Bergville is a small farming town at the foot of the northern Drakensberg, in the Okhahlamba district of KwaZulu-Natal, and its main role is to be a handy place to stop before heading for the big wall of mountains. The town lies on the Tugela river near the Woodstock dam, and on a clear day the escarpment rises on the western horizon in a long line of buttresses and cliffs, including the Amphitheatre, a rock face about five kilometres long. Behind it, the Tugela Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls on Earth by some measures, drops in several stages from the plateau of Lesotho.
The area has a long history of Zulu and Basotho settlement, and the rock shelters of the Drakensberg hold paintings made by the San people over thousands of years, which show animals, hunters and ritual scenes. The name Drakensberg, Dragon Mountains, is the Afrikaans one, and the Zulu name, uKhahlamba, means barrier of spears. Both capture the way the peaks look from the foothills, with spikes and teeth along the skyline.
The riding here is a gentle introduction to the mountains. Roads run through rolling grassland, farmland and small villages, with views of the escarpment on one side, and bends are easy and the surfaces are mixed, with good tarmac in some places and potholes in others. Cattle, goats and people on the road demand attention, especially in the afternoon, and thunderstorms in the summer can be violent, with lightning and hail, so keep an eye on the sky. Winter days are dry and clear, with cold nights and frost, and the light on the peaks is excellent.
Bergville itself has fuel stations, a couple of shops and basic services, and the supply is better than in the villages further up the valley, so use it. Winterton, a short distance away, has more shops and cafés, and several lodges and resorts in the foothills offer food and accommodation. A plate of grilled meat and pap, with a cold drink on a verandah, is a good end to the day. Bring warm layers for the evenings, even in summer, and book ahead during holidays.