NATAL DRAKENSBERG

If you can walk, you can probably also backpack, although there is far more to it than just walking.  Carrying a backpack over rough, hilly country requires a considerable amount of mental fortitude and, unless you are already a seasoned athlete, it takes most people a minimum of 5 overnight hikes before they even begin to develop the mindset required for serious backpacking.

Following on from the above, you don't have to be athletic to become a "good" backpacker.  A casual study of any group of experienced backpackers will reveal all sorts of shapes and sizes, few of which would resemble that of a pseudo-typical Comrades Marathon runner, Midmar Mile swimmer or Argus Tour cyclist!  If you could see inside their heads, though, you would find the same resolute purpose of mind!

Once you have all your equipment, backpacking is a relatively cheap pastime, the most expensive part being the cost of getting to and from the Drakensberg.  Your food need not cost you much more than what you would spend at home over the same period of time, and the current overnight cost of R30 per person could probably cover luxury items, cell-phone calls and entertainment that you would indulge in if you stayed at home instead.

Unless you plan to lead hikes commercially, no qualifications are required.  Many folk are happier to follow and put their trust in the leader.  Leaders must possess at least a little common sense and the ability to read a map.  Map-reading is an acquired skill and cannot really be taught.  Rather, you learn over a period of many years and through several mistakes which you purposely hope to avoid repeating!  It is doubtful if any leader can say he / she is 100% competent in map-reading - even the most experienced still make mistakes on occasion. Even if you are not a leader, you should take navigation seriously and try to acquire the necessary skills and experience yourself. Most leaders will welcome intelligent and informed participation in decision-making.

Backpacking is a non-competitive life-sport, and one of the easiest ways to get fit.  You only compete with yourself, especially if you are one of the weaker hikers in your group.  You set yourself small, attainable goals en route, you stretch and challenge yourself little by little, and if you do this regularly - at least once a month - you will develop the mental fortitude characteristic of any serious athlete!  This is what sets a "good" backpacker apart from a novice - not his / her speed or strength - but the ability to press on despite physical fatigue, discomfort and nagging doubts about fitness.

Backpacking allows you to "get away from it all". You exchange the phones, fax machine, computer, TV, VCR, DVD player, newspapers, noisy neighbours and crowded gyms and malls for the peace and tranquility of nature. You return to the rat-race feeling refreshed and renewed.

While the above points may describe several other sports, backpacking has some draw cards which most others don't.  These are:

	The aesthetic beauty of a wilderness area like the Natal Drakensberg, which appeals to our romantic side.  Accompanying this is the clean, fresh mountain air and unpolluted streams.
	The deep-seated need that most of us have to go where no man has gone before, to visit new territory and explore new frontiers.  These may not be new to all men, but if they are new to you then they fulfill this need anyway!  When you do go far off the beaten track, the thought that always comes to mind is "Has any human being ever been here before?".  The notion that the answer may be "No" is remarkably flattering - unless someone made a really bad decision about your route!
	There is a wonderful sense of self-sufficiency, tempered with a tinge of vulnerability, that one experiences on long overnight hikes.  All the great explorers, the pioneers and the thousands of settlers of centuries past, would have been familiar with these emotions.  Backpacking helps perpetuate the mindset of all these people who left what was familiar and comfortable to forge a new life in a foreign land.  Perhaps backpacking will have helped keep the spirit of exploration alive for the time when mankind will make his first, tentative steps outside the solar system!
	Backpackers are survivors! Most experienced backpackers will agree that the best part of hiking is getting to their overnight destination. They may be physically tired, but they are satisfied with the day's work. If - through their planning and resourcefulness - they are also able to feel clean, comfortable, relaxed and at ease in their new surroundings without all the trappings of modern society, then they have the spirit of a survivor! Come war, natural disaster, or whatever crisis, these are the folk who will be numbered amongst the survivors!