Drakensberg Wilderness Hiking South Africa - Mountain of the Dragons - Where Adventure beckons.....: Drakensberg

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

“WHEN WE REACH THe MOUNTAIN SUMMITS AND THE WILDERNESS, WE LEAVE BEHIND US ALL THE THINGS THAT WEIGH HEAVILY ON OUR BODY AND SPIRIT. WE LEAVE BEHIND ALL SENSE OF WEAKNESS AND DEPRESSION; WE FEEL A NEW FREEDOM, A GREAT EXHILARATION, AN EXALTATION OF THE BODY NO LESS THAN OF THE SPIRIT.”

JC Smuts

Drakensberg – Mkhomazi Hikers Paradise

The Drakensberg used to be a jigsaw of land ownership until the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park was declared several years ago under EKZNW. Wilderness areas fell away within the park, although the two old game reserves, Giant’s Castle and Royal Natal, have been retained as management entities within the new park. South of Giant’s Castle, most of the entire southern half of the Berg fell into either the Mkhomazi or Mzimkulu wilderness areas, studded within which, like raisins in a Christmas cake, were some small reserves such as Lotheni, Kamberg, Highmoor, and Vergelegen. Both their conservation status and management policies were different from those of the wilderness areas because the reserves existed before these were proclaimed in the early 1970s.

The EKZNW offices serving this area are at Lotheni, Kamberg, Highmoor, Vergelegen, and Mkhomazi, which used to be a forest station. This area is well known by fly-fisherman and less so by hikers, as the Mooi, Lotheni and Mkhomazi rivers are stocked with trout. The Mkhomazi area is the least-visited area of the Berg where there are EKZNW offices and rest camps. This is a great pity, since it is a place of many and big rivers, caves galore, forests and numerous easy summit passes. It is an absolute hiker’s paradise. The reason it is less visited than all the other areas is because the Escarpment or high Berg is far from the various rest camps. Kamberg in particular, which lies due each of Giant’s Castle, have trout filled dams on the Mooi River, and the rest camp is jealously guarded by fly-fisherman. But what should attract other visitors is the Bushman Art Interpretive Center from where walking tours are conducted to Games Pass Shelter, arguably the most important rock art site in South Africa. It was there that the art of the Bushmen was first seriously studied, in the 1920s. It was from the panel dubbed the Rosetta Stone that the connection between the art and the supernatural was first discerned. A high quality film which puts the cave and its paintings into a universal perspective is shown before each tour to the cave.

The cave is easily reached in one hour along a very well-constructed path. There are several distinct panels, starting with some faded scenes, then the Rosetta Stone, and finally the main attraction which is a section a few meters across where numerous poly-chrome eland seem to walk right across the rock wall. You should not miss it.

Lotheni is also used by fisherman, but it has a nice hutted camp and a camp site from which the popular peaks of Redi, the Hawk, and the Tent are reached. It is in general a hiker’s paradise. Lotheni Pass itself is neither easy nor convenient, but Hlathimba and Mlahlangubo passes to the south are much easier. The latter two are accessed from Vergelegen camp. Vergelegen is in fact the most popular starting point for hikers as it gives access to many of the easier passes, as well as to Thaba Ntlenyana, at 3 482 m the highest point in southern Africa. Rudimentary camping facilities only are provided. There are plans upgrade the camp and the hiking paths around Vergelegen, but, other financial concerns take priority. The two most direct routes to this peak are Nhlangeni and kaNtuba but, as both are long and hard, Mkhomazi Pass is the one most often taken. It’s also a long haul up from Vergelegen, but as it was originally intended to be the route up to Lesotho before the construction of Sani Pass, it’s easy going.

The other passes that give hiker’s reasonable access to the summit are eNtubeni, Hlathimbba (all three of its branches), Mlahlangubu, and Phinong, which is the main dagga smuggling route from Lesotho and should be avoided. It is not often recognized that this section of the Berg includes many of its highest ‘kulus’, some of which are well known. Redi Peak (3 314 m) is a favorite one for summit hikers to bag and often the aim of hiking parties. To the south are two ‘kulus’ one seldom hears of, but Mhlesi (3 301 m) and kaNtuba (3 355 m) stand out among giants.

A small and inexperience party set out from Lotheni one sunny Friday in July, under the leadership of medical student David Harrison. They were bound for Lotheni Cave, up the already snow-filled and never very pleasant kaMashilanga Pass, and a hike they will never forget. That was the weekend of the ’big snow’ of 1988. Harrison, his sister and two friends were not equipped for snow (they had no tent and only one had proper boots), and even before they reached the summit they were wading through deep drifts. That they reached the top at all is an indication of either their tenacity or their foolhardiness. They never found the cave, in fact snow covered everything, and they could not recognize any feature at all. Near tragedy led to amazing escapes, first over the lip of the Escarpment (down sheer cliffs, using the snow as a cushion as the leapt over precipes and down ice falls), and then into a tiny shelter that finally saved their lives (but not all their digits from frostbite). For three days helicopter rescuers searched for them, finally locating Harrison, who had left the other three to go for help, in the maze of Little Berg ridges and valleys where they had gone off-course. It is a harrowing story, and well worth locating a copy of Reg Pearse’s book The Dragon’s Wrath (later published under the name of his co-author James Byrom), for the full account. Another favorite in this book is the story of how crippled photographer Gunter Stein finally conquered the Amphitheater, and so very nearly died doing it.

Sani Pass was originally a mule route over the mountains until, in 1955, David Alexander and friends began constructing a road for their Land Rovers, so they could trade between Himeville and Mokhotlong. So the Mokhotlong Mountain Transport Company was created, and the pass which it made famous. Over the years Cruisers, Hilux’s and others joined the Land Rover, and the pass was continuously upgraded. A simple inn was built at the top of the pass to give shelter to travelers. Some years ago it came into the hands of Jonathan Aldous, whose family had run the Himeville Arms for many years, and it has since been expanded – but the spirit remains the same at ‘southern Africa’s highest pub.’ MT was sold and moved to Underberg, where it became Sani Pass Tours (as it is still known). There are now plans afoot to tar the pass. This idea is greatly favored by the Lesotho 4x4 minibus taxi men and other traders who ply the pass in their heavily laden trucks. The thought shocks mountaineers and the owners of Sani Top Lodge as well as the three or four tour companies that ferry sight-seers up the pass every day of the year that it is not closed by snow or rockfalls. A fair compromise between these two opposing parties might be to upgrade the pass but keep the surface gravel. A tarred road through the heart of the Drakensberg World Heritage Site does seem to be a travesty – but then I don’t have to make my living up and down it as a taxi-driver.

The old Giant’s Cup Motors, which used to be the base for MMT, is now Sani Lodge backpackers lodge and tea garden. The ruins you see at the bottom of the pass are those of Ridgeway’s Store, which did not survive the building of a 4 by 4 route into Lesotho. The main establishment in the upper Mkhomazi Valley is the wall-enclosed Sani Pass Hotel which does not encourage hikers or day-visitors, and is more of a golfing resort and conference center. There is another small guesthouse on a farm in the valley. If you plan to visit Sani Top Lodge, and you should not miss this mountain highlight, you can take advantage of packages offered by Himeville Arms and the lodge, including 4 by 4 trips up the pass. If you time it right you could get snowed in for several days (the statistics say late July is the most likely time for this). Just take good boots.

Following a land swap whereby EKZNW gained the farm Duart Castle, the old Mkhomazi Trail has ceased to be; the huts at Surprise, Kerry, Bundoran and Glenora are ruins, and a valley that was once pristine wilderness now rings with the busy sounds of people, cattle, and minibuses.

Apart from the Summits and the Escarpment, the wilderness in this area is a vast and beautiful place offering the hiker/explorer magical hiking, scenery, and opportunities.

We as hikers, explorers and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

The End.

Safe Hiking.