Explore Wild Mountain Country

Nestled in the tran­quil val­leys of the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, the remote moun­tain farms of Wartrail and New England provide the per­fect anti­dote to the stresses of city life. Also known as ‘Wild Mountain Country’ this area offers a safe and relax­ing escape in a pristine nat­ural envir­on­ment, far away from the mad­ding crowds.

All types of farm­stay accom­mod­a­tion are avail­able, from camp­ing and self-catering cot­tages to en-suite fully-catered guest farms. Each estab­lish­ment is unique and meals range from simple fare to deli­cious farm style extra­vag­an­zas. Enjoy per­sonal atten­tion from your hosts, many of whom are des­cend­ants of the early set­tlers to the area. They have many won­der­ful stor­ies to tell about the area’s rich his­tory and culture ...

Clean and invig­or­at­ing is the best way to describe the cli­mate in Wild Mountain Country and four well-marked sea­sons occur. In sum­mer the days are typ­ic­ally hot and sunny, with reg­u­lar late after­noon thun­der­storms to clear the air ready for the next day. Autumn is a time to enjoy mag­ni­fi­cent moun­tain col­ours, with the grasses and trees dec­or­ated in splen­did shades of golds and reds. The days are pleas­antly warm and sunny — ideal for out­door activities.

Winter brings snow and vis­it­ors flock to nearby Tiffindell to enjoy the unique oppor­tun­ity to ski in South Africa. The area is stun­ningly beau­ti­ful at this time of year and what could out a bet­ter smile on your face than watch­ing your child build their very first snow­man. In spring the moun­tains bloom with fresh green grass and wild flowers. Birding at this time of year is excep­tional and the farm­lands are burst­ing with new life in the form of lambs and calves.

Whether you want to unwind in peace, or fill your family’s lungs with fresh moun­tain air, Wartrail has some­thing for every out­door enthusiast:

1.  Take a Walk on the Wild Side
The peaks of the Wartrail area soar up to 2,800 metres and you can hike to your heart’s con­tent in total wil­der­ness. A new 5 day slack­pack­ing trail, ‘The Wartrail Skywalk’, has now been intro­duced tak­ing in bush­man paint­ings, caves, rock-formations and won­der­ful bird­life along the way. The trail is guided by local farm­ers who can enter­tain you with local legends, show you the most secret places and will spoil you rot­ten with won­der­ful food and hos­pit­al­ity at the end of each day’s hike.

Families and those who simply want to relax may prefer to meander along the many trout-filled rivers, stop­ping to bathe in rock pools and nat­ural moun­tain ‘jacuzzis’.

2. Go on the Piste
Tiffindell Ski Resort is nestled at the base of the Cape’s highest peak – Ben McDhui (3,001 metres). Here you can exper­i­ence ski­ing or snow­board­ing on real snow between May and August. The region’s nat­ural snow­falls are sup­ple­men­ted with snow-making machines, to give good con­di­tions for the whole winter. Lessons, cloth­ing and equip­ment are avail­able, so there’s no excuse not to try this exhil­ar­at­ing sport for the first time.

3. Get Bubbly in a Mountain Jacuzzi
The area’s rivers bubble and wind their way down from the high moun­tain peaks. Ideal for fam­ily walks, you can enjoy swim­ming in nat­ural pools and dis­cov­er­ing water­falls. To feel revital­ised and invig­or­ated, noth­ing beats a soak in a nat­ural moun­tain ‘jac­uzzi’. In a total moun­tain wil­der­ness, with no other people around for miles, you can even get right back to nature and skinny dip if the mood takes you!

4. Try Mountain-Climbing on Horseback
If hik­ing the peaks sounds like too much hard work, then why not let four legs take the strain? Well schooled and sure-footed horses are avail­able for all levels of rider to explore the moun­tains from the saddle.

5.  Watch the Birdie!
Birding in this area of the Southern Drakensberg is superb with over 230 spe­cies recor­ded. Watching the large rap­tors of the area (e.g. Black Eagle, Bearded Vulture) soar over the cliffs in search for food is an incred­ible sight. The keen ‘twitcher’ will enjoy seek­ing out and tick­ing off sev­eral rare spe­ci­mens endemic to the area.

6.  Drive the Highest Pass in South Africa
The area is out­stand­ing for the 4x4 enthu­si­ast and there are suit­able trails for all levels of driver. Nearby Naude’s Nek is the highest pass in South Africa and provides chal­len­ging driv­ing and stun­ning views. Other great trails include Joubert’s Pass (the 3^rd highest pass in South Africa) and Lundean’s Nek which takes you through the former Transkei to the Lesotho Telebridge Border post.

7. Catch your own Breakfast
The sur­round­ing area has over 200kms of rivers filled with wild trout – a fly-fisherman’s para­dise. Why not bring your rod and try to catch break­fast for the family.

8. Learn about San Rock Art
There are many unique and inter­est­ing Rock Art sites in the region. We have a local qual­i­fied archae­olo­gist who con­ducts tours and can explain the sym­bol­ism of the paintings.

9. Put the Mountain into Mountain Biking
Mountain bike tracks abound in this farm­ing dis­trict. Bring your own bikes and enjoy the beauty of your sur­round­ings while cyc­ling at your own pace. Guided tours can also be arranged through­out the sur­round­ing areas. Your guide selects the route accord­ing to the cli­ents’ fit­ness levels and tech­nical rid­ing skills. These tours are suit­able for the leis­urely fam­ily pic­nic moun­tain bikers to the adren­aline down­hill junkies.

10.  Get Down on the Farm
Most of the accom­mod­a­tion in the area is based on work­ing farms. So if you’ve ever wanted to learn to milk a cow, feed baby lambs or take part in a cattle drive on horse­back, this is your opportunity.

11.  Ride High
Guided motor­bike and quad tours at high alti­tude are avail­able for all levels of rider. Enjoy the stun­ning scenery and test your tech­nical ability.

12. Go Up The Creek with a Paddle
Jump into a two-man inflat­able raft and enjoy a relax­ing guided paddle down the scenic River Kraai. Rafting trips vary in length accord­ing to your needs and the river flow. You will travel through beau­ti­ful sand­stone gorges, draped with wil­low trees and will have the oppor­tun­ity to stop and admire the bird life, caves and bush­man paintings.

13.  Do It All!
Wild Mountain Adventures offers a 5 day activ­ity hol­i­day which takes the slack­pack­ing concept to a whole new level as you can exper­i­ence a dif­fer­ent mode of trans­port each day — hik­ing, moun­tain bik­ing, horse rid­ing and finally river raft­ing on the Kraai. This unique trail includes an optional overnight camp in a cave, vis­it­ing rock art sites, stay­ing in farm cot­tages, rock pool swim­ming and plenty of bird watch­ing oppor­tun­it­ies. Each trip is tailored accord­ing to the interests, fit­ness levels and exper­i­ence of the group so is suit­able for all ages.

Further inform­a­tion regard­ing Wild Mountain Country can be obtained from Kate Nelson on +27 (0)45 971‑9064