Our drive from Addo to Sani Lodge took nearly 11 hours. It started off with watching the sunrise on the hammock and seeing giraffes on the side of the road. The scenery was gorgeous, and just got better as we made our way closer to our final destination. A highlight of the drive was passing through a small town where the teenagers had just received their final marks. The cars all had the test scores printed out on display, and they had a mini parade where they excitedly showed all passing vehicles the results. There was honking, waving, cheering, and was a fun event to witness. The drive had mountain views, farms, dirt roads, and windy passes. Our accommodation was a cute rotunda with a thatched roof, reached by a walkway with a bridge and ferns on either side.

Our first full day in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was the start of our 5 day backpacking hike. We packed our bags as light as possible and left the rest of our belongings in the car. Our meals were a mix of dehyrated meals, peanut butter and jelly wraps, and dried snacks like biltong and mango. Day 1 was 15km of relatively easy trail with some elevation gain in the first few kilometers that took us around 5 hours including our swim and lunch break. Instead of starting at the trailhead we walked along the highway for 2.5 km from our hostel to get to the Gxalingenwa Trail. This route joined up with the Giants Cup Trail at 4.25km.

Where the trails meet was a pool for swimming in which Nick enjoyed. We had about 5 river crossings, which went fine but were annoying to have to take my shoes on and off for so often. There were additional crossings where we did not have to take our shoes off because we could use rocks as stepping stones to get across.

We walked past huge patches of lavender, blackberries, and many flowers we had never seen before. Nick and I hiked behind a small waterfall, across grassy fields, over a few swinging bridges, and got in to our mountain hut just before the afternoon thunder storm rolled in. The mountain hut used to be a farmhouse and had beds for 30 people. We were the only hikers there and enjoyed the tranquility, although with the rain and fog it was also slightly eery. We did not see a single hiker during the day, only trail maintenance workers.

The second day on the trail was 9km long and took us around 3 hours to complete with a lunch break. Day two was the easiest of all the days with little elevation gain and little distance. We saw many baboons, including two mating. The baboons made loud scary calls all morning as we hiked. There was a herd of antelope in the distance as well. The trail had overgrown grass and vegetation leading to soaking wet boots from the dew. The morning was foggy throughout the mountains, which was gorgeous.

We had a long time at the mountain hut. The hut was a long building tucked behind a small forest with amazing mountain views and had several rooms filled with bunk beds similar to the old farmhouse from the night before. This one was the most secluded and had a beautiful swimming area with freezing cold water. Nick realized that he forgot the lighter for our camp stove so we had to eat our dinner cold. At the previous mountain hut there was electricity and a kettle so we did not need to use the camp stove. This hut had a separate bathroom with running water for cold showers and flushable toilets, though. The second day was another day of seeing no other hikers.

The third day was around 13- 15km. It was difficult to tell how long it was as the trail had been updated which took us off the old path. There were many bridges this day, around 8 of them including 2 brand new ones. We left at 6:30am and got to the huts at 2:00pm, but had a lunch break from 12:00- 1:40pm. For lunch we skipped rejoining the trail after a small road section and opted for taking a short detour to a small resort called Castleburn instead. It was maybe an additional 1km there and back to the trail. They had a lakeview restaurant where we excitedly got burgers, cokes, and a milkshake. The view included a small lake, rolling hills, and cows moving in large groups over the hills.

Hiking to the mountain huts after lunch was painfully slow. The bags felt heavier and I was ready to not hike anymore. Luckily the hike was not that long after the lunch break. The mountain huts for the evening were small rotundas, with room for 6 people in each. There was an open air kitchen, a bathroom hut, an office hut for signing in, and 5 for sleeping. These huts were close to a large mountain and had a small river dam for swimming. The huts had thatched roofs which were very cozy during the afternoon thunderstorm. There was no electricity again, but there was water for showers which was nice. Like all the previous days we saw no other hikers.

The fourth day was 13km and was the easiest hiking we had with very little elevation gain. Throughout the day we could almost always see a farmhouse or road in the distance which made it feel like we were not on day four of backpacking. Sunrise was gorgeous as it lit up the light mist on the mountains and grassy fields. We could still see our night three huts and the resort we ate lunch at for nearly 2 hours after starting the trail. Along the top of the mountain the landscape was similar to that of the valley below. We saw a crab on the trail on the top of the mountain which seemed very out of place.

The fifth day was 13.5km long and took us about 5 hours. This was the longest and hardest day of hiking with the longest distance and the most elevation. Compared to the hikes we normally do back in the USA, though, it was still a relatively easy day. We started our day by seeing a jackel run by us on the trail. The trail had beautiful views, amazing flowers, and many wild cat pawprints. We had our lunch break at the fifth hut, which is where some hikers opt to spend the night. We decided to finish the hike instead as the parking lot was only 20 minutes away from the last hut. The mountain hut seemed like it hadn’t had hikers stay there in a long time but had amazing views all around. It was another day of seeing no other hikers on the trail which was absolutely amazing.