General cave discussion

I assume if you refer to Marble Baths Annex you refer to Junction Cave which is about 500m below marble baths on the right bank of the river - very good cave with the river literally on your doorstep. This in itself can be a problem in very wet flood conditions although I have never seen the river high enough here to create a problem - just play it by ear.Two ways to access - scramble down the river from Marble Baths in dryer conditions, else walk down teh valley from the Marble baths cave untill you are in clear view of the confluence of the Marble Baths river and teh tributary that enters from teh north - go down to the river and follow its right bank untill yo get to the cave. The road to Injasuthi is doable in a Citi Golf. It is in need of maintenance and gettng worse but stil OK if you take care.

If you don't like river corssings stay away from Ijasuthi area in summer - you will get wet. It is however quite dry here at the moment so should be OK.

The road is'nt that bad, just try to dodge the tar patches. The authorities should just convert it back to a gravel road, think it will be easier to maintain.

Drove the road into Injesuthi a year back and was amused to see tar roads being extended into the rural settlements from the main road but the tar road to the camp itself being left to disintegrate. Thought at the time that a local authorities were making a pointed statement with a smile on their faces. Its very much the inverse now of how it once was. I fully agree that a dirt road is better than bad tar.

gollum wrote:

One route which will provide some stunning views of the escarpment and visits to three or four valleys, would be to walk from the camp to Centenary Hut (via Fergy's cave - no camping allowed there), then along the contour path and down the ridge to LIC, then down the valley to Marble Baths Fork and up to Marble Baths

From memory, the path from the contour path down the ridge to LIC is the most indistinct part of what Gollum has described here - its a really nice round trip. The ridge that LIC lies at the foot of does not connect to the contour path - a ridge closer to cent hut does. You'd need to follow the contour path from Cent hut until it runs out (about 45 minutes or so of walking), descend that ridge and cross at least one valley to get onto the ridge which has LIC at its base. If you cross the valley higher up, you'll need to cross more than one valley. The valley would be crossed low down, not far (20-30 minutes from LIC) but the path descending that ridge and the crossing point in the valley was pretty vague, if not non-existant a year or so ago. That said, the off path walking I've done in the Berg has been the best - its also when you see the most wildlife (or perhaps the only antelope these days). I came across a lot of Eland higher up the valley that I'm talking about. The game have learnt where the paths are. For those worried about erosion, its only when you create new paths next to old paths that there is a problem. A few hikers off piste isn't ever going to be a problem - I think.

Did a hike to these two caves over a weekend early May.

I am pleased to report that they are both in excellent condition, and have been respected by my any hikers using them.

Hi guys

A couple of my mates and I are doing a trip in late June-planning to hike a full day, sleep in a cave/hut and hike back the next day. We'd prefer to be able to do a round trip and not cover the same ground on the way back. None of us really have high-tech equipment and I know it's going to be crazy cold.

Do you have any suggestions for either specific cave-hikes that fit the bill or else which general area will let us get the biggest bang for our buck in terms of 1 day hiking each way? I'm just interested in hearing about others' favourite spots. We've heard amazing things about Roland/Twin/Bell's cave but not sure if they're all accessible within our time frame?

Thanks!