I had always wanted to go to South Africa, so when I saw this opportunity to take a trekking holiday that took in the Drakensberg Mountains I was thrilled. The tour started in Johannesburg where I met my fellow travellers and got to spend the day enjoying the city and finding out more about the culture of the country. The next day we visited the beautiful scene of Mpumalanga; this area was spectacularly beautiful with rolling, green hills interspersed with rushing waterfalls. We took a quick hike to God’s Window, a spot that sits at the top of 700m high cliffs from which you get fantastic views over the rolling landscape.

We spent the following two days exploring Kruger National Park. This famous safari park certainly lived up to its reputation; on the game drives we took we encountered everything from lions and hyenas to friendly and inquisative elephants. On the second morning we ate breakfast outside whilst a baby giraffe went for a morning splash in water hole nearby. The early morning drives were particularly thrilling as you could see the animals at their most active including interesting birds such as the Saddle-Billed Stork.

We drove through some of South Africa’s most fertile agricultural lands on route to Swaziland; passing sugar cane, mango and paw-paw plantations. The Mkuzi Game Reserve gave us many opportunities to see rhino in the wild. The most memorable was in the truck coming round a corner face to face with a black rhino. I wasn’t sure who was more surprised – us or him. The driver deftly manoeuvred us out of its way then got a chance to have a look at it up close.

The Drakensburg Mountains are well known for their numerous good hiking trails. I have been on trekking holidays before and this range definitely compared well to other popular hiking spots. The dramatic jagged peaks were certainly enthralling for me particularly at the start of the hike when they loom above you over the landscape. We hiked the Sentinel Mont-Aux-Sources trail to the top of “The berg” reaching Sentinel Peak. We started the trail early to allow us plenty of time to tackle the mountain. Towards the end of the trek the trail flattens out so you can take it easy and enjoy the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Part of the appeal of this trek is the stunning Tugela Falls found at the top of the mountain. This waterfall is the second highest in the world at 947m and was well worth the climb to see it from above.

The rest of our trip took in some fantastic sights along the Garden Route; one of the highlights was watching the sunset behind the magnificent sandstone cliffs from a catamaran at Knysna heads. The Garden Route is a picturesque stretch of coastline along the south eastern coast of the country. There are ten nature reserves along the route encompassing a variety of ecosystems. We finished the trip at Cape Town where we visited the penguin colony at boulders beach and Table Mountain. We had a memorable trip and were reluctant to end our South Africa holiday.