Tips for Drakensberg

Hi

We would like to visit Drakensberg to see some San rock arts this July. Would 5 days (inclusive), starting and ending in Johannesberg be sufficient for a self-drive trip? And we need some help with planning a 'sensible' itinerary, one that wouldn't not involve overnight trekking.

Many thanks

S

You can see San rock art near Cathedral Peak and also at Giants Castle, in seperate areas of the Berg. The Drakensberg is divided into three main areas - the Southern Berg around the towns of Underberg and Himeville with the Sani Pass as on eof the main attractions; the Central Berg which centres on Giants Castle; and the Northern Berg - which can also be split into two, viz. Champagne Valley which stretches from Winterton down to Cathedral Peak, and the Mont-aux-Source area of the Royal Natal National Park.
You could drive from Johannesburg to the furthest area (the Southern Drakensberg) in a day by following the N3 down to Howick and then the R617 to Himeville. The other areas are obviously closer to Johannesburg and the northernmost (the Mont-aux-Sources amphitheatre) can be reached via Harrismith and the Oliviershoek Pass within 4 hours. It would take less than an hour to get from there to the Champagne Valley. To get to Giants Castle one has to return to the N3 and then turn south-west again at Estcourt. There are no roads directly linking the 4 areas to one another.
If you can leave Johannesburg early enough, I would suggest you head for the southernmost area and then work your way north. Remember you will always be within, at most, a one-day drive from Johannesburg. If you cannot leave Johannesburg until midday, make your first stop the Royal Natal National Park and then go south from there.
In July you will probably have to contend with extremely cold conditions and probably with snow on the mountains - after all it is mid-winter then. In addition the school holidays only end on 16th July (although I don't think that that will be a major factor - families would be more likely to head for the warmth of the Natal coast or the game parks).
Hope this helps, even though I leave it to you to plan your route.

We stayed at the Nest a few years back, and we went on a guided walk to see some cave paintings, plus the food and accomodation was pretty good !