Drakensberg Hiker
Welcome to Drakensberg Hiker, home of
Ian Shooter's guided hikes in the KwaZulu-Natal
Drakensberg
Join us in exploring the Drakensberg and KwaZulu-Natal!
We'll organise your guided hikes, bird-watching, trekking, canoeing, backpacking, cycling or just checking out the Bushman Rock Art in the Drakensberg and throughout KwaZulu-Natal.
We present the best that KwaZulu-Natal has to offer, from Drakensberg to Battlefields and Game Reserves, and invite you to come and share it with us.
Home Page
About Us...
Gallery
Featured
& Upcoming Hikes
References
Popular
Hikes & Holiday Options
White-water Rafting
Bird
Watching
Links
Contact me...
Ian Shooter
ian@drakensberghiker.co.za
tel: +27 33 396 3906
cell: +27 72 947 1174
Pietermaritzburg
KwaZulu-Natal
South
Africa
If you have a particular hike in mind, or would like us to contact you with prices and suggestions for your Drakensberg hiking trip, please click here to use our handy contact form to tell us more about what you're interested in.
About
Drakensberg Hiker & Ian Shooter
Drakensberg Hiker is a self-owned business established to assist visitors who want to hike, trek or backpack in the Northern, Central and Southern Drakensberg with an expert guide.
After completing his national service, Ian studied and worked as a paramedic before moving on to study horse mastership.
Ian eventually moved to Canada, where he ran his own equestrian centre, he also spent a great deal of time hiking, skiing and ice-climbing in the Canadian Rockies. After 10 years in Canada, he returned to his roots in KwaZulu-Natal to continue his life in South Africa and start Drakensberg Hiker. Ian's love of the Drakensberg, and knowledge of the local flora and fauna and regional history is very evident, and he is a strong and enthusiastic leader.
When not hiking in the Drakensberg, he spends his time mountain biking, trail running and canoeing (kayaking).
To see our
exciting list of planned hikes for 2012, please click here.
About the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg
In Afrikaans, "Drakensberg" means 'dragon's mountain'; the Zulu name for the Drakensberg is uKhahlamba, meaning 'barrier of spears'.
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in South Africa, rising to some 3,482m above sea level. The range is situated in the eastern part of South Africa, running for some 1000km from south-west to north-east. The Drakensberg Mountains separate the province of KwaZulu-Natal from Lesotho and the Free State, and offers unrivaled opportunities for hiking, backpacking and bird-watching, guided by Ian Shooter who has made the Drakensberg his second home for over 30 years.
The Drakensberg dates back approximately 200 million years and is made up of sedimentary rock capped by a solid basalt layer that can be up to 1400m thick in places. Weathering has reduced the mountain range's size and has caused the plateau to erode away in places, resulting in a combination of spectacular vistas, including steep-sided blocks and the fantastic spiraling pinnacles which make for incredible scenery and unrivaled photo opportunities; many of which can only be reached on a guided hike. Our gallery page has pictures of some of the spectacular vistas, rare birdlife and flowers to be seen on some of our guided hikes in the Drakensberg.
The pictures shown here are just some of the fantastic images we have from our Drakensberg hikes and excursions, please check our gallery page, as well as the slide shows on each page for more images.
See our popular guided hikes page for our most popular guided hikes. We will custom design any hikes or backpacking experiences in the KwaZulu Natal Drakensberg to suit your needs. We can also design a KwaZulu-Natal holiday experience around your hike, to include visits to KwaZulu-Natal Game Reserves and Battlefields Tours of Northern KwaZulu-Natal. Seasonal activities such as mountain biking and white-water rafting can be included upon request.
The uKahlamba-Drakensberg Park, which extends along the escarpment of the Drakensberg is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and hiking here is part of the african experience of a lifetime.
Drakensberg Fauna & Flora
The Drakensberg's diverse habitat contains a remarkable richness of plants, birds and animal life which have adapted to their harsh environment. Covering 250 000ha, the Drakensberg is ecologically unique, and is home to an extraordinary variety of plants and animals, many of which are on the threatened and endangered species list. In many cases, the only way to see them is on by hiking their habitat, and without an experienced guide many opportunities to see the unique fauna and flora of this area would be missed.
Please see here for a current weather forecast for Bergville, a town in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg to get an idea of the current climate.