Our first stop in our KZN Borders tour, was Crystal Waters trout fishing lodge, right on the Lesotho border, near Underberg in the Southern Drakensberg Mountains.

The lodge consists of three quaint stone cottages on a huge 30Ha dam with water as clear as glass. It is surrounded by mountains, with Lesotho’s snow-capped peaks towering over the valley.

Mirror image of Lesotho mountains

Aaaah sheer bliss. Three days of silence as still as a mute button. No cellphone signal, and in our cottage’s case – no electrical power. Our eco cottage was fuelled entirely by the sun, and some gas. Lovely to be away from it all, not so great for the hair or battery powered devices though. The other two cottages were connected to Eskom mains, and might suit city folks a bit better.

The farm is perfect for hiking

But it was not the power we were after – it was the splash and flash of the elusive rainbow trout – every fly fisherman’s dream. July is good for fishing in that the trout are cold and active and give a good fight, but it is extremely hard to get them to bite. The fish were spawning and much more interested in each other than in our delicate flies.

The frustration was extreme, as the crystal clear water meant that monster trout were visible – they just weren’t taking the bait. That might put some off, but to my family it’s a sublime challenge. Non fishermen would be impressed by the amount of scientific discussion, in depth knowledge of the fish’s habitat and habits, and incredible art of fly-tying that goes into hooking a trout. And once its on, its not a matter of just reeling it in. You have to know how to play the fish to keep it attached to your fine line and small hook, but not tire it out too much as it will not survive after being released.

Jacob’s first rainbow trout hen

Cian was first to land a little trout, with Jacob claiming second spot with a good sized female. The hard and slow fishing did not put the Dirsuweis off, and we enjoyed perfect winter days on the dam – fishing from the side, rowing in the boat, hiking around the farm and catching some much appreciated sun.

The area is bitterly cold at night, and its quite simply beautiful to wake up to a landscape dusted in white frost, and to watch the pink sun rise up the mountains. We were treated to a full moon which doubled up spectacularly in the looking glass lake.

We were prepared for the winter chill

Evenings spent playing cards, tying flies and chatting around the fire rounded off a perfect family fishing stay, and Crystal Waters gets five thumbs up from Chasing the Rainbow!

Thumbs up from Chasing The Rainbow

Watch the video highlights of our trip to Crystal Waters:
(If the video does not display properly on your device, click here to watch on YouTube.)

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