The Nkandla district is a spectacularly scenic area north of the Tugela River, and the current interest in a large homestead in the region detracts from other interesting sites.
My trip with Alistair Peter, took in a Norwegian Mission near Entumeni, the pristine Nkandla indigenous forest, famous for its birdlife, Nkandla village itself with a sadly neglected cemetery, with military graves dating back to the Bhambatha Rebellion, and the return trip through the immense Insuze and Tugela valleys. The trip from Nkandla to Kranskop is mainly on a winding gravel road to Jamesons Drift, then along the Tugela river to Middle Drift and then on up to Kranskop on a new tar road. The route from Middle Drift up to Kranskop was the site of several forts, like Montgomery (at Middle Drift), Buckingham near the Kop and Cherry closer to Kranskop. These forts were used by the British invasion column into Zululand in 1879, however we could not find any trace of the forts. The scenic views on this drive are seriously worth a trip for those who love our rural settings. The Nkandla forest is one of KZN’s best kept secrets for birding and walks.