Lotheni Wilderness, Drakensberg - 14 Day Hiking Trip

Quathlamba

“A mass of Spears. Named thus by the Zulu warriors before the white man came. Today called the Drakensberg, Mountains of the Dragon. 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.”

“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".

DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER

“ALL STREAMS ARE TALKATIVE, AND A HILL STREAM IS THE GREATEST CHATTERER OF ALL. IT IS NEVER BORING, YET ALWAYS SOOTHING. IT IS A THOUSAND VOICES IN ONE AND ONE VOICE IN A THOUSAND. DO NOT THINK AS YOU LIE BESIDE IT, BUT LET IT THINK FOR YOU. THEN YOU WILL HEAR THE VOICE AND MESSAGE OF THE HILLS….. THIS IS THE CONSOLATION OF RUNNING WATER.”

FS SMYTHE

Lotheni Wilderness, Drakensberg

14 Day Hiking Trip

This is some unedited chapters out of my first note book, an account of my 14 days in January 2015, trekking through the Wilderness that is Loteni Reserve. I have already spent many a happy time there, and this time it would be for 14 days. The idea behind it was that I would have enough time to thoroughly explore all the nooks and crannies of this beautiful area. To go and explore those areas that you always on previous trips wish you could get to, but there is never enough time. Always there is somewhere out of reach.

   Lotheni Reserve is a magnificent wilderness with a huge number of rivers and forests. It is the ideal place to explore at your own leisure.

   I am an avid fan of the Drakensberg, and it stirs my heart every time I think or hear the word Drakensberg. To pack what you need on your back, hiking boots on the feet, and wonder of into the wilderness is one of life’s greatest pleasures and wonders.

   There is so much to see and experience, and a lifetime cannot be enough to experience it all.

   I trust that you will enjoy reading this short story of my exploits as much as I enjoyed doing the walking. You will also notice a character by the name of The Mountain Man making his appearance somewhere in the story. How he came to exist I do not know.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DAY TWELVE – ELANDSHOEK VALLEY – 21 JANUARY 2015

   01H00 – Snorting outside the window woke me up and it was so dark that I could hardly see my hands in front of my eyes. I noticed an eland, at that time of the morning, eating the lawn grass right outside the window. They never sleep, looks like it to me. I think that he might have come back for more salti-crax. He was also feeding at the spot where I left the salti-crax the night before. I could not resist the temptation and gave the eland a little fright; he really took off very quickly into the night, all the way down to the river.

   04H10 – I am going to explore Elandshoek Valley today. There is not a sign of a cloud out there and all you can see is thousands of stars. It is going to be a very hot day indeed. Whatever weather system parked off here must have moved on and we are now back to the very hot days. I am going to have an early start and miss out on most of the afternoon heat.

   05H11 – All of the hillside on the other side of the river is covered in eland. There must be about 70 of them

ELANDSHOEK VALLEY

   At last I made a start. Down the hill in front of the hut to the river, boots off, cross the river, boots back on and start up the hill. By now my boots were already wet again because of the wet grass. It is highly annoying. On the other side of the river the hill is just plastered with eland. I started climbing Kwa-Pitoli to get to a contour and found 40 more eland, lots of mothers and young calves.

   I have decided to stay on the Kwa-Pitoli side and follow the eland trials. Some bundu-bashing and climbing up and down the mountain was required. I entered the Elandshoek Valley which is a very long valley. It is about the longest valley in Lotheni and plus minus 10 kilometers long.

I had to walk through a lot of marshes, both up the mountain and down at the river. It is very tricky, very dense with tall marsh grass as well as bush. You cannot see your feet and most of the marshes are full of water as well.

I walked some stretches next to the river and saw some magnificent pools to swim in.

   This valley does have the biggest and most rocks lying all over the place, and also next to, and in the river. Some of these boulders are really huge and could be up to 4 stories high. At the one boulder which was situated right next to the river, I took a break and sat on top of the rock.

   Whilst sitting on this rock, an eagle flew past me at low level. I was hoping that he was going to sit out in the open so I can have a photo opportunity, but he landed behind a rock and he stayed there.

   In one area the river makes a wide sweeping turn and 3 other rivers coming down the opposite mountain join the Elandshoek River. This in effect creates a spectacular, very scenic area.  There is a huge flood plain and marsh area. This marsh was absolute hell to get through. The mountain on the Kwa-Pitoli is very badly eroded.

   The rivers are very beautiful and scenic here in this valley, especially in the area where they all join together. I then arrived at the beginning of a big massive forest. The forest is situated on the right had side of the river. I had to mountaineer down to the river and made it to a very pretty area next to the river. I sat on a rock in the water and had my breakfast. It is really very scenic and quite beautiful here. It is one of those very dense, wet forest, a scenic river, and big old yellowwoods towering over it all. What more is there in life but to be part of such natural splendor?  I spend about an hour here soaking it all in.

   The point I am at now is about three quarters of the way up the valley in the direction of South Ridge. It was clear however that in order to get to the end of the valley, multiple day hikes would have to be done. Another 4 kilometers of unrelenting terrain lies ahead and it would be difficult to complete this walk in a day. At this stage I saw that the thunderclouds are forming again on the high mountains and I decided to make this the turn-around point.

   I climbed the cliffs back up the mountain in order to find an eland trial on one of the contours. I had to baboon my way half way up the mountain and in doing so found quite a number of small caves which were all situated near small streams and fountains. I even found a tarn (small dam) at this height! It was very amazing.

   The grasslands on the side of the mountain are so rich with such a diversity and variety of flowers. It is amazing. I came upon a little fountain with a nice shady tree which made it the ideal spot for a break. 

    From this point I had to make my way down the mountain again towards the river and I was quite high up. There was another eland trial at the bottom next to the river that I needed to get to. I eventually arrived at the river. It was again very hot by now, and big thunderclouds were following me down the valley. The spot where I joined up with the river had a big beautiful pool. I stood looking at it for a while, and then thought, what the hell, and 5 minutes later I had all my clothes off and was swimming in the pool.

   The water in the pool was surprisingly refreshing and not as ice cold as it normally is. I ended up lying on my back in the rapids just before a small waterfall and it was absolute magic! I did not want to get out of the pool because it was so divine. Normally you cannot stay in the water for longer than 30 seconds!

   I noticed at this point that the storm clouds were fast approaching and that it was time to get out of the pool and get going. I followed the eland trial and arrived back at the point where I have been before numerous times. I walked down to the Lotheni River, boots off procedure, and waded across the river. It was scorching hot by now.

   It was then boots back on again and the final severe climb back up to the hut. It was always the worst part of the walk right at the end.

I am now finally at the hut and it is rest time. What a relief it is to get the boots and backpack off and relax!

   14H46 – The thunderstorm have arrived half an hour after my arrival at the hut! There is a couple of big thunder rolls and 5 drops of rain. That was it. On top of the mountains in front of the hut, it was quite clear that there was a major storm happening. The sky was now turning a very ominous ugly blue and it looks like a big storm.

   15H46 – The mother of all storms is approaching and over a very wide front.

   17H10 – The rain just started and it came down for about 10 minutes. I can however see the storm and some very heavy rain moving on in the direction of Himeville, Underberg, Nottingham, and Mooiriver towns. Lotheni seems to be spared from the storm today. There is no direct thunder or lightning in this area.

   What a place this must have been 500 years ago. All of the animals would have been roaming all of this area in big massive herds. There were Elephants, rhinos, Eland, Impala, Cheetah, Lions, Jackals, Servals and hundreds of raptors. It must have been such a paradise. The Bushmen would be hunting for the pot only, and their way of hunting doing no harm to the environment. Then along came the Voortrekkers and Settlers and they destroyed it all in a matter of no time at all. What were the bastards thinking! It was not a question of survival at all, but indiscriminate killing because they could.

   This area remained a wilderness until very late in human history. It is only from the late 1700’s early 1800’s when it changed with the arrival of the uncaring white beings. Human you cannot call them.

   18H00 – It is starting to rain again with lots of thunder and it seems that the storm is moving back this way. The thunder sounds quite heavy and you have the nice sound of the rain coming down on the roof.

   Tomorrow morning, depending on the weather, I am going to explore the Lotheni valley and Ash cave. Maybe I can see what the attraction is for the other hiker who spends so much time in this area. Although, I have been in that area before and I was not impressed at all. The cave is actually situated in the Lotheni valley with the Lotheni River flowing down the valley.


   18H15 – It is the second time now that I see a rainbow display in front of the cabin and it is quite a sight with the backdrop of the mountains behind the rainbow. There are some really massive lightning strikes on top of the mountains now.

   18H25 – Now it is a thunderstorm! There is very heavy wind and rain with a severe lightning display. The rain on top of the mountain is very heavy. This is now one occasion where you do not want to be out there on a hike or walk. My prediction earlier today out in Elandshoek Valley was quite right. I saw this storm coming very early, but it arrived much later than what I thought.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DAY 13 – ASH CAVE AND LOTHENI VALLEY – 22 JANUARY 2015

   It rained very hard at midnight, and it is very hot this morning with clear skies.

   I left the hut just after 05h00. I walked down to the waterfall in the Lotheni River via the path. The plan is to follow the path to the point where it goes up the mountain, bundu-bash down to the river and from there make my way up to the cave. Along the way on the path I noticed that all the little waterfalls have reduced in volume by half. The Lotheni River on the other hand is at twice the volume it was and the waterfall is raging mad. It is definitely related to that big thunderstorm last night on the escarpment. Just past the waterfall, about 1 kilometer away is a big Protea tree growing against the side of a cliff.

   As I approached the tree I noticed a grayish brown part in the tree which did not look natural. I stopped to have a look, and this stage I was about 200 meters away from the tree. I had to use the zoom facility on the camera to be able to see what the object was. To my utter delight it was a raptor sitting in the tree. I have never before had the opportunity to find a rapture posing like that. I knew if I move any closer that the bird will simply fly away. I stayed where I was and was able to take numerous photos of the bird. It was a Steppe Buzzard and a very pretty bird. What a lucky and great find it was! It is one of those moments which make all the effort so worthwhile.

   I was standing behind a rock with the camera and was able to take quite a few photos. I knew that as long as I stayed quiet and did not move any closer that the bird will stay put. After some photos I decided to slowly get closer for better photos. I did not get very close before the bird flew out of the tree. In flight this raptor was as spectacular as when he was in the tree. He only flew a short distance away and landed on a rock.

   The pesky little flies had been a problem every day now and they attack you in one huge cloud. They are all over your face and arms and there is absolute no respite from them. This morning it was especially bad. One can just not get rid of them and even an insect repellent does not work.

   I now had to climb a tough hill and cliff area, and then turn right, bundu-bash down to the river and on towards the valley. At this stage there is no path and you have to make your own way through the undergrowth and grass. It is impossible to see your feet or where you are putting them down and it makes for some heavy going. At the same time the cloud of flies are following you every step of the way and they go everywhere you go!

   When I arrived at this one big rock in the middle of a marsh, I decided to take a break. In the process of taking off the backpack, swinging it of my shoulder, I experienced the most exquisite pain in my right rib cage. It was so severe that I could not move or breathe. I then had to very carefully and slowly sit down and was in absolute agony. I could only sit and hope that the pain goes away. The pain severely restricted all movement. I thought at this stage that I might have pulled a muscle or something similar and that that was all which it was going to be.

   After a bit of a rest I ended up walking through a bushy, forested area scattered with many protea trees.

   I came around one corner of a huge boulder walking into a small marsh and all of a sudden a Rhebuck fled from right under my feet! The rhebuck was feeding on the marsh grass. I think the rhebuck is still running!

   I still had to get down to the area where the 2 rivers meet and make my way across into the valley. My ribcage was worrying me at this stage. Ash cave was still 4 kilometers away and it was not going to be an easy walk. I then thought it prudent not to go to Ash cave, and to rather do it later on a hiking trip. I decided to walk and enjoy the scenery around me, explore all the rocks, little marshes, and small forests in my vicinity. This I did with my entourage of flies.

   I then bundu-bashed my way uphill to where I knew I would intersect the path leading to Yellowwood cave. I found the path and I the noticed this huge amount of swallows flying around in the area and around me as well. I went to sit down on a rock and watch them fly around. I realized that they were after the swarms of flies. The swallows came so close to my face picking off the flies that I had to duck.

   But what a display of flying skills it was. How they did not crash into rocks, trees, or each other with the speed at which they fly and chase flies is absolutely amazing. I sat there for a long while being entertained by the swallows.

    Sometimes all that one needs to do instead of walking from point “a” to “b” and back is to find a quite spot in a nice area, sit still, and observe. You sometimes see more this way than when walking. I stayed here for about an hour. I was still watching the swallows when all of a sudden I saw a green Malachite Sunbird pop out of a protea tree and chase after a swallow. The swallow came too close to the tree and the sunbird was furious and with an astonishing burst of speed went for the swallow. The sunbird chased after the swallow for quite a distance before he gave up and landed in a different tree. The Malachite sunbirds are fiercely territorial and will have a great number of trees in their territory which they will defend, even against their own kind and females. This particular bird had about 15 trees in his domain and kept the swallows away from them all!

   I followed the path back to the campsite. Just after leaving my rock, I noticed that my clouds of flies are gone! The swallows cleaned them all out.       I am so grateful to the swallows and it was much more pleasant without the flies around. It is again getting very hot now. I did not want to take a chance with my ribcage and decided to call it a day.

   On my way down the mountain I noticed that far down at the river was a big herd of eland again. I seem that they move all around the valleys and never stay in one area too long. I have so many photos of eland at this moment and do not want anymore. Not every day that you find yourself in such a situation!

   My legs feel very strong right now and they are not an issue at all.

   I arrived back at the hut. My ribcage is still very painful and got seriously stiff within an hour after arrival at the hut. It hurts even more if I move around. I really do not know what happened so suddenly.

   I might go for a swim later today and the cold river water might just be a good remedy for the rib cage.

   My time here at Lotheni is getting to a close now. Who would have thought that I will end up at a stage where I only have 2 more days left! When I arrived here the final day seemed so far away.

   The mountain Man stick man is also nearing his end.

   14H25 - My ribcage is not feeling very good and is quite painful. Seriously thinking about going for a swim as the cold water is sure to help.

   14H45 – I went down to the river for a swim. What a brilliant idea it turned out to be! The water is so refreshing and cool and I managed to find a very nice pool. The water is not the normal iciness, but it is really good. I am lying on my back in the pool with only my head sticking out. I am also receiving a nice massage from the rapids. The only problem I have is that every 2 minutes the crabs try and take a bite out of me. I stayed in the water for about half an hour and waited for the shivers to start. It is very hot and getting out of the water will have you dried in 2 minutes. This time walking down to the river and back up the hill to the hut was a breeze. It makes quite a difference walking this terrain without a backpack.

   I am back in the hut now and thinking of Jenny and her fire stoking!

   I had a very good supper just now. Tuna, potato, fried skin, onion, and curry veggies. It was very good indeed.

   I still have not heard or seen any reserve staff, and that is now for 2 weeks. Wonder if they actually care whether you are alive or dead. But on the other hand it is also nice not being bothered.

   I saw one worker this afternoon cutting grass at the campsite and 2 others busy building new fireplaces. With all the amount of stones available, it is fascinating that they are building with big cement blocks. Stone fire places would have been much better and good looking.

   18H08 – There is some big thunder on the high mountains again, right at the back of the Lotheni valley.

   I had a really lovely time here at Lotheni. It was as spectacular as always. What can one say! It was nature at its best again. The only surprising issue is the lack of wildlife, including birds in all the forests and grasslands. With the lack of humans in the reserve and in the more remote areas, it should actually be teeming with life. It might be due to the altitude.

   I now know Lotheni inside out and can navigate this reserve with my eyes closed and in the middle of the night. My tracks are all over, sometimes 2 or more sets, crossing rivers, going in different directions. I know the location of every stream, river, forest, and tree. They are all my friends.

I have scaled the lofty heights of Kwa-Pitoli and many others through sheer determination. What an experience it was.

I have found and looked at the most stunning of flowers galore, all showing off their splendor if you are willing to look.

I saw the majestic Bearded Vultures.

Eland I have seen as many as I have never seen before. In the past seeing 1 or 2 eland was a blessing and being lucky. This time seventy at close range was at the order of the day!

I have been drinking water from the purest of rivers and streams, their noise the only music around.

I have been wallowing and struggling through beautiful marshes.

I got myself entangled and hooked up by the ugly Brambles.

What can I say?

It was all absolutely worth it!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DAY FOURTEEN – SECRET FOREST

   01h00 – I got up and look out the window. It was very clear skies with millions and millions of very bright stars twinkling away. It was absolutely breath-taking to see many stars. These stars are so bright that they light up all of the reserve. It was an absolute treat. I was even treated to a shooting star.

   05H30 – For my finale’, I am going onto the Emanduwini trial up to the first river. From that point I am going up the river and explore the surrounding area. I am very interested in getting into the valley forest which is always so far out of reach.      

   This forest is always very noticeable from up high on the trial and there is no easy way going there. The forest always looks so unreachable. No person ever goes down to it so it should be totally untouched and virgin. Today I have decided to make it to that forest and explore inside of it.

   At the river on the trial where you would normally cross to go up the mountain, I made a right turn and started climbing up the mountain. Yet again the grass and undergrowth is so thick that you cannot see the ground or where you place your feet. I then had to find a contour in order for me to more or less stay at one height. I had to some serious mountaineering and babooning to that. Walking and going forward was very difficult.

I came upon an area with a lot of pretty Aloes.

   I final reached the forested area, but I was still very high up the mountain. It is only from this vantage point that you can appreciate the size of the forest which always seem small from far away. I carried on walking till I was about at mid-forest level and then started making my way down the mountain to the forest.

   This is one of those forests that have a river running through the middle of it through the full length of the forest. This forest even has its own waterfall right at the point where the forest begins. The river is totally enclosed by forest and is not visible, but you can hear it.

   I came down the mountain and at the height of the forest canopy, I stopped, and what a beautiful sight it was. It is most definitely one of the prettiest forests I have ever seen. It was unbelievable. I am a real forest lover and this forest just pulled all the strings. I decided to not go any further along the forest, but to make my way down into the forest and to the river. I have caught a glimpse of an area which looked to be stunning and I needed to get to it. I now had to climb down a solid cliff face, very carefully and slowly in order to get onto the forest floor.

   It was a stunningly amazing site and my jaw dropped in awe of what I was seeing. The river was covered by the canopy of the forest; you had raging rapids, all sizes of rocks and boulders, beautiful pools and lots and lots of Yellowwood trees, both young and old. There were all sorts of other different trees too. Everything in this forest was big and amazing. I have not yet seen what was now before my eyes. The forest is also very dense. It was clear that no human being has set foot in this forest for many years. It was so undisturbed and peaceful.  The saving grace for the forest is the fact that the forest takes a huge amount of energy and effort to get to and it is way off the beaten track.

   I found a very nice spot at the river with some beautiful formations, rapids, and small falls to sit and absorb it all. As I took of the backpack, my ribcage again went into a severe cramp and spasm and it was ten times worse than the previous occasion. I thought that my last days have arrived. For a while I could only stand there and not move at all so intense was the pain. I eventually managed to sit down and enjoy the scenery.  Guess what? There are lots of birds in this forest!

   All around me the birds were flying around, chasing each other, and catching insects.

   I had a couple of Mybulin as at that stage the pain was so bad that I was not going to be able to walk, and I was far away from the camp.

   I sat on top of a rock, took my boots off and had breakfast in the most beautiful environment to have breakfast in, and I really enjoyed the scenery all around me.

   I have decide, wisely I think, not to go any further up in the forest, but to explore the bottom half up till where the river leaves the forest. I will most definitely be back to explore the upper half of the forest as from where I am sitting and from what I have seen, that there are even more spectacular sights to see. This which I am experiencing now was only a taste of what is to come! The exploring that I am going to do now is my kind of exploration, dense forest, in and out of rivers and having to fight your way through. Beautiful!! I eventually arrived at the bottom of the forest after some amazing scenery. I found one very old Yellowwood tree in the forest which is so big; it will take about three men to put their arms around its trunk.

   I had an amazing journey boulder hopping down the river and creeping through the forest, sometimes on hands and knees! Amazing!!

   After leaving the forest I made my way back up the hill and up to the path on the opposite mountain. I then veered off the path again after a while and made it down to the Elandshoek and Lotheni rivers. I crossed both of these rivers bootless and made my way back up to the hut.

   After about half an hour back at the hut, I could hardly lift my upper body or move in any direction. I decided to take a cold shower – no hot showers available in any case – to see whether it would help with the cramps and spasms.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE FINAL CURTAIN

   So there it is, yet again Lotheni surprises me on the last day and keeps the best till last!

   This was an amazing two weeks in Lotheni. Money cannot buy this experience. These memories will be treasured forever and a day.

I do have some amazing photos, and there are some that I do hope developed perfectly!

   So the curtain falls on an amazing, spectacular time. Done and dusted, the soul rested and revitalized.

   Now it is also the time to wish stick-man a fond farewell and put him to bed.

   I trust that you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed the hiking trip!

The End.

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – Willem Pelser’s Notebook

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by Willem Pelser