrated Hinged Terrapin

Boat ride on the St Lucia estuary

Hippos that are yawning may not be happy and content. Yawning is a threat sign. Hippos are the most dangerous animals here. They are remarkably agile and aggressive.

"See you later, alligator. After a while, crocodile"

Bill Haley