The Drakensberg

Last weekend was great. After two nonstop weeks of stress trying to get things done, I was fortunate to go to the Drakensberg and relax with nature and friends. The thought of going to the 'berg was first conjured up when Bongani was sleeping on my floor that infamous weekend in Bloemfontein. So we kept to our promise of going camping in the Drakensberg and Gugu [Bongani's girlfriend] and Morgan also came to make it a fun camping adventure. It was Morgan and Gugu's first time camping, and they weren't too scared off by it in the end! Which was great.

We went hiking on Saturday through a bit of the Underberg area, and I was on a search for the cave paintings of the San Bushmen-- the first known living humans on earth. They were there somewhere, but after miles of hiking and many hours spent on foot [and even some spontaneous river-crossing], I never found those paintings. :::sigh::: I was hiking through a World Heritage site and never found the paintings! Tragic.

In the middle of our hike there was a scene. Yes, a scene was made. Bongani was leading the way down a narrow path, then it was me following, Gugu and Morgan. Suddenly Bongani turns around in shear fright and sprints the other direction. Morgan freaks out and starts running, followed by Gugu also running after Bongani. Meanwhile, I am just standing there, realizing it was a snake he was running from and it already moved. By the time I turn back around to see how far they had run, I witness Morgan falling down to the ground screaming, "Help me! Help me!" flailing her legs in the air, Gugu then trips over Morgans backpack and lands on top of her. Now they are both flailing on the ground and Bongani has managed to sprint a good 50-60 meters away. I am still standing there, trying to tell them to calm down the snake went the other way. Morgan thought she was going to be eaten by a baboon [there were signs warning about the dangerous baboon], which is why she was screaming "Help me! Help me!" when she fell to the ground and imagined a savage monkey gnawing on her leg. Eventually we all reconvened and continued along our path. Bongani said he now knows that in the face of danger when you have the instinct of fight or flight... he's flight. "Brittan, you definitely must be fight. You just stood there, ready to fight.You are the bravest one!" Or maybe I am just the stupidest one, because I wasn't ready to run without knowing what I was running from.

I have to admit, I sat here laughing the entire time I typed out that experience. People in the internet cafe must think that I am out of my mind, laughing at a computer screen. But really, try to imagine that scene from my perspective. You will see why it is funny. Especially the girls flailing on the ground.

The mountains were beautiful to say the least. Truly one of those experiences where you wonder how someone could deny the existence of God when you are surrounding by such great and amazing beauty. Morgan briefly brought this up while we were hiking and I could not agree more. The wonders of nature are truly much bigger than what the human can fathom. I loved it.

And best of all-- we got to share the classic American s'more with Bongani and Gugu on Saturday night [and Sunday morning breakfast]. Mmm best camping food ever.