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The park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. The most well known park in the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is the Royal Natal National Park. It contains the source of the Tugela river, and includes the 912m high Tugela Falls, the second highest waterfall on earth. Tens of thousands of Bushman San rock paintings can be seen around the Drakensburg area - the last visible signs of the ancient Bushman or San people. These tiny wanderers were nearly wiped out by the waves of Khoi, abaNtu and white settlers over the centuries. The Bushman San people are recognised as the indigenous inhabitants of the sub-continent. Yet there is no monument to the Bushman San people - other than their own art. Within the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park there are some 600 sites, collectively representing over 35000 individual images. Remarkably, the rock art in the park is better preserved than any other region south of the Sahara. The oldest painting on a rock shelter wall in the park is about 2400 years old, while more recent creations date back to the late nineteenth century. Many of the sites contain scenes depicting hunting, dancing, fighting, food gathering and rituals. |
