Beneath the ribs of the dragon

There is a ubiquitous sense of a larger presence in Underberg, and it is not difficult to establish where it originates: to the west, uKhahlamba stabs holes in the clouds. A barrier of spiers, say the Zulus. A mountain of dragons (drake), said the Voortrekkers. Enormous and filled with secrets, like a slumbering primitive beast. And nestled right up against it, immediately beneath its rib cage, is Underberg.

The town is small and unbelievably lush and green in summer. Lined with flaming poplars in autumn. Icy and often snow-white in winter.

Underberg’s name derives from its position: in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg range and directly beneath the smaller Hlogoma Peak.

In fact, it was Hlogoma that made the government at the end of the 19th century decide that Underberg was not safe. They believed the settlement was vulnerable to enemy attacks from the peak, and so Himeville was established, with a police fort, 5 km north of the town. From then on, Himeville, not Underberg, was officially called “the town”, resulting in great disunity between the residents of both places. More fuel was added to the fire when the railway line from Pietermaritzburg was built to end at Underberg and not Himeville. The two communities finally made peace in 1917