San Rock Art Claimed

Over 20 000 individual rock paintings in some 500 caves and overhang sites between Royal Natal National Park and Bushman’s Neck in the Drakensberg are now protected as a World Heritage Site. Most of it is hidden away in caves that take some hiking to reach. But they are the region’s cultural treasure. Here are but a few of the sites:

• Battle Cave approached from the Injasuti Camp, has some of the only fight paintings
• Game Pass at Kamberg is one of the  of the best preserved rock art sites
• Ebusingata in the Royal Natal National Park must have a local guide
• Ikanti Shelter is easy to reach, not far from Sani Pass Hotel
• The open air Bushman Cave Museum in Giant’s Castle Reserve is one of the most accessible rock art sites with only a short walk bringing you to about 500 rock paintings
• Mpongweni Shelter in the Cobham Reserve is worth the long walk
• The Cavern at the Cavern Hotel
• Sigubudu shelter is in the Royal Natal National Park
• Ndedema Gorge has roughly 17 sites with an estimated 3 900 paintings, over 1 000 of them in Sebaayeni Cave
• Bushman’s Nek Hotel, in the Little Berg, has its own rock art display and a number of rock art sites in caves for which they will give directions