Southern Africa - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 178

biodegradable. Hardly any indigenous
trees were removed to create this treetop
paradise built from sustainably harvested
forests. Hotel staff continually clear non-
indigenous species and reintroduce native
ones, returning the area of forest that it
owns and protects ever closer to how it
once was.

Need to know Tsala Treetops is 24km from
Knysna, signed 1.5km off the N2. For more
on accommodation, dining, booking and
rates see W www.hunterhotels.com; T +27
(0) 44 501 1111.

237 TrEk THE
DrAkENSbErG, SOuTH
AfrICA

The responsible trekker's aim is usually
to leave no trace. But anyone who sets off
from Matatiele on the five-day hike with
the Mehloding Community Trust will be
going one better, by having a beneficial
impact on the remote rural communities
their journey passes through. This is
a route of extremes: while the Sisonke
district of KwaZulu- Natal Province has
some of South Africa's most stunning
scenery, including the indigenous forests
and towering sandstone escarpments
of the southern Drakensberg region, it
is also a journey into a region of great
poverty, where sustainable tourism is
helping to keep local economies afloat.
Over the last few years the trust has
developed a trekking programme that
now employs four hundred locals as guides or
chalet staff. Much of the food served on the way
is grown in community farming schemes, while
activities available en route are also guided by
villagers, from horse-riding and bird watching to
visits to the village shebeens (bars), or meetings
with craftspeople and sangomas (traditional
healers). The fee includes a levy that goes

towards projects such as building creches, clinics
and schools. For trekkers it means genuinely
warm welcomes from whomever they encounter,
passionate guides and the assurance that this is
one hike leaving a positive footprint.

Giants Castle Peak,
Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park,
KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Need to know Matatiele is 70km from the town of
Kokstad. For more on accommodation, trail details,
bookings and rates see W www.mehloding.co.za;
T [phone].