A Drakensberg stream

The Drakensberg escarpment ranges over more than 1000 km from the Eastern Cape through the west of KwaZulu-Natal and the east of the Free State to Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where it is known as the Wolkberg.

The geological change constituted by the raising of the central plateau over the past 20 million years, as well as erosion, has moved the escarpment gradually inland, forming the eastern coastal plain. The ongoing erosion of the escarpment is said to be happening at 1,5 m per 1000 years or 1,5 mm per annum. Due to the duration and extent of this erosion taking place along the escarpment, all the surface rock found here is at least 180 million years old.

Rugged and pinnacled seen from the east, the top of the escarpment to the west is flat and smooth, table-like. The high altitude, treeless grassland has a cool climate with high rainfall and fast-flowing mountain streams, snow in winter.

The spectacular Tugela Falls count among the world’s highest waterfalls in a drop totalling 947 m. Many lesser falls as in picture are something to see for short periods after rain.

Tussock grass species are common, as are creeping plants like Helichrysum, bulbous plants like some Moraea species, small shrubs like ericas and succulents like crassulas. Human impact on these elevated parts is comparatively little due to their remoteness (Wikipedia).