Pucketty Farm Stall Underberg

http://blog.getaway.co.za/food/pucketty-farm-stall-underberg-kwazulu-natal/

Welcome to Durban

Underberg KZN

Underberg, lies immediately beneath the majestic mountains of this area, their looming greatness offering a multitude of hikes and moments of breathtaking beauty. Underberg forms part of the Sani Saunter, not as well known as the Midlands Meander perhaps, but offering as many outdoor opportunities and scenery to equal if not challenge the former.

The Sani Saunter extends from Loteni in the north to Bushman’s Nek in the south, and east to Bulwer, including the little town of Underberg and her quaint neighbour, Himeville, just 5 kilometres away, and as its name indicates, there is access to numerous hikes and walks in this part of the world. The greatest attraction to the twin towns of the southern Drakensberg - Himeville and Underberg - is fly-fishing. There is more opportunity here than anywhere else in the country and the Underberg-Himeville Trout Fishing Club hold rights to over 160 kilometres of river as well as 60 dams - that’s a lot of fishing!

Underberg is a little town, and busy, despite the fact that this part of the district is predominantly farming country. The town of Underberg is pretty functional, although it has grown in the last couple of decades and now includes a number of commercial ventures.

The Splashy Fen Music Festival sees hundreds of people make their way through Underberg and this part of the southern Drakensberg to attend the Easter weekend filled with local music, arts and crafts, food and drink.

• Southern Berg Escape
• Splashy Fen
• Sani2C MTB Race
• Joberg2C MTB Race
• Drak Challenge Canoe Race

Kokstad East Griqualand

The little town of Kokstad sits on the boundary between KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape, nestled in the heart of East Griqualand. Kokstad lies in the shadow of Mount Currie on the outer slopes of the Drakensberg and was, until recently, best known for its cheese. Kokstad lies surrounded by mountains in a predominantly stock farming area. This wild and beautiful part of the country was settled by the Griqua - a hardy group of frontiersmen who, after clashing with Boers and the British in the interior, turned east and settled in what was known as ‘No Mans Land’ - in the 1860s.
Their leader, Adam Kok, was responsible for establishing Kokstad. Today it’s a bustling little town, its history encased in its Museum, a national monument on Main Street, which focuses on the Griqua people.
The area is popular for its many rivers and dams that provide ample opportunity for trout fishing, and there are no fewer than three reserves, Mount Currie, Wilfred Bauer, with lovely picnic spots, and the Mountain Lake Nature Reserve, a small reserve peppered with cattle tracks and little paths that provide wonderful walks, as well as over 220 species of bird for bird lovers.
Crystal Dam provides boating and angling opportunities.

Rocke's Drift KZN Battlefields

Rorke’s Drift, 46 kilometres southeast of Dundee, describes a natural crossing presented by a rocky outcrop that allows one to cross the Buffalo River on foot. To give one an idea of its significance, just 4 kilometres down from the drift the river enters a gorge and from here there is no easy crossing until it joins up with the Tugela River.

Rorke’s Drift thus provides an easy route from the northern plateau of Natal into Zululand, past the Isandlwana and Siphezi mountains. It was named after James Rorke who farmed near the crossing. After his death, the farm was taken over by a Swedish Mission that was to play a strategic role in one of the fiercest battles of the Anglo-Zulu War.

The countryside around Rorke’s Drift still manages to give true meaning to the description ‘unspoilt beauty’, and it is hard to imagine that this peaceful, undulating landscape was the scene of such violence. A visit to the Rorke’s Drift Battle Museum, which has received worldwide attention for its displays of the Anglo-Zulu War, gives an incredible audiovisual depiction of the Rorke’s Drift battle and others, and is well worth a visit.

The arts and crafts centre, which started as a workshop run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church, began when black artists received training from Swedish art teachers. Today the centre has received as much acclaim as the museum and the likes of Azaria Mbatha, sculptor Zuminkosi Zulu and lino-cut artist John Muafangejo received their training here. Students from here have gone on to achieve international acclaim, and today the centre specialises in hand woven tapestries, pottery and silkscreen fabrics.

Amazulu World

AmaZulu World will incorporate the culture and natural history of KwaZulu Natal, with features that will transform the development into a world class destination. It will cost close to R44 billion, but the features and design of AmaZulu World will be like nothing ever seen before in South Africa, or Africa for that matter. One of the biggest attractions to the complex, will be the internationally branded theme park, of which there will be two, and on completion, AmaZulu World will offer approximately twenty hotels, residences, a golf course, nature reserves, a sports village development, a marina, shopping complexes, resorts, community facilities, and spas. It is estimated that it will take about twenty-five years until AmaZulu World is complete, as it will be constructed in phases, but with each phase another of the various attractions to AmaZulu World will be added.

Snow covered Drakensberg Mountains

Early winter snow falls near Underberg