After my exciting adventures at the game reserve, it was time for a little R&R at the Babanango Valley Lodge. Our drive from Hluhluwe was uneventful; every one seemed a bit worn out from all the hours in the safari vehicles…tough life, I know. When we arrived in Babanango, set in this absolutely picturesque valley, we found out that our group would be split up. Some of us would be staying in the lodge, some in a cottage, while others would have to rough it in the bush camp down by the river. I was one of the lucky 10 to be staying in the lodge for two nights. This place was absolutely top of the line! Colonial style furniture, turn down service, terry cloth robes, huge beautiful bathroom…we were living’ the life. Sadly though, all of our friends were out in the bush camp 3km away. Their accommodations weren’t quite as spectacular: three wall cinder block "tents" with a canvas flap complete with zipping door and window. I honestly was bummed because I wanted a "roughin’ it" experience, but I was verrrry happy I was in the lodge during the two nights when it got down into the thirties and all the tent campers had was a space heater that put out little to no heat. Meanwhile, Elayna and I were having a dance party in our robes and watching Twilight on her laptop…. We had to document it and showed it to our bush camp friends the next morning…they weren’t too pleased by our fortune!
Morning View of the Babanango Valley from outside my room.
Babanango is located near the Zulu-British battlefields as seen in the film "Zulu" starring Michael Caine. No, I’ve never seen it, so I can’t recommend it, but I can now tell you how many inaccuracies there are in the film after our 8 hour tour of the battle fields. Our first stop was the fields of Isandlwana which was where the Zulu army massacred the British during one battle in January 1879. In the humiliating defeat, the British lost 1200 men. The huge battle field (we climbed a hill to get the full view) is littered with white cairns of stones to commemorate the mass British graves. The British soldiers did not come back until 4 months later to bury the dead. 4 months.
After Isandlwana, we visited Rorke’s Drift which was another battle site that occurred on the same day as Ilanswana. Rorke’s drift was the site of the British military hospital and outpost. 170 British defended themselves against 4000 Zulu warriors. The battle lasted for 12 hours and the British succeeded by barricading themselves in with maize bags and biscuit boxes. The Brits only lost 17 men. Our guide for both these sites was just ridiculously knowledgeable about the battle fields and had some of us in stitches when he kept saying "biscuit box barricade" in his silly South African accent. After 8 hours of military history, I had to find something to entertain myself. In all honesty, it was a very informative day, but I’m just really not into Military History.
We returned to the Lodge for one more night, and one more dinner together in Bush Camp. One of the highlights of the stay in Babanango was an around the fire discussion with the entire group where we shared what we were grateful or thankful for on the trip thus far. It was just a great bonding experience, and helped all of us realize (yet again) how fortunate we are the be seeing this, experiencing this, and sharing it with some of the most amazing, talented educators I have met in my life. But don’t worry, Dakota teachers are still the best! The responses ranged from serious to silly, with the customary "I’m grateful for the US Taxpayers for funding all of this!"
We left Babanango and on our way to the Drakensberg mountains we stopped at a traditional Zulu Village. Ahh…another cultural highlight of the trip. The village consisted of a family of 15 with 20 cattle and lots of goats. They did not speak any English so we had a translator to help guide our discussion. We learned about their customs and religious beliefs. The children walk 8km EACH way to school every day…OVER A MOUNTAIN. Yeah, makes all my students who complain about taking the school bus seem downright discredited. The highlight of the experience was being allowed to enter the "kitchen" and share some homemade maize beer with the Zulu family. Upon entering, women had to move to the left and men to the right, as a custom of respect. From there we had to get down on our haunches in a circle and the cup as passed around. It was just an amazing experience that so few people have been able to experience!
Here I am sampling the Maize beer in the rondaval at the Zulu Village.
We arrived the Drakensberg at Didima camp and were treated to even more amazing scenery. It seems that each and every day tops the last…I don’t think I can say that about anything else I’ve ever experienced before. We are staying in chalets which look like they came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book! The views…oh the views….the best way I can describe it is that it looks a lot like Lord of the Rings. Mountains, valleys, gorges…with tons of baboons running around. I awoke this morning to the sound of a baboon hooting outside my chalet. Not a bad way to wake up! Yesterday afternoon we left our door wall open to get some air in, and we almost had a visitor; the large male baboon was lurking on our patio trying to get in for a snack. Keep all food out of site and keep the doors closed! Aside from sneaky baboons, it is such a peaceful, beautiful, relaxing place. We did another potluck dinner last night and then spent the evening watching The Rock while piling into a king size bed…. Definitely not a moment I thought I’d have in South Africa, but it sure was fun.
Here is a view of the Drakensberg from the patio of my Chalet.
This morning I was up bright and early (Thank you baboons and skylight coming into my chalet!), to head up to see the San rock art. The San people, as I mentioned in a previous blog, were the first people in South Africa tracing back to 4000 years ago. The Drakensberg is the only place in South Africa where you can still see their cave paintings. A group of 12 of us hiked up to see it this morning. It was a strenuous but rewarding hike! In addition to the paintings, the views were out of this world. Our guide took us to this cave outcropping where the paintings were. They were much bigger than I thought and still in really good condition. When we asked our guide how old the paintings were, he just said 1800, so we‘re not sure if that means 1800 years old or from 1800 (the San were still in the Drakensberg until the late 1800s) Either way, it‘s still old and cool. On the way back we stopped off at a waterfall and took a ton more pictures. It was a great way to start a Monday! This afternoon, after refueling from the punishing hike, a few of us headed to the Didima Rock Art Museum. Pretty interesting…lots about the San people and their beliefs and customs. The caves where the paintings are held are still visited today by Zulu and Xhosa healers because they are believed to hold spiritual power. The other highlight was the SHOPPING! Outside of the Didima museum was a local craft market full of any and every woven basket, tray, or wall hanging one could imagine. The best part was that each piece was made by a Zulu woman in the Drakensberg area and all the money went directly back to her. I did my fair share of supporting the local economy.
The San rock art that I hiked to!
Tonight we are having a Braai (South African barbeque) with the entire group. We did a massive shopping trip before arriving here in Drakensberg. I foresee an exciting and fun night! I’m sad to leave this beautiful place, but it’s off to Joburg tomorrow for three nights and then on to Botswana. I can’t believe tomorrow is the start of week 5. Time is just flying…I’ll be home in just over two weeks. Time to savor the moment and kick back on my patio, watch the sunset over the Drakensberg, and listen to the baboons. Life is good.
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