Himeville, Drakensberg

I Love Himeville because ...

Featured in: Visitorials: We Love South Africa

We’ve asked those in the know to share their favourites things about Himeville. Find out where locals go for the best cup of coffee, lunch suggestions and much more. We’re letting you in on all of their secrets ... I Love Himeville because ...

Bushman's Nek

Bushmans Nek can be found in the southern region of Kwazulu Natal's Drakensberg. Reedbuk, Eland, Klipspringer, Grey Rhebok and Oribi are often spotted here as are Dassie, Porcupines and Rock Hyrax. The birdlife is also abundant and if you are lucky may cast your eyes upon the Black ... more information

Central Drakensberg

The beautiful Drakensberg range or Dragon Mountains, also known in Zulu as uKhahlamba or barrier of spears, is a voluminous stretch of mountains that covers over 1 000 kilometres from south-west to north-east, lying mostly in KwaZulu-Natal. Collectively this is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site... more information

Cobham State Forest

Cobham is situated in the Southern part of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, and is approximately 150 km from Pietermaritzburg. Dominated by Hodgson's Peaks which enclose the Giants Cup, Cobham is a 52,000 ha section of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in the southern 'berg adjacent to Himeville ... more information

Coleford Nature Reserve

You will find Coleford Nature Reserve near to the town of Underberg, south east of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Through its southern section flows the Ngwagwane River, one of its major features. But it also protects Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland ... more information

Drakensberg Gardens

In the southern foothills of the Drakensberg the Gardens Area might be, but the views from here of the towering peaks of the Dragon Mountains is pretty spectacular. This is the part of the Drakensberg that benefits from all the flowing rivers that gush down the sides of the mountains, making the valleys rich with rivers... more information

Garden Castle State Forest

Garden Castle is the southern most part of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park and incorporates the Bushman's Nek Valley. The Garden Castle reserve is 35 300 hectares in extent and offers the visitor a variety of experiences. Dominated by the Rhino (a 3051m Peak which extends about 2km ... more information

Himeville Museum

The Museum was built in 1900 as the last of Natal's loop-holed forts before housing prisoners until 1972. An open-air exhibition of settler and agricultural history is surrounded by display rooms housing military, African memorabilia and a valued collection of San artefacts and an insightful interpretation of the life and times of the San.

Himeville Nature Reserve

The Himeville Nature Reserve stretches along the eastern boundary of Himeville Village and was proclaimed to its present size of 104 ha in 1973. Himeville Nature Reserve offers trout fishing in two dams situated in the reserve. Boats are no longer available for hire but anglers may use their own small ... more information

Impendle Nature Reserve

The Impendle Nature Reserve lies just south of the little town of Impendle, roughly 62 km west of Himeville, in the foothills of the Drakensberg. The nature reserve is made up of former farmland used mostly to graze cattle, but also to grow mielies and other vegetable crops, by colonists who ... more information

Marutswa Forest

The Marutswa Forest is home to the rare Cape parrot. The forest does not lie in the Cape, however, but just outside the little village of Bulwer in KwaZulu-Natal in the Marutswa Nature Reserve. Which gives you an idea of where to find it, but not how beautiful it is. It rains a lot here and the Marutswa ... more information

Mkhomazi Wilderness Area

Mkhomazi Wilderness refers to a large section of the southern central parts of uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Centre) that is regarded as one of the few spaces in the country where you can hike for days without coming across another living ... more information

Mzimkhulu Wilderness Area

A little west of the twin villages of Himeville and Underberg, on the border with Lesotho, lies the southernmost part of the Drakensberg and the Mzimkhulu Wilderness Area. Whilst the basalt rock formations that make up this incredible mountain range that is now part of a World Heritage Site do not reach as high ... more information

Ntsikeni Nature Reserve

Ntsikeni Nature Reserve consists of a rather inaccessible vlei lying high on a plateau between Franklin and Creighton, in a section of East Griqualand, in the southern reaches of KwaZulu-Natal. This largely unknown and not often visited reserve lies about an hour's drive south of Himeville ... more information

Southern Drakensberg

Broadly speaking, the southern parts of the Drakensberg lie between Bushman's Nek to the south-east and Kamberg to the north-west, including the Bulwer Mountain and what are often described as the 'country' towns of Underberg and Himeville. This part of the world is described as ... more information

The Swamp Nature Reserve

Lying really close to Pevensey in the southern reaches of the Drakensberg, the Swamp Nature Reserve is situated almost due west of Garden Castle Nature Reserve and, as its name suggests, it protects a huge highland swamp system. The highlands are formed by the Drakensberg / uKhahlamba and ... more information

Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park

The Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts. Rolling high altitude grasslands, the pristine steep sided river valleys and rocky gorges also contribute to the beauty of this world heritage site ... more information

Vergelegen Nature Reserve

One of a number of nature and game reserves in the Southern Drakensberg that also form part of the World Heritage Site of the Drakensberg / Ukhahlamba Park, Vergelegen Nature Reserve lies north of Himeville and west of Howick. The 1159 hectare reserve is best known as a trout fisherman's destination because of ... more information

Giant’s Cup Hiking Trail

Where: Sani Pass
How much (per person): On Request

This hike runs along the foothills of the gorgeous Drakensberg range of mountains, mainly through the Cobham and Garden Castle reserves. Vie ... more information

Sani Pass Birding

Where: Sani Pass
How much (per person): On Request

Birding Tours up the Sani Pass or in the surrounding Forest Mist belt areas for specials such as Drakensberg Rockjumper, Drakensberg Siskins ... more information

Marutswa Craft and Coffee Shop

Where: Bulwer

The Marustwa craft shop in the Marutswa Forest is a fabulous find. After exploring the beauty of the forest, stop at the shop to browse. The shop is filled to the brim with interesting and unusual ite ... more information

The Old Hatchery Restaurant

Where: Underberg

You have chosen to come to the most beautiful part of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal. There is nothing quite like Southern Berg hospitality. Our little haven is just 10km from Underberg nestled amon ... more information