Drakensberg Sun Resort - Magical Getaway for all Ages

avatar
(Edited)

There's a magical place called the Champagne Valley that we escape to every so often.
Situated in a valley surrounded by the majestic Drakensberg Mountains, this is one of our favourite đestinatons.

This time we stayed in one of the self-catering chalets at the Drakensburg Sun, closer to the mountains.
We were impressed with the warm welcome and the decor as well as all the activities on offer, catering for all ages.

Drak Sun2.jpg
Many dining options are on offer to suit everyone's budgets; those who want to splash out and those preferring casual dining.

pizza balcony.jpg

This resort is the starting point of some famous hikes, the most well-known being the hike to the Blue Grotto and past Barry's grave, but I will tell you more about that next time as there's just too much to talk about!

Grotto start.jpg

We met our oldest son and his girlfriend there so it was a very special time!
They had to take leave, and we, the semi-retirees, had the luxury of choosing a quiet week before the December school holiday hits our BnB, but our trusted staff and younger son managed the BnB in our absence.

The accommodation was just awesome, overlooking the magnificent Cathkin Peak.

original_5bd149a6-6adf-4d53-b87b-9db72e8b184e_20211109_105704.jpg

The unit consisted of four levels as it's built into a hilly area; the main bedroom was at the bottom level and opened up to its own patio, second bedroom one level up, then more stairs up to the kitchen, living room with a fireplace and the patio with a BBQ Braai, then another level up for a loft bedroom.

Chalet.jpg

Most mornings the top of the mountains were shrouded in mist, but by midday the cloudy tablecloth had lifted to reveal the entire mountain.
This was the view from our balcony.

Mountain1.jpg

Mountain2.jpg

This is a bird lover's paradise; bright yellow weavers visited us each morning and invited themselves to breakfast with us on the balcony. An Egyptian Geese family with four little chicks out taking a stroll, as well as a couple of African sacred Ibises.

Birds.jpg

We enjoyed taking walks along the resort pathways, past the swimming pool, and on to the lake where the menfolk tried catching trout or bass; the trout is on a catch and release system, but the bass can be kept for the pan. My son only caught a smallish bass which he released, but they did not spend enough time fishing in any case, as we were busy with more exciting activities. I will however share the fishing expedition with you at a later stage, as the scenery is simply stunning.

20211110_184114.jpg

Paved pathway.jpg

20211109_112203.jpg

20211110_181611.jpg

Kiddies playground plus a host of organized activities for everyone arranged by the hotel entertainment team.

20211110_183811.jpg

Plantlife abounds here even though summer is still not in full swing.

Wild Strawberries which I've never seen before and was not 100% sure I could eat, but picked one to take a closer look.
20211113_063914-COLLAGE.jpg

Papyrus and Arum Lilies
20211113_065015-COLLAGE.jpg

Mountain Aloes and Dyckia, the latter apparently is endemic to Brazil, yet here it is thriving in the Drakensberg!
20211113_063843-COLLAGE.jpg

One last look at a section of Cathkin Peak before the sun goes down.

original_2723e6a6-b0a6-4f6c-ae46-d0175580da92_20211109_110302.jpg

At the end of the day, we got the BBQ braai going, and after the meat was done, stoked the fire with firewood, as it still is a little chilly when the sun goes down high up in the mountains.

Nothing as good for the soul as sitting around the crackling fire; contemplating life, gazing at the starlit sky with the moon showing its face every so often as the clouds dance across the sky by wind-power, and listening to the night sounds of crickets, frogs, and nocturnal birds.

Braai fire.jpg

Ending off with the silhouette of Champagne Castle just before nightfall.

Cathkin peak.jpg
The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is a must-see for anyone visiting South Africa, a photographer, nature lover, mountaineer and hikers' paradise!


Heart page break.png

Liz Signature Jan 21.gif
Banner created by @zord189

Original Content by @lizelle
Thank you for stopping by
Copyright @lizelle – All Rights Reserved
Heart page break.png

Do you know this Badge?
Papilloncharity.png

It says "Thank you for partnering with the Papillon Foundation by participating in the
Weekly Hive Charity Giveaway."

Do you want this Badge?
If you like this badge and if you want to help too, you can learn more about @combination and the badge in their blog post:
Some Exciting News! Badge release!

Hive animated divider 1.gif

CLICK IMAGE IF YOU WISH TO JOIN SILVER BLOGGERS:


Artwork by @artywink



Banner created by @derangedvisions

JOIN Hive using my referral LINK



0
0
0.000
19 comments
avatar

No matter where you stay in the Drakensberg there is always a great view, much to see and do the week flies by.

Bird life is abundant up there with all the young starting now, up the next valley to your favourite spot, completely different yet the same.

So glad you had a week to remember!

@tipu curate

0
0
0.000
avatar

You're so right Joan, whichever part one goes to, there are stunning sights! It really is magical, the week flashes by and then it's back to busyness and noise and traffic etc etc but great having this kind of escape not too far from us not so!
Thank you so much for the tip🤗

0
0
0.000
avatar

We enjoyed so many different places in the Berg over the years, have never been disappointed.

For absolute peace and quiet I found Injisuthi Nature Reserve was one I really enjoyed, I am not sure if it is still as remote as it once was.

Back to blustering city noise, with your business busy period, a good break was needed to face another year end month.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍

Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!

Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Pinmapple
  • Click the get code button
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post (Hive only)
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!

0
0
0.000
avatar

What a lovely spot, Lizelle! You can eat those wild strawberries but they have absolutely no flavour. They're indigenous to India and once you have them, they can take over. We had them in Cape Town and had to manage them. They do, though, make a great living mulch. We have them here, too, but they seem not to like this climate quite so much. Mixed blessings, hey?

So glad you had a great time!

0
0
0.000
avatar

It was truly awesome Fiona, tranquil and some adventure too with a long hike, but we had way too many treats, got totally spoilt!
It was a much needed break👌

0
0
0.000
avatar

One of the most beautiful tourist place where panoramic views hold your breath and the eyes feel so relaxed . Drakensberg mountains and its peak are so beautiful surrounded by nature loveliest birds and animals .
Its still in my bucket list to visit . pleased reading your post and pictures 🙂

0
0
0.000
avatar

This is one thing on your bucket list not to be missed, it's really stunning. The photos don't do it any justice!
Thank you so much for stopping by @sand126

0
0
0.000
avatar

Oh I am soooo jealous Lady lizzie.
We had a lot of friends that had timeshare here in Champagne Valley and other areas of the Berg and on many occasions they would send us here for a 7 day break,
Now we will never go to that magical place again.

Hope that you guys will really enjoy your time there.

!PIZZA AND !LUV

0
0
0.000
avatar

It was awesome! We have holiday club points with Dream Vacations which is similar to timeshare except that one has a wide choice of places to book with and they have some awesome resorts on their portfolio. Our son also has points so he booked this time. The best part is now that we're semi-retired, we can book a 4 night midweek break which uses less points. They have a number of really nice places in the Champagne Valley which is our favourite part of the Berg.
We used our points for our Cape holiday just before Covid.
Sounds like I'm doing timeshare marketing😄 but we've never been disappointed with any of the places we've been to, one of our best investments as it's given us such awesome memories 🤗
Pity you can't come to the Berg again!

0
0
0.000
avatar

Oh yes, a few of our friends also have timeshare and every now and then they would give us a week to some spots at the Berg. (Maybe once every two or three years)
Midweek is great as there are less people around, especially in the off seasons.
Our last visit there was to Little Switzerland and it's also a great place. We stayed there for 4 days, then went down to friends in Port Edward for 3 days and from there to Gonubie as another friend was a Reverend that ran an eco farm on a hill in Gonubie. After that it was back to Johannesburg.

I have posted about our visits over the 17 years up north with Papillon and the memories are enough for me.

Blessings and !LUV

0
0
0.000
avatar

the place is beautiful the fabulous landscapes and with a beautiful diversity of birds, thank you

0
0
0.000
avatar

Really amazing, you are very lucky to be able to enjoy it.

I don't think these strawberries look-alikes are edible. We see them here in Europe too in recent years.

Holiday house in four levels? It's a mantion :) !LOLZ

0
0
0.000