in the foothills for a day – Underberg
The Mzimkulu River Valley & The Olde Duck Coffee Shop.
Last Sunday I took a day trip to Underberg which is in the foothills of the great Drakensberg mountains in KZN. It was such a nice little getaway, I wished I could have stayed for a few nights, or a week….Would two weeks be pushing it?
It was just so peaceful there. The lakes were like mirrors they were so still, and the mountain streams so perfectly bubbling over rocks and pebbles, winding their way through the green countryside. The air up there was so fresh you felt like you were inhaling in more and more goodness with every breath.
It was a little rainy and a lot misty, but that just added to the mystical quality of the place.
We stopped for lunch at The Olde Duck – a quaint little coffee shop that serves a delicious spinach and feta pancake which is what I had, others ordered the flapjacks with bacon and syrup, eggs benedict, and the mini breakfast. There were no complaints from our table!
After lunch we headed off to explore. Our first stop was Castleburn where we walked around the dam a little and took in the beauty of the place. They have lodges there where you can stay and a restaurant and bar overlooking the dam and mountains beyond.
We then drove a little further and reached Lake Navarone where we stopped to take a look around. It was just beautiful there! The sun briefly peeked out from behind the clouds for me to take some pretty pictures.
I’d love to stay in one of these cute little lodges sometime. Underberg really reminded me of Nyanga (Zimbabwe), just on a much larger scale.
You almost hope that the weather will be a little misty and chilly so that you can cozy up in warm clothes, light a fire and curl up with a good book for the afternoon. Heavenly!
No trip is complete without afternoon tea. We loved The Olde Duck so much that we decided not to bother trying a new place and we went back there for tea, apple danishes and lemon meringue pie. If you’re ever in the area, I recommend you stop off there – their baked goods are not to be missed.
Speaking of coffee shops with great baked goods, if you’re on the north coast – take a look at the litchi orchard & delish sisters coffee shop post for an outing closer to home.
There is SO much more to see when it comes to this area, I barely scratched the surface. But this little trip to Underberg was so worth it – spending the day with friends, eating yummy food, and realising it’s a place I have to go back to. Next time for a longer trip!
