We depart early morning and drive inland past Pietermaritzburg and the Howick Falls to the area called the Natal Midlands. We pass through grassy plains scattered with villages and lush farmlands, then further through Underberg, a picturesque little village situated in the foothills of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains, on our way to Sani Pass. We change to a four-wheel drive vehicle and make our way up Sani Pass with hair raising bends and breathtaking views to the top of the mountain. Lunch is served at the top in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho some 3 000 m above sea level. We return early afternoon, change vehicles and return to Durban.

Durban is a sophisticated cosmopolitan city of over three million people - a city where east meets west - a city beneath which beats the pulse of Africa - city known as the home of Africa's best managed, busiest port.

Durban is an exciting city in which to play, shop, experience the nightlife)and to relax. It's a city in which business and debate issues, which have far-reaching effects, not only on Africa but way beyond its borders, are discussed.

The world-class International Convention Centre (ICC) Durban has hosted an historic line-up of events including conferences of a global scale.

Pietermaritzburg is set amidst the forested hills and rolling countryside of the Natal-Midlands and is one of the best-preserved Victorian cities in the world. The city is the administrative capital of the province and is conveniently situated between Durban and Johannesburg.

Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was founded in 1838. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, as seen in the name of its municipality, although it is popularly called Maritzburg in English and Zulu alike, and abbreviated PMB. It is home to a campus of the University of KwaXulu-Natal, and is a major producer of aluminium as well as timber and dairy products.

Pietermaritzburg is also famous for an incident early in the life of Mahatma Gandhi. In May 1893, while Gandhi was on his way to Pretoria, a white man objected to Gandhi's presence in a first-class carriage, and he was ordered to move to the van compartment at the end of the train. Gandhi, who had a first-class ticket, refused, and was thrown off the train at Pietermaritzburg. Shivering through the winter night in the waiting room of the station, Gandhi made the momentous decision to stay on in South Africa and fight the racial discrimination against Indians there. Out of that struggle emerged his unique version of nonviolent resistance, Satyagraha. Today, a bronze statue of Gandhi stands in Church Street, in the city centre.

Near the town of Howick, 24kms north of Pietermaritzburg, the Umgeni river plunges 300ft over the Howick Falls. The Zulu people called the falls KwaNogqaza, which means "Place of the Tall One". According to local legend, Inkanyamba which is a giant serpent-like creature resides in the pool at the bottom of the falls.

Below the Howick Falls is the Umgeni Valley Project, a 650ha reserve owned and managed by the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa. The reserve contains more than 200 species of birds, as well as giraffes, zebras, wildebeests and many species of antelope.

The falls were most likely first seen by European explorers in the early 1800s. However the kwaZulu Natal province has known human occupation for well over 30, 000 years and it is likely that it was a well known site prior to any western influence given the rich legend surrounding the area.

The old world charm and tranquil countryside has attracted a new breed of people who have taken residence among the farmers. These are creative crafters, sculptures, potters, weavers and leather workers who ply their trade in quaint old cottages and farmhouses and welcome the curious. The Midlands is dotted with cozy country inns just perfect for unhurried lunches or just tea and home made jam scones.

Your first experience of the Natal Midlands is on your approach to the Drakensberg. The Natal Midlands offers tourism opportunities unparalleled in this fertile cradle of land found between the Sunshine Coast and the craggy Drakensberg Mountains. The Natal Midlands is a myriad  waterfalls, lakes, dams, Zulu cultural villages, game reserves and historical battle sites. The Natal Midlands have some of the most historic battle sites in South Africa.

It was here that the Boer met the British and the Zulu Impis met both! The climate is pleasant most of the year; summers tend to be hot, while winters are very mild. Locations include Albert Falls Nature Reserve, Estcourt, Howick, Notingham Road, Midmar Nature Reserve and Mooirivier.

Underberg is an administrative town in a dairy and cattle farming community in the Mzimkulu River valley of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated at the foot of the 1,904 m Hlokoma Peak (place of echoes) in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal. Underberg began in 1917 when the railway from Pietermaritzburg reach the area. It is an importannt commercial centre for the region's farming industry and a gateway to the Southern Drakensberg resorts; it is also a trading point for people who come down the nearby Sani Pass fpom Lesotho.

The Underberg district is, along with Dullstroom, Mpumalanga one of South Africa's premier flyfishing destinations. Splashy Fen, an annual outdoor music festival, is held on a farm near Underberg.

Sani Pass is a route that connects kwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. It is a notoriously dangerous road, which requires the use of a 4x4 vehicle  and above average driving experience. It has occasional remains of vehicles that did not succeed in navigating its steep gradients and poor traction surfaces, and has a catalogue of frightening stories of failed attempts at ascending the path over the Northern Lesotho mountains. While South African immigration at the bottom of pass prohibits vehicles deemed unsuitable for the journey, the Lesotho border agents at the top generally allow vehicles of all types to attempt the descent.

The Border between the two Countries closes at 4:00 pm every day and the Pass is often closed due to weather conditions, especially during winter.

Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Its size is just over 30,000 km² with an estimated population of almost 1,800,000. Its capital is Maseru. It is the southernmost landlocked country in the world. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into "the land of the people who speak Sesotho".

It has a land area of approximately 30,355 km², roughly the size of Belgium or Taiwan, or the American state of Maryland.

The Kingdom is home to the largest and most ambitious civil engineering project in the whole of Africa, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which has harnessed and commercialised her upstream surplus water resources – often referred to by Basotho as their “White Gold”.