Inkosana Lodge
We made our way from the northern to the central part of the Drakensberg mountain range. Here we stayed at a backpackers called Inkosana Lodge. It is near the town of Winterton and the perfect base to use for Hiking Monk’s Cowl. The trail head is a ten minute drive away. If you don’t have your own wheels the owner take guests there when he is available or the walk to the trail head will take about an hour.
The Inkosana Lodge is definitely one of the nicest backpackers we have stayed at. We paid a higher rate of 250 Rand ($50 Canadian) for a private double rondavel. It was well worth it.
The rondavels at this backpackers have unique outside showers, they are partially enclosed for privacy and have an overhead rain shower. As you lather up you can gaze at the mountain peaks in the distance.
This was the only backpacker accommodation we had stayed at where they came in each day and made up your room like a regular hotel. We were not expecting it so we left some of our belongings lying around in the room and on the bed including some money. When we got back the housekeeper had made up the bed and every one of our items and the money were neatly piled on a side ledge.
We had a little visitor in our room, a praying mantis. They are very strange looking. I wasn’t too keen on it sharing the room with us. Can you imagine waking up with that crawling on you in the night? I had Jack gently place him outside.
Another bonus at the Inkosana Lodge is the fantastic kitchen. It is very bright and spacious and spotlessly clean. You are not even allowed to do your dishes after you finish cooking your meals. They want to make sure they are washed properly. You just stack them neatly to the side of the sink and the staff takes care of them. How great is that!
This backpackers was extremely relaxing with great areas to just kick back in and enjoy the views. We really enjoyed our stay here and would highly recommend it.
Attractions In Central Drakensburg
Some nearby attractions are the KwaZulu Weavers Rug Factory where you can see rugs being woven on site. There are hundreds of rug styles in all kinds of patterns, colours and sizes, each one woven by hand.
The Thokozisa Center is also nearby on the R600 near the town of Winterton. It’s a little shopping complex with a restaurant and several unique shops. Around the grounds are trees with hundreds of nesting birds. It’s quite entertaining to watch them flying back and forth with material to weave their nests.
Even if your wallet is not full enough to allow you to stay at a fancy property you can still go and check out the Champagne Castle Resort. We snuck a peek around the impressive grounds of the resort and took in the spectacular view they offered of the Drakensberg Mountains.
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