Drakensburg Mountains Sani Pass - 2 Day Tour.

Travel up the Drakensburg Mountains Sani Pass with hair raising bends and breathtaking views to the top of the mountain. The Drakensburg is the country's grandest mountain range and at its highest where it forms the border between KwaZuluNatal and Lesotho. The name literally means 'Dragon' and it is derived from the breathtaking high jagged basalt cliffs bearing a similarity to the back of a dragon. The Zulu people call it the 'Ukhahlamba', (Barrier of Spears). On our two day tour we explore this part of the mountain and drive up the Sani Pass, the highest and most challenging mountain pass in the country, with four wheel drive vehicles.

Drive inland to Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, for a brief city tour. Stop at the railway station where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off the train because of the colour of his skin, and see the waiting room where, in the silence of the night, he formulated his philosophy of passive resistance. Visit the Church of the Vow that was built as a result of the Battle of Blood River between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus in 1838. Continue to Howick where we visit the 100m high Falls, and stop at the monument erected on the spot where Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1961 . Continue through an area of gentle pastoral beauty called the Natal Midlands. We pass through grassy plains scattered with villages and lush farmlands where plump cattle and thoroughbred horses graze. Then further through Underberg, a picturesque little village situated in the foothills of the majestic Drakensburg Mountains. Our hotel is in the lap of the mountain with peaks towering up to 3 400m above sea level. The afternoon is at your leisure to participate in some of the organised hikes into the mountain or explore the area on your own. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel.

After breakfast we set off to Sani Pass, named after the primitive people who lived in the area millennia ago, on a four-wheel drive 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 3000m above sea level. We return early afternoon, change vehicles and drive back 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 KwaZulu-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.

Boston and Bulwer are located in the foothills of the Drakensberg, amidst rolling hills, lush forests and tranquil lakes and dams, it is an ideal destination for those seeking peace and quiet and good country fare. The Boston-Bulwer Beat is a tourism association, which promotes the areas surrounding these South African villages.

There's absolutely no mistaking the pristine, inviting surrounds for anything but a long-established seat of pastoral plenty - the luxuriant, generously watered grazing meadows and impressive forests of Boston and Bulwer, a perfect setting for picturesque settlements that beckon with the hallmark hospitality. These open doors lead to the entire spectrum of holiday accommodation, from quaint country hotels, guesthouses, farms and B&Bs, to rustic self-catering cottages, backpack lodges and campsites.

To say that visitors to this slice of heaven are spoilt for choice would be an understatement. In addition to their number and variety, each and every welcoming address offers, at the very least, tranquil ambiance with scenic walks and fish-filled streams or dams, plus easy access to the adrenalin-filled pursuits for which were also world renowned. Certain of these establishments are themselves the focal point of pulse-racing adventures, and tempt their guests to not stray too far from their new home-away-from- home.

Drakensburg Mountains 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”.