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

“THE SAFEST WILDERNESS HIKER IS HE WHO NEVER DOUBTS HIS OWN ABILITY TO OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES”

CATHKIN PEAK

DRAKENSBERG

If any individual peak has lived to see great and dramatic events in the history of KZN, certainly it is Cathkin Peak. This free-standing, flat-topped mass of basalt has inquisitively watched the Bushmen as they hunted and painted in its shadow. The Africans acknowledge the might of this great mountain as the thunder roared from the summit, and it is not surprising that they called it Mdedelele which means “make room for him” implying a bully.

The first Europeans to settle in view of Cathkin Peak were the Voortrekkers who found the fertile grasslands and the sparkling streams a paradise. Their stay was short-lived because they were discontented with the British rule as well as with the unfair allotment of land and so they packed their possessions and travelled on, leaving the rolling hills and clear streams to the British Settlers.

David Grey, one of the earliest settlers in the area came out in 1849 on the Aliwal as a British settler to Natal. He moved to a farm where he and his family lived for a while, popularly known today as the Nest Hotel. In 1863 David Grey moved to his new home which he called Cathkin after a hill near Glasgow, which bore the name Cathkin Braes. Thus Cathkin Peak got its name – a touch of Scotland added to the names of the peaks of the Drakensberg and a monument to the Byrne and British settlers who founded many towns and settlements in KZN.

There were times of peace when the only unfamiliar noise to be heard in the valley was that made by the axes and saws of the wood-cutters whose task it was to fell beautiful old indigenous trees. All they left when they departed were ugly scars. But there were also worrying times when messengers arrived with news of war and the noise of gunfire rang through the Giant’s Castle’s gullies during the Langalibalele rebellion. Rumors of the Zulu wars must have disturbed the people living in the mountains. There were times of excitement during which imaginary fortunes were made and lost when gold was discovered near Cathkin, but it was not a payable field. Rumors of the discovery of cinnabar were whispered through the valleys, but these proved to be no more than a hoax.

Fortunately there were those who realized the value of the indigenous forests and felt that something should be done to preserve the natural forests in the valleys of the Little Berg. But it was not until 1922 that the Cathkin Forest was proclaimed a reserve. A man who was instrumental in establishing and protecting the reserve was Carter Robinson, the man who started Cathkin Park Hotel in 1929.

The Sterkspruit River is cradled on the eastern slopes of the Turret and Amphlett and runs down the Dragon Peak’s Caravan Park where visitors have the rare pleasure of hearing the voices of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School. What finer place could have been chosen for a choir school? Here the angelic voices of the boys harmonise with the winds that blow across the grasslands and the gurgling of streams.

The dominant Cathkin spur consists of Champagne Castle which is part of the main escarpment, the Monk’s Cowl, Cathkin Peak, and Mount Memory, previously called the Sterkhorn, the Turret and the Amphlett.

Champagne Castle can boast of being the second highest peak in the Republic. It was first climbed in 1861.During the ascent, a bottle of champagne was accidently broken and the peak was then christened Champagne Peak.

The Monk’ Cowl was a different story. From the time that this peak was first discovered, hiding behind the mighty Cathkin, a certain mystery seemed to surround it. The first serious attempt to climb Monk’s Cowl was made in 1938. The climb ended tragically. Less than 150 meters from the summit, both climbers fell 18 meters, rolled down a grass slope and fell another 6 meters, rolled again and fell 9 meters where they came to a rest. Shaken, bruised and shocked though they were, they suffered no serious injury.

On their way down, one of the climbers decided to find another way down and subsequently fell again and this time it was fatal. In May 1942 Monk’s Cowl was eventually climbed via the south face.

To the north-east of the Monk’s Cowl is the Cathkin Peak with its precipitous sides. At a glance it appears impregnable but as early as 1888 two brothers found the key to the summit via the South Gully, though the failed to climb the final pitches. Eventually in 1912 a group of climbers finally stood on the flat-topped summit.

In 1955 a new route on the north face of Cathkin was climbed. When the successful party stood on the summit, little did they know that the climb would end in tragedy. As Keith Bush was abseiling, the sling broke, and he fell to his death. In 1963 a hut was completed on the site of the old Base Camp and named the Keith Bush Hut.

Mount Memory, previously known as the Sterkhorn, consists of a north and south peak and was first climbed in 1888. The Turret, often referred to in maps as the Tower, was first ascended in 1933. The first recorded climb of the most northern section of the spur, Amphlett Peak, was in 1933.

From Champagne Castle Hotel and the Monk’s Cowl camp a well-known path leads up to the top of the Little Berg, round Hlatikulu Nek, skirting the Amphlett and up the Mhlwazine Valley to the Keith Bush Hut. The path climbs steeply up to Gray’s Pass which leads to the top of the escarpment, and an easy walk takes one to the summit of Champagne Castle.

From the top of Gray’s Pass, a stroll to the top of Nkosazana Waterfall is worthwhile, and from the edge the Dragon’s Back extends as a spur, flanking the northern aspect of the Upper Mhlwazine Valley, and ends in a peak called Ntunja or Gatberg. The latter name springs from the fact that there is an enormous hole through the basalt near its summit.

Gatberg was first climbed in 1910.

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.