Despite some recent land claims, the foothills of the Natal Drakensberg seem to have originally been inhabited only by the San bushmen who were hunter-gatherers, and then perhaps only in the warmer months because there is doubt that they would have been able to survive the extreme cold of winter there. A Zulu clan named the Amazizi  settled in some of the approaches to the Drakensberg, further down the valleys where the grazing was better and easier for their cattle. When they were attacked by the Amangwane clan, they moved further up into the mountains and this led to clashes with the San, probably over cattle which the San would have seen as an easy and reliable source of sustenance. This ideology also did not endear the San to European settlers, and caught between them and the Zulus, the San were eventually wiped out. The Amangwane remain in the Mnweni area to this day, having been allocated this section of the Drakensberg as a reservation.

Long before it was fully understood just how important the Natal Drakensberg is as a water catchment area for almost the entire province of (KwaZulu-)Natal, land in its foothills was divided up and allocated to the earliest European settlers as farmland. Many of the cart tracks and stock paths still encountered in the lower Berg originated around this period, and sandstone block ruins can still be found in some very remote areas, testimony to the hardiness of the settlers. This period in the Natal Drakensberg’s history does not seem to be well documented and remains rather hazy to this day. Later, as infrastructure spread, some land was rezoned for hotel resorts, the Kamberg Nature Reserve, the Giant’s Castle Game Reserve, and the (Royal) Natal National Park. These reserves have always been the responsibility of the Natal Parks Board (now called  Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife).

Much of the land immediately adjacent to the foothills of the Drakensberg was then bought back by the Nationalist Party government and placed under the jurisdiction of the then Department of Forestry and Agriculture in an effort to better protect this invaluable water resource. During this time several fire lookouts were constructed, although most have now been demolished or stand derelict, Thuthumi Hut at Cathedral Peak being an example of the latter. An unfortunate experiment was conducted by this department, investigating the viability of timber (pine) production in the foothills. This proved a complete failure and the scars can still be seen in the Cathedral Peak Wilderness Area to this day.  About a decade later, there being no reason for this department to be involved in the Drakensberg anymore, all this state land was placed under the Natal Parks Board, which was soon renamed to KZN Nature Conservation Services (KZN-NCS) and which is now called Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Their vehicles, though, are still registered with NCS license plates.

For the backpacker, this history is of significance not just for a general understanding of what transpired, but also because it impacts access and bookings in the Natal Drakensberg. The Mnweni Wilderness Area does not fall under Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife at all. Hutted accommodation in the reserves, and trail and mountain huts in Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife-controlled areas, are still booked through their head office based at Queen Elizabeth Park outside Pietermaritzburg. Several of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife entry points are stationed at repossessed farmsteads, some still replete with barns and silos. Erosion gullies (dongas), stands of blue gum trees, and wattle and bramble-berry thickets in their vicinity are testament to a time when conservation was not a priority and the impact of invasive species was little understood.