Day trip: To greener pastures - a trip to the Midlands

Sandwiched in between the provincial capital, Pietermaritzburg, and the Drakensberg, lies the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), an area with never-ending farmland and lush greenery. The two-hour drive from Durban is best taken just after lunchtime to avoid the traffic and to admire the beautiful green valleys along the way.

Right in the midst of the Midlands is Dargle Valley, with beautiful waterfalls, wetlands, river gorges and forests, and where wildflowers are some of the countryside valley’s best features. Note to cellphone addicts (all of us): A trip to the Midlands is the ideal chance to ignore our devices (there’s a limited network in Dargle) and enjoy the rivers, lakes, dams and waterfalls.

South Africa, KZN, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Midlands, Howick Falls. (PATRICK CRUYWAGEN; ROB MAGUIRE Gallo Images)

The Bushveld’s Midlands cousin. A herd of zebra's seen in The Weenen Game Reserve.  (Photo by Gallo Images/GO!/Anim van Wyk)

A vehicle on the dirt road called Ongeluksnek road (GO! / Jon Minster/ Gallo Images)

The location is prime for fly fishing, birdwatching and horse riding, among other activities.

And there are about 11 accommodation spots in the area, a mix of large guesthouses and cottages. Most of the accommodation is on farms and driving an SUV or any 4x4 is ideal due to the gravel road on Dargle Valley. Although driving a small car isn’t prohibited it could prove costly.

What to do

The Tillietudlem Trout Farm is a private fly fishing spot in upper Dargle and is recognised as one of the best in the country. The dams and the river offer rainbow and brown trout and indigenous yellowfish; guided fishing and fly fishing are by appointment. All five dams and the Elands River are well managed for people to enjoy trophy fishing, and there is a catch-and-release policy on all spots.

The valley is also on the southern KZN birding route: the mist-belt forests (exploited for timber and other commercial purposes), farmlands, wetlands and grasslands offer great opportunities for birders. The Cape parrot features prominently along with the orange ground thrush, Narina trogon, grey cuckooshrike, bush blackcap and dark-backed weaver.

Set close to an ancient indigenous forest at the top of the valley, there are casual horse-riding services offered by Horseplay on Kilgobbin Farm; the scenic courses are right on the farm.

Stops on the way

If you’re coming from Durban, on your way to Dargle on the N3 take the Howick North/Tweedie offramp, and head towards Tweedie along the R107 to Howick. The town’s main attraction is the Nelson Mandela Capture Site. The cultural and historical location where Mandela was arrested also has a museum and the sculpture that consists of 50 steel columns between 6m and 9.5m high and 30m wide. They line up so that, at a specific angle, they create what seems to be a two-dimensional image of Mandela.

Much closer to Dargle is the Piggly Wiggly Country Village. Regarded as a Midlands gem, it is a collection of retail shops, with a coffee shop, a restaurant that’s famous for its wood-oven pizza and Meander Fine Wines, which offers a wide variety of local and international wines. There is also the Piggly Wiggly train which runs from 10am to 4pm on weekends, public holidays and school holidays. This is also a great spot for children’s parties. Party packages include candle making, putt-putt and the famous Piggly Wiggly Pizza. Be careful not to get distracted by the cows on the surrounding farms or you might get lost.

For arts and craft lovers there’s the Midlands Meander. The 80km stretch is in the north of Pietermaritzburg and extends to Dargle Valley and Nottingham Road on the west, and Rietvlei and Curry’s Post on the east. In the 1980s, local artists joined forces to create the arts and crafts route. Six studios were opened and the Midlands Meander was born. The route has grown to more than 160 venues to eat, drink, sleep, shop and play, as well as a diverse mix of arts and crafts. Expect to find plenty of arts and craft shops as well as artists, weavers, potters, woodcrafters, leather workers, metalworkers, cheesemakers and beer brewers, among others. DM/ML