A Mobility Research Journey through the San Rock Art of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

Background

In March 2024, I started with a groundbreaking research project titled: Rock Art Presentation: A comparative analysis between the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, South Africa and the Vézère Valley, France. This research analyses to what extent rock art is presented in two Word Heritage Sites in France and South Africa. As part of this study, I conducted mobility research in the Vézère Valley, France, from October 2024 to February 2025, and in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, South Africa, during April and May 2025. These two mobility research phases are integral to the comparative framework of the research project. For this blog, I will focus specifically on my mobility in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Mobility research, by definition, is a study conducted in a specific region (s) providing insights into social and economic contexts. Mobility research is fundamental as it provides the opportunity to contribute to existing policies and laws.

The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park has about 40 000 rock art paintings which date to about 3000 years ago. The region is considered to have one of the highest concentrations of ancient rock art in the world. It is believed that the paintings were created by groups of San people who were the first to live in South Africa, thousands of years before any other groups of people moved to South Africa. The rocks on which the paintings were created had an intangible aspect to it, serving as a veil between the world and the spiritual world. The San rock art paintings, for the most part, are of spiritual significance and predominantly feature intricate fine line shaded polychrome depictions. The paintings often depict various human-like figures and animals such as the eland and horses. The eland is the most painted figure in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and is the most spiritually significant animal.

In view of the above, these paintings were imperative to the inscription of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park as a World Heritage Site in 2002. As a result, there was a greater demand for rock art presentation in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and, more broadly, South Africa in the early 2000s. On the 11th of April 2025 my mobility research commenced in the southern parts of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park.

Rock Art sites in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park

To start with, I had visited three rock art sites close to the Underberg area. These includes sites situated on private farms. I was surprised to find that at Khotso Farm; the owner had no idea that there is rock art situated within the privately owned area. Many of the sites are unnamed. The site in figure 1 serves as an example of an unnamed site. The site was accessed through Khotso Farm and is about 500m from the road. Yet, the site is barely visited by the public as it is situated on a restricted access private land.

Fig. 1: An image captured during a guided tour at an unnamed rock art shelter located on a private farm in southern Drakensberg.

In the context of the above, one of the highlights was partaking in a heritage excursion to the Pornographic Rock Art Shelter - one of the lesser-known sites situated in the Garden Castle. This site has some remarkable paintings of San rock art, including a series of hunting scenes with some remarkable animal and human-like figures. Figure 2 serves as one such example.

Fig. 2: A San painting on one of the rock art panels at Pornographic Rock Art Shelter illustrating an active hunting scene. At least seven male figures appear to be hunting down an animal-like figure for meat. The male-like figure at the top of the animal may illustrate that the animal was captured by the hunters. The male-like figure on the bottom right corner appears to throw an arrow in an active scene of San hunting.

I explored the Himeville Fort and Museum in the Underberg. It is a large complex of buildings which includes a house with exhibitions. One of the exhibit rooms has an exhibition dedicated to the rock art of southern KwaZulu Natal. The exhibition includes information of the San people as the artists of the Rock art, and depictions of rock art from various sites in the southern parts of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Overall, it offers a glimpse  into the daily lives and spirituality of the San people through the rock art paintings.

Additionally, I had a tailor-made rock art tour at the KwaZulu Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg. The tour guide took me on a journey of discovery, mentioning the San people as hunters of southern Africa and explaining the history of the rock art paintings. For example, there is a panel with citations explaining how the mixtures were used to get different colours for the San paintings. Red from iron oxide is the most used colour on the shelters. Moreover, there is a Cave-like replica of specifically selected replica rock art from the northern Drakensberg and the “Elephant Man Panel” from the Mohwabane Shelter in the Ebusingatha area of the Amazizi Village. 

Fig. 3: The author and a tour guide in a Cave-like replica rock art site at KwaZulu Natal Museum which has paintings from the northern Drakensberg.

Game Pass Shelter in the Kamberg Rock Art Centre boasts some of the most remarkable rock art of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. It is the site which has given European recognition to San rock art of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. In the early 2000s, the Kamberg Rock Art Interpretation Centre was constructed to improve the presentation of rock art, especially for the remarkable rock art at Game Pass Shelter. However, more than 20 years later, the low tourist numbers remain a tangible example of the need for improved presentation of rock art. I interviewed two local tour guides. One of the guides asserted that sometimes for two weeks there are no tourists visiting Game Pass Shelter, despite having of the most remarkable rock art paintings, including the famous Rosetta panel as illustrated in figure 4. On 17 April 2025, I went on a guided tour to the Game Pass Shelter via the Waterfall Shelter and noticed two international tourists from the United States walk on a self-guided tour to the direction of Game Pass Shelter. On this point, it is striking that they had not known about Game Pass Shelter, nor had they known about the rock art as they turned back after viewing the Waterfall Shelter.

Fig. 4: An illustration of a tour guide interpreting the famous ‘Rosetta Stone’ rock art panel at Game Pass Shelter.

In light of the above, Battle Cave is one of the most decorated rock art sites in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Situated in the central part of Drakensberg, Battle Cave is about a 5.7km walk from the Injasuthi Camp. The shelter is one of the most protected sites and has a fence which makes it inaccessible without a guide. I went on a guided tour with Drakensberg Walking Excursions whereby an independent Accredited Amafa KwaZulu Natali Guide provided a full interpretation of the rock art. In the 1980s, Aron Mazel recorded about 1 200 paintings at Battle Cave, however many of these paintings have deteriorated over time. There are still some must-see paintings at Battle Cave including the panel of paintings which the cave was named after.

Fig. 5: The left part of a panel of paintings dominated by San figures during Battle against the oppressors. This is part of the panel Battle Cave was named after.

My mobility research concluded in the northern parts of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park on the 3rd of May 2025. I had guided tours to rock art sites such as the Mohwabane Rock Art Shelter, Mkhosheni Rock Art Shelter and Sigubudu Rock Art Shelter. These sites are in the Amazizi Village. Moreover, I had interviewed three local tour guides from the village who do guided tours in the northern Drakensberg. A notable discovery during guided tours to Mohwabane and Mkhosheni Rock Art Shelters was that one of the tour guides are not accredited, neither does the guide have any theoretical background on rock art or cultural heritage. Overall, I gained invaluable insights for my research dissertation and envision to produce a research report that can improve the presentation of rock art, particularly in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg area.

Fig. 6: An illustration of a tour guide interpreting the rock art at the Mohwabane Rock Art Shelter. The bottom part of the panel is 95% damaged, with a few blur animal figures visible from close range.