Quathlamba
“A
mass of Spears. Named thus by the Zulu warriors before the white man came.
Today called the Drakensberg, Mountains of the Dragon, a name given by the
Voortrekkers. Evocative names, both equally applicable to South Africa’s
mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the
saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.”
Panorama April 1966This blog is all about the Drakensberg Mountains and its Wilderness area, South Africa. I have lost my heart and soul to this area and every single time I hike these mountains, I stand in awe all over again at this magnificent beauty.
"How often in the course of our travels through Kwazulu-Natal do we stop and gaze at the beauty of a distant range of mountains? The Drakensberg stands as a monument to one of the greatest cataclysms the Earth has experienced. As you approach the mountains, you realize why early Zulus called it "Quathlamba", meaning “Barrier of Up-pointed Spears". A cradle of rivers. Listen to the streams as they gurgle from their cradles and you will hear the story of the mountains. You will hear fascinating tales if only you listen! Lie next to a stream and listen to the song of the mountains. The smiling faces of the flowers, dancing in the wind. Venture into the remote valleys or stand on a peak at sunrise or sunset, after snow has fallen, and you will hear a song that you will never forget - the Song of the High Mountain". (DA Dodds)
Hiking adventures, hiking gear reviews, day walks, accommodation, books, articles and photos, all related to these magnificent mountains will feature here.
Should you want to accompany me on a hike or need some information or advice, please make contact with me. I hope you enjoy the articles.
Please visit the archive for some more interesting stories, photos and reviews.
Available in the Archive
(Do read it!)
1) Injasuthi to Lotheni
- Epic 6 Day Hike
2) Review: Hi-Tec
Altitude Pro RGS Hiking Boots
3) Drakensberg
Wilderness Hiking - 14 Day Hiking trip - Lotheni Reserve (Part 3)
4) Lotheni - 14 Day
Hiking Trip (Part 2)
5) Lotheni - 14 Day
Hiking Trip (Part 3)
6) The Bushmen of the
Drakensberg
7) Thunderstorms in the
Drakensberg Mountains
8) Before setting out on a hike………..
9) Cathkin Peak – Drakensberg
10) Why backpack and
multi-day hiking
11) Safety in the
Drakensberg
12) In the Shadow of
Cathedral Peak
13) Injasuthi – ‘well
fed dog’
14) Lotheni Reserve
15) Garmin eTrex 10
& 20 Specs and Review
16) The birth of the
Drakensberg – The Ancient Rocks
17) Drakensberg
Mountains – Rock Art
18) Drakensberg
Mountain Reserve Accommodation
19)
Drakensberg – Mkhomazi Area – Hikers Paradise
20)
Drakensberg – Hiking Kamberg – Highmoor - Kamberg, Exploring the Mooi
River Valleys
21)
Chelmsford Nature Reserve
22)
Bushmen Art – Deep in a Mooi River Valley
23)
Missing in the Drakensberg Mountains – Dragon’s Wrath
24)
Hiking Food and Clothes
25)
Wilderness Hiking Gear
Photos please make contact with the author, Willem Pelser.
“wHAT ARE WE DOING OUT THERE
IN THAT MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS? LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL HEIGHTENS THE RISK, BUT IT
HEIGHTENS THE PASSION TOO. bUT I ALSO WANT TO LIVE.”
W Pelser
WILDERNESS HIKING GEAR
Believe it or not, a well-equipped
hiker can carry everything he needs in a backpack with a mass of between one
quarter to one third of that of his body. The secret is the ‘light style’. The
lighter your gear, the further you can walk. Buy only quality equipment to
prevent frustration and unnecessary replacements.
Daypacks
On short walks
or guided wilderness trials, you will only need a daypack. Some daypacks have
padded backs, which come in handy as you don’t have to concern yourself with
packing the bag too carefully.
Fully equipped
multi-day hiking bag
Daypacks should have one or two easily accessible side pockets and should be
large enough to contain all your cold-weather needs and interpretive equipment
(maps, cameras, etc.).
Another consideration when buying a daypack is that it should fit comfortably into
your larger backpack. Many hiking trails allow you to reach a hut by lunch
time, leaving you the afternoon to ramble or climb to a nearby peak, carrying
only your daypack. Many people on mountaineering trips camp in an area and then
make day trips from their base. Daypacks are also useful as hand baggage on
airlines. Some backpacks are made with a removable, zipped compartment that,
when detached, can be worn as a small backpack.
Kloofing trips require fully waterproof packs. Such a pack can be dropped in a
river or pool and will float freely downstream over and under rapids, without
any of its contents getting wet. The best way to waterproof a pack is to place
all critical items in a heavy-duty, double-seamed plastic bag, twisting the
opening and tying it securely with a shoelace. A second bag over the first
provides extra protection. Garbage bags, shopping bags and even some sport bags
are not strong enough for waterproofing packs. The most reliable bags can be
purchased at camping stores. Place the bag inside the major compartment of your
backpack. Non-critical equipment (water-bottle, plates, tins, etc.) are carried
in side pockets. For ordinary hikes, place all your gear in a waterproof bag
inside your backpack and simply fold over the opening. This will ensure dry
gear at the end of a rainy hike.
Bearing all this in mind, if you should ask for a porter to assist you on Malawi’s
Mount Mulanje, in the Drakensberg, or elsewhere in Africa, do not be too
surprised if he empties the contents of your smartly styled pack into a duffel
bag and then proceeds up the mountain carrying it on his head!
Sleeping Gear
The
major consideration when buying a sleeping bag should be warmth. If you plan to
hike during the winter or in regions with sharp nocturnal drops in temperature,
a natural down filling is highly recommended. Down is not only light and warm
but also soft, easily compressible and capable of complete recovery after being
stuffed into a carrying bag for long periods. Duck, as opposed to goose, down
is slightly less efficient, but cheaper. Some manufacturers combine the two to
produce a more economical bag. The biggest draw-back of any down is that it
will not keep you warm if it gets soaked. It is also allergenic and is becoming
increasingly expensive.
The highest quality
man-made fibre-fills, however, have none of these draw-backs and, most
importantly, they will keep you warm even when wet. They dry quickly and are
easily washed at home and, being less compressible, insulate you better from
the ground. On the minus side, they are not as light or compact as down.
However, new fillings such as Hollofil have narrowed the gap between synthetics
and down considerable in recent years.
Whichever you choose, make sure your zip fastener is nylon, backed by a ‘draught
tube’ filled with down or fibre to keep out the cold. Unless your sleeping bag
is only used in warmer temperatures, you should avoid sewn-through constructions,
which cause cold spots along stitch lines. If you buy a bag for cold weather
but also plan to use it in warm weather, make sure that it has a double zipper
so that you can vent the lower end to keep cool.
Never buy a
sleeping bag made of waterproof material. When you sleep you perspire and the
resultant condensation will soak you and your bag if it cannot evaporate. The
ideal combination is a cotton inner lining with a water-repellent but breathable
nylon material used for the outside.
The
shape of the bag is also important. Mummy bags give maximum warmth, and are
more compact than standard rectangular bags.
Mattresses are only
really necessary for camping in wilderness areas. Some people carry an air mattress
that can double as a lilo, but these are very heavy and puncture easily. If a
mattress is required, a thin, closed-cell foam mattress is ideal, being both
waterproof and very light.
A reasonable
comfortable pillow can be made by stuffing clothes into the bag used to carry
your sleeping bag during the day.
If you intend
hiking in an area where malaria is prevalent, you should invest in a lightweight
mosquito net. It makes sense to avoid being bitten by malaria-bearing mosquito's.
Tents
When
selecting a tent, look for one with a waterproof floor and roof and a ‘breathing’
ceiling. Until recently, all quality tents were double-skinned, with a ceiling
of breathable nylon, having a few centimeters or more below a waterproof
flysheet. Body moisture passes through the ceiling, condenses on the
impermeable fly and drips off harmlessly on the outside.
There are new waterproof materials available which let
out body moisture yet repel rain. These materials are patented as Gortex,
Ventex, etc. Single-layer tents are constructed from these materials, the
1-person tent having proved most successful.
Bivvy Bag
Today’s lightweight tents come in a multitude of shapes. Any of these shapes are
satisfactory if they meet the required specifications. However, dome or
half-dome shapes will stand without any pegs or guy ropes, which makes them particularly
useful where staking is difficult – on beaches or riverbanks, frozen ground or
in snow. Dome designs have flexible poles which tense inside fabric sleeves,
pushing outwards on the walls so as to support the tent.
Other features to
look for when buying a tent are tight, preferable double and triple-row
stitching, reinforced stress points, mosquito netting for doors, windows and
vent openings and nylon zips. A 2-person backpacker’s tent should weigh less
than 3 kilogram. Good tents are expensive but can last a lifetime, so don’t
compromise on quality.
Stoves
It is
impossible to go hiking without a camp-stove if you want to cook food or have
hot fluids. The camp-stove is the symbol of the environmentally conscious hiker.
In most areas fires are prohibited, either because of depletion of wood
supplies, fire danger or simply to prevent unsightly camp fire remains from
spoiling the environment. Hence, camp-stoves are necessary for all hikers and
mountaineers.
Like tents,
there is a wide range of stoves from which to choose and although selection is
largely a matter of personal preference, it is important to know what to look
for. Among the aspects to be considered are the type of fuel needed, its availability
and price, the stove’s mass, accessories included, such as pots, ease of
packing, safety, stability and reliability, boiling speed, cold weather
performance, starting and running ease; cleaning, noise and environmental
concerns such as disposing of fuel cartridges.
Fuel, especially its availability in rural
areas, is a very important consideration. There are three main types of stoves
which can be classified according to the fuel they use: liquid fuel (benzine and
paraffin), gas (butane and propane) and alcohol (methylated spirits).
Benzine stoves rate high on efficiency and fuel economy and work well in low
temperatures. Their main disadvantages are the delicate task of refueling and
the preheating, which results in a dangerous flare being created. In Africa
generally, benzine is not readily available except in the larger towns.
Paraffin stoves are safer and burn hotter than
those run on benzine. Another positive of paraffin is that it is relatively
cheap and readily available, making it an excellent choice for groups and
expeditions. The ‘cons’ include its smokiness, smell and starting difficulty.
Butane and propane fuel come in disposable pressurized steel cylinders. These
fuels are popular because they are convenient, refueling is simple (either push
or screw in the new cylinder) and they start easily. Butane is a poor cold
weather fuel because it will not vaporize below 0 degree Celsius; in addition
the heat output decreases as the amount of fuel in the cartridge decreases.
Propane is a better fuel for cold weather and high altitudes, but is not
readily available in southern Africa.
The
main disadvantage of an alcohol stove is that more fuel is needed to produce as
much heat as paraffin stoves. However, unlike, most other stove fuels, it is
not a petroleum product. The stove is stable, quiet, and reliable and poses no
problem in starting or refueling. Alcohol spirit is readily available.
Solid fuel
stoves are best kept for emergencies – they have low heating power and less
delicate simmering control, but they are safe and relatively impervious to
cold.
Compatibility is critical. Observe your friends’
stoves, know the conditions in which you will be hiking and then decide what to
buy. Warning:
Never use a camp-stove in your tent. They have been known to cause carbon
monoxide poisoning, and they can flare up and turn all your petroleum based
synthetic equipment into a blazing inferno!
Safe Hiking.
The End.
Willem
Pelser – The Mountain Man
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