AMPHITHEATER - DRAKENSBERG

 ““HIKE THE WILDERNESS AND CLIMB THE MOUNTAINS AND GET THEIR GOOD TIDINGS. NATURE’S PEACE WILL FLOW INTO YOU AS SUNSHINE FLOWS INTO TREES. THE WINDS WILL BLOW THEIR FRESHNESS ON YOU, AND THE STORMS WILL GIVE YOU THEIR ENERGY; WHILE CARES WILL DROP OFF LIKE THE AUTUMN LEAVES.”

 John Muir

AMPHITHEATER

DRAKENSBERG

 

Along the whole length of the Drakensberg Mountains there is a repetition of the mountain scenery in the form of buttresses, peaks, cutbacks, saddles, pinnacles and spurs, but nowhere is there a finer contrast between the height of the gigantic grey basalt wall and the deep-cut river valleys far below, than in the spectacular Amphitheater in the Mont-aux-Sources area. It is here, high on the summit, that some of South Africa’s important rivers are born.

   Deep in the fluted vaults of the Amphitheater, the echoes of time still linger – echoes of legends and stories of the peaks and valleys, drowned by the noise of the wind and the rushing water, sheltered by the Eastern and Beacon Buttresses, which stand as bastions on either side of the Amphitheater, and guarded by the Sentinel which has kept watch from time immemorial.

   Strange echoes were heard in April 1836 as two devout French missionaries stood at the edge of the escarpment and looked down in utter amazement as they watched the waters of the Tugela crashing down to the gorge below. Realizing the geo-graphical importance of the mountain, they named it Mont-aux-Sources.

   As the two missionary-explorers trudged back to Lesotho all they left behind them was a name and three words of a language never heard before in the deep recesses of the crags.

   New footprints appear in the valleys below as settler Adriaan Olivier looked for a place to build his home,. With infinite care he chose a position at the foot of what is now Oliviershoek Pass and called his farm Tugela Hoek. Life was not easy in those exciting times as Bushmen raids were frequent. In June 1865, Albert Allison was appointed border agent at the Pass, because of the threats of raids and also because the Orange Free State had declared war on the Moshoeshoe Tribe.

   After the discovery of diamonds the traffic from Natal to the Kimberley diamond fields increased tremendously and a new pass became necessary. In 1871 Oliviershoek Pass was constructed and named after Adriaan Olivier. Thomas Baines, in his unpublished Journal 1869-1871, relates how he reached a small wayside hotel at Sandspruit not far from Bergville. Here, at the Dewdrop Inn, weary travelers were assured of a bed and a good meal. The inn-keeper, a Mr. Dodds, kept a tame baboon which gave them great amusement as it drank the beer from their glasses. At the foot of the pass into the Orange Free State was another hotel, the Tent Hotel.

   The first visitors to the Tugela Valley were Fred Kelly and his wife, who arrived at the present Park area in an ox-wagon for their honeymoon in 1878 and who, during their stay, encountered a band of Bushmen – probably the last group to be seen by Europeans in the foothills of the Berg.

   The boundaries between the black tribe reserves, state-owned land, and farms were surveyed in 1884 and soon farms were offered for sale. Because of the remoteness of this area and the lack of access roads, the response was poor.

   One colorful and hardy character who lived in the area was a Mr. Dooley, an Irish woodcutter. He may have been the first of the woodcutters but he was followed by many others. As soon as concessions were granted they arrived and started felling the old, indigenous trees. Masses of beautiful yellowwoods were sawn up, only to be used for building materials and furniture. A grim reminder of these hardy characters is the sawpits, still to be seen in the Fairy Glen and the sandstone mass, Dooley, named after the Irish woodcutter.

   In 1906 the then Minister for Agriculture and Lands for Natal, realized the importance of the Upper Tugela Valley and proclaimed and established a national park in the unoccupied territory below the Amphitheater. However, because of a lack of funds, the scheme fell through. Prior to the Union in 1910 the Government decided to sell the land they owned and Col. J. S. Wylie purchased  4 046 hectares.

   The Royal Natal National Park is a monument to three dedicated men, F. F. Churchill, Col. Wylie, and Col. Dick, who visited the area with a view to establishing a park for the people of South Africa. Recommendations were put forward and eight years later 3300 hectares were reserved for this purpose. Col. Wylie sold his 4046 hectares to the Government on the condition that the land was used only as a national park.

   Visitors began to frequent the mountain paradise when F. C. Williams built a small hostel on the farm Goodoo, which he leased from Walter Coventry. Climbers and holiday-makers were met at Harrismith and Bergville, whence they travelled in carts. Expeditions to the top of the Amphitheater were organized from the hostel.

   On 16^th September the Park was finally established. Three years later, Walter Coventry, who also played an important part in the establishment of the Park, sold his farms, Goodoo and Dooley, to the Provincial Administration. As well as several other farms, Vemvaan, Devil’s Hoek, The Pastures, Diamond, Basutu Pass, and a small portion of the adjoining native trust land, the area of the park expanded to 6373 hectares.  In 1950 the farms Rugged Glen and Ungiyeza were purchased, bringing the total area to 8094 hectares. Walter Coventry became the first lessee and busied himself improving the road to Bergville and also pioneered a new route to the top of the Amphitheater.

   In 1926 Walter Coventry and his wife moved to a neighboring farm which later became the Cavern Guest Farm, and Otto Zunckel took over the lease. The Zunckel’s organized walks and climbs, and also led parties to the summit of various peaks.

   The hostel burned down and was rebuilt in 1943, and the new hotel was visited by the British Royal Family in May 1947. The name was then changed to the Royal Natal National Park.

   This mountain paradise is set in some of the most beautiful mountain scenery South Africa has to offer. For those who prefer a quiet, restful holiday, the hutted camp “Thendele” is ideal. Built on a rise with uninterrupted views of the Amphitheater, it is managed by KZN Wildlife. There is a sheltered caravan/tent park where the camper can enjoy all the facilities of a delightful camp site.

   On entering the Park one’s eyes are automatically drawn towards the Amphitheater, a rugged vertical, curved mass of volcanic basalt about 1500 meters high and about 4 kilometers across the top as the crow flies. Alpinists maintain that the view looking up the Tugela Valley compares favorably with anything the world of mountain scenery has to offer.

   The Eastern Buttress, previously called the Outer Tower, is at the south-eastern end of the Amphitheater, a free-standing peak which hides the Devil’s Tooth, Toothpick, and the Inner Tower with its three summits. The Amphitheater has been eroded into a series of towers, pillars and buttresses separated by deep gullies and clefts giving the appearance of a massive fluted wall.

   Climbing the wall was first attempted in July 1922, but icy conditions forced the climbers to abandon the climb. After a few attempts, Doyle Liebenberg, Mark Frank, Mary Lear, and Aimee Netter made the first ascent of the wall. Dr. Park-Ross was certain that another route was possible and on 19^th January 1939, he, together with Walter Zunckel and Mungo Park-Ross, reached the top of the wall by a variation of the Liebenberg route.

   The top of the Amphitheater is not a ridge as some had thought it was, but a huge plateau, forming part of the Lesotho plateau and of great importance to South Africa.

   The true summit of Mont-aux-Sources, 3282 meters, is a peak about 3, 5 kilometers from the edge of the escarpment from the slopes of which some of South Africa’s most important rivers arise. The Tugela arises on the northern slope and curves to the east, passing the Mountain Club Hut, then to crash down the vertical face of the Amphitheater, plugging and cascading to the valley below where it flows for a short distance and passes through a huge tunnel which the relentless, racing waters of this river have carved, grain by grain through the solid sandstone to force its way into the gorge. Gathering the waters from the numerous mountain rivers it flows through Natal as a muddy river and enters the Indian Ocean.

   Close to the source of the Tugela, The Elands River arises and flows towards the edge near the chain ladder and there it flows over the edge as the Elands Waterfall and the runs down towards Witzieshoek. The Elands and the Wilge Rivers converge and eventually run into the Vaal Dam, so vital to the people on the Highveld.

   Seeping from a sponge, and from the western slopes of the Mont-aux-Sources Peak, the Western Khubedu arises. This, together with the eastern Khubedu, forms the upper source of the Orange River, which eventually joins the main or true source, the Sinqu, which rises behind the Rockeries in the Mnweni area and runs through Lesotho across South Africa to end in the Atlantic Ocean.

   It seems incredible that water seeping from the same peak, Mont-aux-Sources, can end up running as two different rivers, one flowing east and the other west, finding their way into different oceans, 1500 kilometers apart.

   In the large depression which lies behind the center of the Amphitheater, there is a large sponge. Waters drain from the eastern slopes of Mont-aux-Sources peak as well as the higher areas to the east. This is the source of the Eastern Khubedu. Here an important river capture has taken place. Over a period of millions of years the escarpment, which is retreating at a rate of 30,5 cm in 200 years, has captured a part of the source and now some of its waters flow over the edge of the escarpment as the Bilanjil Falls, which drop into the depths hidden by the fluted columns and eventually join the Tugela. Not far from the eastern end of the Amphitheater another waterfall, the Ribbon Falls, flows down into the Inner Tower Gully and also joins the Tugela.

                     

   The western bastion of the Amphitheater, Beacon Buttress, dominates the summit plateau, and a long climb to the eastern point of this buttress is worthwhile because from this point one has a fine view of the Eastern Buttress, Devil’s Tooth, Toothpick, and the Inner Tower.

   The Devil’s Tooth, so well-known to South Africans, was originally called Cleopatra’s Needle. Early climbers gazed spellbound at this pinnacle, although well experienced climbers who had opened routes up many of the peaks in the area, gave the Tooth a wide berth, and as late as 1947 most cragsmen felt that it was unclimbable. By 1950 most of the major peaks had been climbed, but the Devil’s Tooth defied at least five attempts.

The new generation of climbers arrived at the base of the Tooth on the 6^th August 1950. How did they feel when they looked up towards the unclimbed summit? In their own words: “Outlined above us against the deep blue sky, and glowing in the rays of the setting sun it seemed god-like in its appalling sheerness and utter impossibility”. Undaunted they started, and after 8 pitches involving some of the most difficult E, F and G pitches, the party stood on the summit. The Tooth had been crowned.

The finest walk in the Park is to the gorge where some of the most glorious valley and mountain scenery is to be seen. Following the Tugela the path passes through indigenous forests and contours grassy slopes covered with wild flowers and proteas. It is common to see buck as well as other forms of wildlife on this walk.

   The well-known Policeman’s Helmet, carved by the elements from sandstone is another attraction.

   On reaching the Gorge one is conscious of the lofty Amphitheater with its battlements and turrets looming high above, and the infant streams racing down the gullies to join Mother Tugela.

   Many other delightful walks can be undertaken in the park where one can recognize landmarks and peaks named after people who have climbed, lived and worked in the mountains.

   Little is known about a dear old man who lived for a considerable time in the Mont-aux-Sources area, collecting and identifying indigenous flowers and studying the fauna and avifauna. His name was F. S. Pardoe. He displayed his specimens in a small museum in the park. There he lived in a caravan, where he was visited daily by his friends, the red-wing starlings, and guinea fowl which flew in to be fed by him. It was clear that this man knew no other life that the life in the mountains, nor wanted one.

   Dramatic rescues have been carried out by local men, sometimes under dreadfully adverse conditions.

   To the west of the Park is the homeland of the Basotho ba Borwa, the Batlokwa tribe. The capital is Witzieshoek, from which a road winds to the base of the Sentinel. Not far from the end of the road is a rest camp 2100 meters above sea-level where accommodation is available and beautiful views of the Amphitheater and the Quathlamba stretching south can be obtained for those who are not able to climb. The mountain road has made the trip to the top of the Amphitheater and back an easy day’s walk.

Go there, explore, preserve, and enjoy!

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.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – A Cradle of Rivers, The Natal Drakensberg,   DA Dodds.

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser

THE BABOONS - LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE DRAKENSBERG

 “WE SHOULD ALL START TO LIVE BEFORE WE GET TOO OLD. FEAR IS STUPID, SO ARE REGRETS”

UNKNOWN

THE BABOONS

LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE DRAKENSBERG

‘With a long yawn, showing his big canine teeth, Bru stretches his muscles, his handsome face framing a pair of golden eyes. Slowly he scratches between his legs; an irritating itch has been bugging him since late last night.

Slowly Bru looks around the cave. Some of the other baboons in the troop are also slowly waking up now; soon they will leave the cave and go searching for food. Bru gets up and walks over to the waterfall in the corner of the cave. A baby stares coyly at him from the safety and comfort of his mother’s arms with huge big eyes. Bru is not in a good mood today. His face is showing many scars, being the leader of a troop as large as his does comes at a price. There are the constant challenges from the younger males, and today feels like it could be another day of fighting for the leadership. Em, the alpha female approaches and grooms his golden hair. Oh, it feels so good when she does that, his muscles relaxing, enjoying the moment.

Taking a sip of water from the waterfall, Bru bares his teeth and let out a sharp bark, which echoes through the cave like thunder. It is time to move out for the day. Everybody is up now, and Bru struts out of the cave on all fours, his huge size an amazing sight. Standing outside the cave Bru surveys the world around him, seeing no danger. With a final bark, he starts climbing down the cliff in front of him and moves down into the valley. Far below him the river glistens in the early morning sun’.

I have met up with my baboon friends many times over the years, and on my multi day hikes I would meet up with them on a daily basis. I would walk through the territory of quite a few troops on a daily basis.  They are amazing animals to watch, and the first indication of their presence is when the baboon on guard duty barks out a warning announcing your presence. Sometimes they would be far away and high up a mountain or cliff, at other times much closer. It is particularly funny when one of the youngsters is the first to notice you. Perching on a boulder they would emulate the big males and warn the rest of the troop in this tiny barking voice. It would normally be backed up immediately by one of the big males. The troop, depending on how close you are to them, will always move away, sometimes at a great speed. The mother will pick up their tiny baby babies or little ones and move off. It is quite clear that they have a great distrust in human beings, and it is no wonder. Humans have always been the greatest enemy of the baboons, making a concerted effort to kill them on sight; a practice which continues to this day. At least now in the Drakensberg Wilderness they are protected. However, when the Giant’s Castle Reserve was first formed, the then rangers would shoot them on sight. Imagine, you are doing your own thing to survive, and then you are being shot for now reason, and then also by the then so-called protectors of the wilderness!

Baboons will not approach a human being at all, and will always keep a big distance away from any human. It is fortunate for us, as the baboons are very big, strong, and very intelligent. Human beings will not survive an encounter with one of them. The big males in the troops are a fearsome, though beautiful sight. I therefore have a healthy respect for them, and I do not approach them at all. It is also a matter of respect; it is their world in which I am trespassing. If my route comes close to them, I would change it so that I go around them and leave them in peace, especially if they have a lot of young with them. The troop as a whole will protect their babies to the third degree and will not back off. If you keep your distance, some troops will stay where they are, keeping a watchful eye on you with constant warning barks emanating from a few of them.

The baboons of the Drakensberg area the Chacma baboon, golden beige in color with long hair. The males are very big and muscular, and the muscularity is also due to the mountainous terrain they live in and move through every day.  Closer to the camps, for reasons I do not know, the baboons are black in color and sometimes smaller in size.  Those deeper into the wilderness are always golden beige in color.

They can move at astonishing speed and can scale up and down cliffs and mountain sides as if that obstacle does not exist. The males have huge canine teeth with which they can rip flesh into pieces in no time at all. They are normally very docile animals, and very keenly aware of their environment. There will always be a guard in attendance and his sole function would be to warn the rest of the troop of danger.

I have met up with many old, lone male baboons which are not part of a troop. Due to their age and losing a leadership fight they get kicked out of their troop and then have to find their own way. It is quite a sad sight to see as baboons are very social animals and they look such a lonely sight surviving on their own.

When the male teenagers reach a certain age, they also get kicked out of their troop and this is to prevent inbreeding as well as leadership challenges. They will then move off and find their own troops to join or fight to become the new leaders of the troops. At the age they get kicked out, they are in their prime and also very aggressive.

I have only once had a bad experience with baboons. On a 7 day hike through the Kamberg Valleys, as I made my way through a valley next to the river, I heard a baboon bark on the left hand side of the river. The left bank of the river consisted of a very high cliff area, with a solid drop off from the top. I looked up and saw the one baboon on top of the cliff and 20 meters away from him was a second one. They were in their prime. I looked around to see where the rest of the troop was, but all I could see was the 2 males. The one who did the barking was very agitated and started running up and down the top of the cliff, furiously barking. It was obvious that his anger was directed at me. The next moment the baboon flew down the cliff face, and he kept on calling to the second baboon, which eventually followed him. They made their way down to the river, behind my back and jumped across the river. From there they disappeared into the grasslands, only to surface on a ridge on my right hand side, barely 30 meters away. There they sat still for a while observing me.

By now I knew that I had a big problem and it was clear that I was being ambushed. The one baboon was the leader and the other one did not seem so keen on all the action, but he was being spurred on by his mate. All of a sudden the first baboon started screaming again, ran down the back of the ridge, made his way down the to the river and started running right at me baring his teeth, followed by the second baboon. At this stage he was barely 20 meters away from me. I knew I had to do something and do it fast. If not, I will not be alive to tell the tale.

I felt this incredible rush of adrenaline streaming through every ounce of my body, it was a surreal feeling, my hair actually started rising. I stood my ground, made myself as tall as possible, waved my walking stick in front of me, and started screaming as loudly and aggressively as I could. I have not ever screamed as loudly before, but my life depended on it. I was on the menu for the day and the baboon charge was not an intimidation issue.

Barely 10 meters in front of me, the first baboon all of a sudden came to a halt. I kept on screaming at him, waving the walking stick at him, and taking a few steps towards him as I did so. All of a sudden he turned towards the river and with an almighty jump he cleared the river. The baboon climbed the cliff on the opposite bank in no time at all and within seconds he was back at where he started from. The second baboon stopped when I first screamed and was sitting in the grass. I started approaching him, still screaming. Slowly he turned around and started walking away. This baboon stayed on my side of the river and eventually disappeared in the grasslands in front of me.

My body was now shaking with the adrenalin rush and with what has just happened. I knew that the danger was not over yet, and I had to get out of this area as quickly as possible. I moved further down the valley at great speed in order to put as much distance between myself and the baboons as possible. It was barely five minutes later that I saw the second baboon in front of me to my right sitting on a little rise in the grasslands, facing me. I started screaming at him again, aggressively so, and then all of a sudden I burst out laughing. The baboon was sitting there, looking at me with the utmost of astonishment on his face, and the look I got was as if he wanted to say: ‘what was all that for, what the hell did I do to you?’ It was really funny. He turned around and just slowly ambled off into the grass. I was still very concerned about the aggressive leader at my back on the other side of the river.

It was the quickest 5 kilometre distance I have ever walked. I had to constantly look around and make sure that I was not going to be ambushed again. The terrain consisted of large boulder, riverine bush, and tall grass. I would not be able to notice the baboons again until it was going to be virtually too late. On my rush down the valley I passed some really pretty waterfall areas, but I could not linger. Eventually I thought I might be out of danger and I started to relax, but I was still very weary. What a lucky escape I had!

The baboons are omnivores, but in the Drakensberg their diet consist mainly of plants and flowers. They also turn over a large number of rocks looking for insects. They will hunt and eat meat if the opportunity presents itself.

Life in the Drakensberg is very harsh for these animals and to fill up their stomachs every day is hard work. Sometimes some of the forests will be kind to them and there will be fruit in some of the trees. It is sometimes possible to follow the baboons for a great distance simply by following the upturned rocks where they have looked for insects.

As darkness approaches, the baboons retire to the high cliff areas for the night and it is also not uncommon for them to sleep in caves high up the cliffs. They will never sleep in low lying areas.

Troops can consist of any number of baboons. I have seen troops as small as 2 adults with three youngsters, and troops as big as thirty. There will always be one alpha male and in the bigger troops there will be quite a number of grown males, all lower in status.

There is a strict rank structure in any troop, and rules to be followed. It is quite interesting and informative to sit for a while and watch the dynamics at play. The grown males and teenagers will always present their pink backsides to the alpha male when he passes through the troop as a sign of their submission to his status. To not do so would immediately be seen as a challenge and there will be a vicious fight within seconds. Males, females, and youngsters will also approach the alpha male and start grooming him. The better they do it, the more the protection and friendship they will receive. All females belong to the alpha male, but, just as our teenagers do, and some adults, a quick secret romp is at the order of the day, far away from the watchful eyes of the leader. I have watched many a time how 2 baboons will sneak away from the troop for a quick lovemaking session.

The female babies of the alpha female are automatically born into royalty and status, and even being very small, they carry authority. Baboons have many human traits, and their children behave like ours would. The youngsters are naughty and absolutely love pranks. It is amazing to see.

I have witnessed many leadership challenges, and leaders being angry and in a bad mood, with every baboon around them the target of his frustration. Where the female baboons will collect their babies and the young ones and put as much distance between themselves and the males. I have listened to baboon fights in the middle of the night. Sometimes the leader will just be in a bad mood and he will vent his anger on everybody within touching distance; that is when the mothers take their young and discreetly disappear. The leader will chase his subordinates all over the mountain and cliffs at a furious rate. Screams of fury will echo down the mountain valleys and cries of despair and pain can be heard.

The leadership challenges are vicious battles and can sometimes be a fight to the death. If the younger challenger wins, he will normally let the old leader live, the leaders are however not always so kind. The fight can also carry on for quite a while and over a great distance. Sometimes the loser might also be kicked out of the troop. Young adult males also sometimes form coalitions in order to get rid of the leader; obviously the members of the coalition gain status should they succeed in kicking out the leader and one of the coalition becomes the new leader.

Some baboon troops living close to the various reserve camps have become thieves. At places like Injasuthi they are a particular problem and you have to be quite weary of them. They have no fear of humans and will enter a chalet and help themselves to food without second fought. Leaving a window open and leaving is not a good idea, as on your return your chalet will have been ransacked. Never confront these baboons as they are much stronger and can become aggressive very quickly. These troops have become a problem due to the fact that they are being fed by visitors. It is the worst thing that you can do as they become problem animals very soon and to such an extent that the only solution is to then shoot them.

The troops involved in camp raiding are black in color and not the same gold and beige color as their counterparts deeper in the wilderness. Their hair is also shorter. These troops are always found closer to the camp reserves and human settlements. Why this is, I don’t know.

That the baboons are highly intelligent and share lots of our human traits is an undeniable fact. There are lots of them in the Drakensberg Wilderness, living a hard life and minding their own business. They are willing to share their territory with us hikers. Deal with them with the required respect. After all, we are the invaders in their world.

The baboons are indeed the little people of the Drakensberg.

‘Bru sits in the midday sun on his favorite boulder close to the river, his eyes heavy with sleep. Around him the youngsters are fooling around, jumping in and out of trees, and having mock fights. Where do they get their energy from Bru wonders before nodding off again.

Some of the young adult males are sitting close to each other, as if in a meeting. They have formed a coalition and are now grooming each other. There is a tacit understanding between them; wait till the sun goes down before we make a move. Bru is getting old and tired now and it is time that one of them should take over. Why must we always listen to the old man they thought.

Em eyes Bru warily, making sure that he is sleeping. A big young male flexes his muscles and slowly walks off into the forest, his golden hair shining in the sun, tail held high, acting as if on a Sunday stroll. Em gets up slowly, following the young male, creating an illusion of feeding herself as she walks slowly towards where the young male disappeared into the forest. Now and then she looks over her shoulder at Bru, making sure he is still sleeping.’

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.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – Drakensberg Wilderness – A Solo Journey Through Paradise –

                               W Pelser

Photos – Willem Pelser

Compiled by Willem Pelser