BACK TO THE ‘Berg
Meaning “Horn of a Young Cow” in isiZulu, the first time I saw Mponjwane was in July 1990. For me, it came to symbolise freedom. School was a memory and the ruthlessly ironed uniform of military service was a crumpled mess in the boot of the Ford Sierra. The car speakers strained to a 1980s tune that I can’t recall but I clearly remember driving into that Drakensberg valley and seeing the bruised silhouette of that mountain materialise like some grand religious edifice. That accounts for its English name, Cathedral Peak.
The hotel in its shadow was to be my home for six months, where I would tend bar before I began studying. My studies took a backseat for a year–life in that valley was just too damn good. Working evenings in Harry’s Bar gave me entire days to explore the mountains, cementing my love for the Drakensberg, otherwise known as uKhahlamba, “Barrier of Spears”. Even after I left the bar job, I returned often until I was lured away
