09 Jul Kamberg Nature Reserve – the beautiful wilderness
Kamberg Nature Reserve is one of the smallest of the KZN Wildlife resorts which lies in the foothills of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. It’s an easy 40 minute drive from Giant’s View Estate and is an unspoiled beauty with so few visitors you really feel that you are in the wilderness. The Kamberg is one of the easiest reserves to visit from the Midlands Meander. It is known for it’s fascinating ancient rock art, beautiful scenery with Clarens Sandstone, manageable day hikes, and their well stocked trout dams.
We recently visited the reserve for a day visit which included a gentle hike up to one of their waterfalls. It was a beautiful walk which was easy enough for the little ones to manage while still getting the heart rate up and the legs working. The waterfall and river bridge was the perfect spot for a picnic lunch and the kids thoroughly enjoyed clambering up the rocky river beds.
The Kamberg’s Rock Art Center is something quite special, run by the local Tandela community, who offer daily tours that incorporate a relatively easy guided 3.5 km walk to Game Pass Cave. The tour sheds interesting insight into the San bushman culture, with well preserved paintings in caves high up at the top of an escarpment. It takes around an hour to reach the caves from the visitor center on a well marked path. The guide is a lovely young man from the local village, who explains the paintings clearly and is very interested in the San culture.
The Kamberg also have self-catering accommodation, which is basic but neat, and is not far from a well maintained dam for fly fishing. With plentiful waterfalls and river spots in the reserve there are loads of beautiful places to take a refreshing dip.
For scenic day hikes, interesting rock art or a beautiful setting to fly fish then Kamberg Nature Reserve is a hidden spot not to miss. With barely anyone in sight it is a relaxing and quiet getaway.