38 Vol. 10 / No. 5 / May 2018 Global Aviator
Destinations
to be opened and off she went to visit
Steve and his wife Estelle, spending
much of her time with them. Scotties
are good judges of character and she
certainly loved her new humans.
Mountain holidays can be relaxing
and quiet or busy and active – the choice
is yours but we preferred the peace and
other than the occasional drive to a small
shopping centre down the road to top up
on provisions and browse the shops, we
took in the fresh air, swam, fished and
just chilled. A visit to Thokozisa brought
us face to face with an African Wild Cat
that had made his home with one of the
shop owners. As these are normally very
shy animals and seldom seen, to be able
to interact with one was a rare privilege.
There are numerous activities in
the area: Drakensberg canopy tour,
Four Rivers rafting with quads, archery,
or zip-line, the Champagne CastleAdventure Centre with abseiling,
king swing and paintball, helicopter
flips at Dragon Peaks, mountain
biking trails, hot air ballooning
and "Scootours” – a first in SA!
For sports lovers there are nearby
golf courses, tennis, bowls, horse
riding and fishing. Day hikes can
be undertaken to Sterkhorn, Grotto,
Breakfast Stream, Nandi’s Falls,
Sphinx and others. Unfortunately the
guided hikes to Bushman Paintings
are no longer allowed. Overnight
hikes go to up Grey’s Pass to the top of
Champagne Castle. It is not advisable
to hike alone without notifying
someone where you are going.
There is quite a wide variety of
restaurants in the area for those who
prefer to eat out. We ate several meals
at the strangely named Purple Giraffe
Art Cafe which provides very goodmeals at reasonable prices. The Waffle
Hut is another well worth visiting.
Close by is the Falcon Ridge
Bird of Prey Centre. They have daily
shows that are excellent value. This
is a rehabilitation station as well and
many birds that have been injured
will be brought here, treated and
wherever possible, released back into
the wild. The Centre is well worth a
visit, and just a little way further up the
mountain is the Dragon Rock Reptile
Centre. This is much more than just a
collection of snakes. The centre house
a number of snake species, crocodiles,
several species of lizards, spiders
including some rather large tarantulas,
turtles, porcupines, and tortoises.
The guides know their reptiles and
show a genuine concern and love for
animals that are not usually the type
that people would want as pets.