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Basalt walls above a green valley in the Mnweni area of the Drakensberg

Sample journey · 12–14 days

The Drakensberg, Zulu history and the iSimangaliso coast

The Amphitheatre and San rock art, the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, St Lucia & Kosi Bay

Photo: Arthur Hickinbotham / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Most travellers meet South Africa through Cape Town and Kruger. This route stays on the eastern side of the country, in KwaZulu-Natal, and finds everything a full journey needs: the basalt wall of the Drakensberg rising more than a thousand metres, sheltering thousands of San rock paintings; the green hills where the Zulu kingdom and the British Empire met in 1879; one of Africa's oldest game reserves; and a UNESCO-listed coast where hippos graze just beyond the streets of a small town.

It suits active travellers, anyone drawn to history, and families with older children. The days are full of movement – mountain walks, game drives, a boat on the estuary – yet every stop has at least two nights and no transfer runs beyond a few hours. Zulu history is best told by local guides, so they are at the heart of the journey. The stays, the pace and the level of activity would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Johannesburg
  2. Northern Drakensberg (the Amphitheatre)
  3. Central Drakensberg
  4. The Battlefields
  5. Hluhluwe–iMfolozi
  6. St Lucia
  7. Kosi Bay
  8. Durban
  1. The frozen top of the Tugela Falls on the edge of the Amphitheatre in winter, Drakensberg

    01Days 1–4 · Northern Drakensberg

    Beneath the Amphitheatre

    After landing in Johannesburg, the road south-east across the Free State plains takes around five hours, so the first evening is simply for resting at the foot of the mountains. Then the Amphitheatre: a basalt wall almost five kilometres long, over which the Tugela Falls drop. An easier walk follows the Tugela Gorge to rocks polished by the river over millennia; a harder, full-day hike climbs to the top of the escarpment, with the last metres on steel chain ladders. Mornings are cold and clear, and in the evenings the valleys turn copper.

  2. A walker in a grassy mountain valley at sunrise, Drakensberg

    02Days 5–6 · Central Drakensberg

    Eland on the rock

    A couple of hours south, the mountains soften and the streams run clearer. The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is UNESCO-listed for its nature and for San rock art alike: beneath the overhangs, thousands of paintings survive – eland, hunts, dances and figures whose meaning researchers are still working out. The key sites can only be visited with a local guide, which is a good thing: they explain what you're seeing and help protect the paintings. The rest of the time is for walks over grassy ridges and long evenings by the fire.

  3. 03Days 7–8 · The Battlefields

    One day in January 1879

    The road north-east crosses open hills to Isandlwana, the outcrop beneath which a Zulu army defeated a British column on 22 January 1879. That same night, a few kilometres away at the mission station of Rorke's Drift, another well-known battle was fought. This is a day to spend with a local guide: the best storytellers give both sides, including the Zulu perspective, the choices of their commanders and what the war meant for the kingdom. Standing quietly among the white cairns, history becomes very personal.

  4. White rhinos resting on the ground in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park

    04Days 9–10 · Hluhluwe–iMfolozi

    Rhino country

    Hluhluwe–iMfolozi is one of Africa's oldest game reserves, once the hunting ground of Zulu kings. In the twentieth century the southern white rhino was brought back from the brink here, and today you may well see them grazing on the hillsides. Open-vehicle drives at dawn and dusk, lazy afternoons in between. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe and zebra are common; lion and leopard much less so – nothing in nature is guaranteed. For the active, a walk with an armed ranger, where one is running.

  5. Sunset over the St Lucia estuary, seen from a moving boat

    05Days 11–12 · St Lucia (iSimangaliso)

    Hippos beyond the high street

    Less than an hour's drive, and you reach iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town of St Lucia sits between the estuary and the ocean: on an evening boat trip you'll see hippos and crocodiles, and at night hippos sometimes wander out to graze in the streets. By day it's worth driving up to Cape Vidal, where forested dunes run down into the Indian Ocean. Roughly from November to March, guided night drives to watch sea turtles nesting run on the northern beaches, though their timing varies each year.

  6. The Kosi Bay river mouth from above: clear water, sandbanks and forested dunes by the ocean

    06Days 13–14 · Kosi Bay & Durban

    Fish traps and the road home

    The last stretch of coast is Kosi Bay, right by the Mozambique border: four lakes linked by channels, mangroves, and a river mouth where local Thonga communities still build traditional reed fish traps. At the mouth, when the water is calm, you can snorkel. Kosi Bay is best reached with a local guide in a four-wheel drive, and on the last day it's around five or six hours by road south to Durban's airport. If time allows, a walk along Durban's beachfront promenade and a local curry are a good way to end.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    The chain ladders to the top

    A full-day hike to the escarpment at almost 3,000 metres, where the Tugela Falls begin their drop.

  2. 02

    San paintings under the overhang

    Eland and human figures painted hundreds or thousands of years ago, with a guide who helps you read them.

  3. 03

    Isandlwana with a local guide

    The war of 1879, told from both sides, on the very ground where it happened.

  4. 04

    An evening on the estuary

    A boat on the St Lucia estuary, hippo families in the water and the sun going down behind the mangroves.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • With children

    Shorter mountain walks, the Tugela Gorge instead of the chain ladders, more time by the ocean and safari stays where children are welcome. The Battlefields day can be shortened, with a telling suited to older children.

  • More mountains

    The southern Drakensberg and the Sani Pass by four-wheel drive up to the Lesotho plateau, or a multi-day hike sleeping in mountain huts or caves – for experienced walkers, and only with a guide.

  • On to Mozambique or Eswatini

    From Kosi Bay the route could continue into southern Mozambique, or through the hills of Eswatini to Kruger – in which case you'd fly home from somewhere other than Durban.

  • In another season

    In the southern summer (roughly November to March) the mountains are green and afternoon thunderstorms are common, so walks start early. In winter the days are dry and clear, nights in the mountains are cold, snow can fall on the heights, and wildlife in the bush is often easier to spot.

Practical considerations

  • You travel by road: self-drive (South Africa drives on the left) or with a driver-guide. Distances are modest, but around Kosi Bay you'll need a four-wheel drive and a local guide.
  • The hike to the top of the Amphitheatre is long, reaches almost 3,000 metres and mountain weather changes quickly, so it needs good fitness. There are plenty of gentler walks too.
  • Hluhluwe–iMfolozi and the northern part of iSimangaliso lie in a malaria area; check current advice with a doctor or travel clinic.
  • At the battlefields and the San rock-art sites we recommend local guides: their storytelling is the heart of the journey, and some sites can only be visited with them.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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