Drakensberg mountains, April 1961 |
 … hiking. This photograph by my father of me on a day-walk in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains (taken during a late-winter / early spring holiday at Loteni) aptly illustrates the impressive nature of the Drakensberg escarpment. The Afrikaans and the Zulu names for the mountain range are both highly relevant: the Afrikaans name, Drakensberg, means Dragon Mountain; the Zulu name, Quathlamba, means Barrier of Upturned Spears. By way of contrast, the highest peak in the photograph (i.e., the one near the left-hand edge of the picture) has an almost unbelievably pedestrian English name – The Tent. Its height is more impressive though: it’s 10,269 feet / 3,130 metres above sea-level. |