Yup, you read that title correctly; wouldn’t you mind living in part of the Lord of the Rings series in real life? Visit the Drakensbergen (Dragon Mountains) in South Africa. JRR Tolkien lived the first years of his life in South Africa, although he moved to Britain at the age of 3, some people say he must have remembered the Drakensbergen from his childhood and used it as a scene in his books.
I surely was convinced; walking through these mystical mountains I almost felt like Frodo myself. During the 2 days we spent among these mountains we were awed the whole time.
The first day we went for a short hike where we felt like we were the only people in the world. I loved walking through the plains with no one in sight.
The second day we visited the distinguished Sani Pass, which leads to the border of Lesotho. This treacherous pass is only accessible by a 4×4 wheel drive car. Since our rental car couldn’t handle this we were obliged to take a tour.
The guide from Thaba Tours took us up the pass and we were lucky we were the only passengers in the car. We could take photo stops wherever and whenever we liked. The border control went smoothly and I was amazed by the cold wind searing through on top of the pass. In Lesotho we were welcomed in a local village of shepherds where we had some delicious homemade bread.
A visit to the highest pub in Africa couldn’t be missed as well during this visit; a surprisingly cozy place where they actually served some decent food. After lunch we headed back down the steep hairpin road to arrive safely back in town.
