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Greatings all mountains lovers
Next weekend we doing Sentinel,chain ladders area.We is me and my son(11 years).Just want to know what will be safer for us in terms of spending two nights in this area.Should we make use of the cave or sleep in the tent?Is there a lots of tourists this time of the year?

renebur welcome ,glad to see you are involving your son at an early age.
Just bear in mind that it is winter and taking your son up in the mountains one must be very prepared at this time of year, no matter if you decide to take a tent or stay in the cave, i always have a tent with me you never know what the weather will do.

As from a security issue it is a long weekend so one must be on extra guard,but been winter the risk is definitely less, in my opinion ,i always remain polite and friendly when i encounter locals.i am also sure you will see other people up there too if you do, just ask if they don't mind if you camp close bye the more eyes and ears the better.

The other thing is that the cave is not far of the main path and should there be locals using the path and seeking shelter you might find that you will have guests.

Thanks Anthony for your advise.I think we are well prepared for this trip even though we already learned you never know what the mountains will throw at you.But that's part of the excitment isn't it.I will definetly take your advise and look for somebody else to camp nearby.It is sad that we have to worry about things like that in this country and for me it is worse due to the fact that i travel with a kid.We didnt have any bad experience with other people in the mountains yet but you never know.Thanks again for your advise and concern.Rene

@renebur...let us know what the vibe is. I have 2 kids 10 and 12 and want to take them up there as well soon.

You can't let fear stand in the way of a first time Amphitheatre trip. Just a thought and I might start a new post for this, perhaps Intrepid can comment...why don't we (members of the forum) that have got children ages 8 to 15 (or omething like that), plan a berg trip...specifically for kids?

@digs..we will let you know how is it up there next week,we mite even post some pics that your kids can see what is waiting for them.We already exited can't wait to be in the berg again.It's nice to see more people out there enjoying mountain adventures with their kids.Like your idea about the parents+kids trip. It will be great to put something together in near future.

Great idea Digz, this should be done! I know people like domsmooth also wants to take his kids up there.

Hi renebur. Have a look through the Drakensberg Security section in the blogs. There is an article specifically for the Amphitheatre there. Personally I find caves more secure since you can store gear at the back and they'd have to step over you to get there. The shepherds do hang around Crows Nest Cave at times, but I haven't heard any reports about Sentinel Cave. My feeling is things are pretty quiet at that cave. When camping at the Falls, be sure to pack everything into the tent with you, try not to leave stuff in the vestibule. If no space then valuables and boots inside the tent at the very least and tie your packs to the tent. Keep them as far away from the sides as possible, whether inside the tent or in the vestibule. They do slash tents sometimes but mostly take loose stuff and lift up the vestibule. There is normally no further danger and they tend to run away if you wake up. Don't ignore noises outside the tent at night. Have fun in spite of all this and let us know how it goes.