The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site is one of the finest outdoor art installations in the world. And it's 10 000 years old

WE'VE come to see the "finest outdoor art gallery in the world" - and we're facing a few of the realities of outdoor galleries. We've only been walking for a few minutes and our shoes and jeans are soaked through from the wet grass. It's early in the morning and the mist is still thick in the valley so, for now, we can't see where we're headed.

The San, or Bushmen, who inhabited this region, were a people genetically closest to those early humans who departed from Southern Africa on their journey to inhabit the world, so researchers are keen to learn as much as they can about them. In many cases, however, we have very little to go on. But we do have the incredible art that they made throughout Southern Africa on the rocks and on the walls of caves - some of which date back as far as 10000 years.

The rock art of the Drakensberg is world-renowned, both for its sheer quantity (there are more than 2000 sites and 45000 artworks) and its sophisticated techniques, employing skilful use of colour and 3D effects. It gives us insights into the beliefs and cultural practices of the San.

We cross rushing streams past silver-leafed proteas and the Gurney's sugar bird. Blue Drakensberg Agapanthus, dripping with mist, silently watch our progress as we file up the stone steps on the steepest part of our walk so far. Our guide tells us we'll be fine as long as we don't look up to see how far we still have to go. High above us, the sandstone cliffs are beginning to show through the mist.

We chose the Kamberg Rock Art Centre in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands because it is the gateway to one of Southern Africa's most significant rock art sites, known as Game Pass Shelter. We're fortunate to be accompanied by Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu, an archaeologist from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, presently studying for his doctorate in Newcastle, England.

We reach the locked gate that KZN Wildlife has put here to stop unauthorised access. Rock art sites may, by law, only be visited in the presence of a certified guide. Ndukuyakhe tells us the restricted access means the Duma clan, who have visited this site for generations as a place of special spiritual significance, may now only do so in small groups in the presence of a guide. The dilemma is a clear one: at what cost to existing cultural groups should this heritage be preserved?

As we step into the mouth of the shelter, we stand in amazement. Above us, the rock face blazes with colour, the art incredibly well preserved. Majestic eland move across the panel, accompanied by small hunter figures with legs outstretched in a sprint. Large half-human, half-eland figures, therianthropes survey the scene.

This is the cave where Professor David Lewis-Williams from Wits University "cracked the code" of San rock art. A little to the left is the famous "Rosetta Panel", which, like its namesake from Egypt, provided the key to interpreting a language. In Lewis-Williams's interpretation, the panel depicts a shaman, or spiritual healer. In a trance state, the shaman has entered the spirit world and holds the tail of a dying eland to draw on its potency.

The scene is dominated by eland, the largest antelope, by far the most frequently painted animal in Drakensberg rock art. We known that eland had specific significance to the San - but Ndukuyakhe says different San groups may have had different beliefs from one another. His PhD is exploring some of the other factors that may have impacted on what the San painted. By comparing historical records of wildlife, for example, with the frequency at which certain species appear in rock art across South Africa he hopes to gain deeper insight into the differences between San groups - and what motivated them to create the art.

It's a theme we've encountered before and we discuss it over a light lunch back at the rock art centre. There is a South African tendency to simplify history by reducing the San, or Bushmen, to one group or to assume we have a good understanding of what their culture was like. More research will help to reveal the multifaceted nature of our "first people".

The round trip to Game Pass shelter and back takes about three to four hours. If that sounds a bit much, rather opt for Giants Castle, where you can reach the caves within 20 to 30 minutes. The Didima Rock Art Centre at Cathedral Peak has an excellent interpretive centre and guided tours.

ýNonhlanhla Vilakazi is a PhD palaeo-herpetologist at Wits University. Robert Inglis is a director of Jive Media, independent science communication agency. The tour of palaeontological sites was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology through SAASTA ( www.saasta.ac.za ).

ýRead Vilakazi's blog at www.africanorigins.co.za

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE:

Kamberg From the N3 at Howick or Mooi River, take the R103 to Nottingham Road or Rosetta, then follow the signs to Kamberg Nature Reserve.

Giant’s Castle From the N3 at Estcourt or Mooi River, follow the signs to Giant’s Castle.

Didima Rock Art Centre Follow the signs from Winterton.

CONTACTS:

For more information, visit www.kznwildlife.com or call 033 845 1000. For Kamberg, call 033 267 7251 (GPS: S: 29.388°; E: 29.668°); for Giant’s Castle call 036 353 3718.