ExpaT-TraveL
discovering The Champagne Castle Hotel
I have been to the Table Mountains in Cape Town - breathtakingly beautiful - but in my view, the Drakensberg has a leg up. A perfect expedition, the only downside being a few too many toll gates with fees of up to R40 per stop and numerous speed cameras even at sections where one has every temptation to put the pedal to the metal.
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EXPATRIATE
If however you are able to regulate your speed and play your part in funding the roads, your just reward is one of Africa’s most frequented mountain ranges. According to the Drakensberg Tourism Association, the area falls into four valleys beginning with the Champagne Valley in the Central Berg, through the Cathedral Peak and Didima
Valley, then the Royal Natal National Park and Amphitheatre Valley, and finally the Middledale Pass Valley in the Northern Berg. I drove through a sleepy town with the window rolled all the way down to breath in the countryside fresh air flavoured by a dash of animal dung. It was a windy