Africa Antiqua: Mysteries of the Dragon Mountains

.Arrival 4^th January 2010: Durban International Airport

Guests arrive and are collected from Durban International Airport.

 Lunch: Heritage Market (Durban) Own Account

 Dinner: Didima Camp

 Hotel: Didima Camp

 Day 1: 5^th January 2010: Didima

 Morn. Walk to Lower Mushroom Rock. 1.5 hour hike from Cathedral Peak Hotel.  The rock art shelter is quite small but the paintings make it worthwhile – they are exquisite and display polychrome éland, therianthropes and an animated scene of humans being chased by a feline.

Lunch: Didima Camp Own Account

Aft: Didima Rock Art Centre. View Interpretive Display and Rock Art Films.

Dinner: Didima Camp

Hotel: Didima Camp

Day 2: 6^th January 2010: Didima

Morn. Walk to Brotherton Rock. A two hour steep climb from community land outside of the Drakensberg Park. The painted panel is small but beautiful displaying eland, animated human imagery, a possible dog, and beehives in the classic Harald Pager tradition. Worthwhile the effort.

Lunch: Didima Camp Own Account

Dinner: Didima Camp

Hotel: Didima Camp

Day 3: 7^th January 2010: Injesuthi

Morn. Walk to Battle Cave (Injesuthi). A 2.5 hour hike, one way, to this major cave from Injesuthi Camp. Battle Cave is one of the largest painted shelters in the Drakensberg. It is famous for the so-called Battle Scene between two groups of San armed with bows and arrows. However, this scene has also been interpreted as a battle scene in the spiritual realm as the imagery does point to some trance symbolism.

Apart from this scene the are numerous depictions of therianthropes, some with bird-like wings and legs, eland, dancing human figures, eland, dancing human figures, a feline, aardvark, two rhinos, a snake and a mongoose.

Lunch: Packed Lunch (Didima Camp) Inclusive

Dinner: Giant’s Castle Camp

Hotel: Giant’s Castle Camp

Day 4: 8^th January 2010: Giants Castle

Morn. Walk to Main Caves, Giant’s Castle. This is an easy 40 min hike from the camp. One of the major painted caves in the Drakensberg. It consists of two sections: Main Caves 1 and Main Caves 2. This cave has been sporadically researched and investigated since the 1870’s. It is arguably the best researched painted shelter in southern Africa. It contains almost 700 individual depictions painted during different periods and styles.

The oldest paintings may date back to approximately 2, 400 years and the more recent depictions to the last 120 years or so. The subject matter varies but includes excellent examples of eland in different styles, therianthropes, humans, a serpent coiled around a human-being (most probably a novice medicine-man), as well as Contact Period rock art, such as horses and cattle, and therefore post-dating 1820.

The cave is also associated with some Drakensberg San ethnography. It was implicated in the Langalibalele Rebellion of 1873.

Lunch: Giant’s Castle Camp Own Account

Aft: Barne’s Shelter. An easy 20 min hike from the tar road. This cave was inhabited by the first ranger of Giant’s Castle in 1913. It contains an interesting trance dance depiction and paintings of horses. There is also a depiction of an elephant-like rain-animal, therianthropes, and human figures in various postures.

Dinner: Giant’s Castle Camp

Hotel: Giant’s Castle Camp

Day 5: 9^th January 2010: Kamberg

Morn. Walk to Game Pass Shelter. A 1.5 hour walk (one way), of which the last 800m is very steep. This is one of the best-preserved painted sites in southern Africa. It also contains the so-called Rosetta Panel, which is believed by some researchers to contain all the elements that have helped researcher to ‘crack the code’ in rock art interpretation.

The paintings of this site are simply superb. They depict eland in various styles and periods, therianthropes (some of which are superimposed on top of eland), an arm protruding from a crack in the rock face. There are also ghost-like apocalyptic images associated with the final years of Bushman independence in the Drakensberg.

Presently the cave is also used by Drakensberg San descendants for an annual ceremony known simply as the ‘Eland Ceremony’.

Lunch: Kamberg Coffee Shop Own Account

Aft: If time permits, we will visit Drakensberg San descendants in the adjacent Tendela village. Although no longer hunter-gatherers, members of the Duma household were once closely associated with the Bushmen who produced the painted canvasses in the Drakensberg. They continue to have some knowledge of Bushman medicinal herbs, and to revere the Bushman lesser deity called the rain animal.

Dinner: Engaleni Lodge Camp

Hotel: Engaleni Lodge

Day 6: 10^th January 2010: Departure: Durban Airport

Departure from Durban Airport.