“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust
Such true words i feel, for life as an adventurist constantly brings forth new challenges and moments where you simply just stand and think how awesome is this Earth!
No matter all the excavations and big cities, for through it all there is still a good life you just need to free your soul and find your rhythm, learn to speak the language of our Earth and let mother nature guide your eyes to new possibilities as you seek to find that one thing few people truly know.
Over this past week my girlfriend has been visiting me and so her brother also decided to make a road trip on his KTM 990 adventure bike to come see the valley of my home town in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa.
Saturday morning we all got up early-ish, sitting around the kitchen table talking about what the day could bring and so Steve initiated the idea that we head out to the Ncandu Falls along the outskirts of town as he drove past it on his way to town.
The three of us agreed and so we packed the cooler and off we went to explore a new piece of land as i myself also havn’t been there yet.
The Ncandu Falls are situated about 25 km from Newcastle out towards Normandien, there is a road side sign that shows a turn off to the right from the main road leading to Normandien after which its about 400m of gravel road to make another right to arrive at the falls, there is a controlled gate where the locals charge a mere R10 per person to enter and in my opinion its well worth more than that R10.
Upon arrival at first you don’t even see that there is anything like a waterfall at all then as the path leads down to the bottom level parking you get a first glance at the sheer power of water in a glorious display of a major 1 tier drop. From the bottom of the lower parking there is a small gate and pathway leading down into the ravine by climbing down a series of rock steps all the way down to water level. About halfway down the steps there is a hidden path leading into the thicket on the left that goes out onto a big rock platform from where you are able to jump about a 3 meter drop into the pool below.
The area on the bottom is great for swimming on a hot summer day, you could also swim over to climb your way into another ravine that leads to another waterfall way off to the right hand side of the main drop. This side waterfall is a big one with i free drop of about 10-12 meters into a perfectly round pool that’s great for cooling off or you can swim your way around through the pressing water to climb in beneath the drop and dive back into the pool from about a 1.5 meter elevated position.
The featured photo from this post is taken from beneath the waterfall that’s off to the right when you are standing on the bottom of the steps looking at the main drop.
The area has a variety of great spots to have a braai or even just a relaxed afternoon.
Life is about finding your happy place through many different adventures, you need to determine your own story and live like there is no tomorrow. In that moment where i stood beneath the falling water…i felt this sense of absolute freedom, a moment where time came to a standstill, i felt the cool water drops hitting my back like that of bullets made from ice, in a moment reality ceases to exist and i find my heart beating with the tremor of water roaring over cliffs…as i look to the words on my arm i find my solace in the wild for this is me…this is where i belong…in a cavity of Earth among the green and red bedrock in the streams i will follow the call of mountains standing tall and proud…like them…for i-LiveWild…
i. Sonnekus
Thanks to Steve and my amazing girlfriend for sharing this amazing experience!
