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Hi All,
needing some info on bells traverse specifically, how safe ,co ords etc, looking at doint it in the next two weeks or so.
Want to leave from the hotel heading up and staying at twins cave , we then hiking up and over to to Ledgers cave or mponjwane and then down either Rockeries or Mweni? any tips or info most welcome

Thanks

J

Hi Joshua.

Just to clarify, are you thinking of heading up from the hotel directly to Twins Cave? Via Mlambonja Pass trail, or the Bell Traverse proper, passed Bell Cave? If you want to do the Bell Traverse as part of the route, then your first stop-over should be the base of Cathedral Peak or Bell Cave. Trying to head to Twins Cave along this section makes the day too long (unless you are very fit and have done the route before). Rather take the time to enjoy it, its a classic. Even getting to Twins Cave via Mlambonja can be a full day, but is more do-able than the above.

Do a search on this forum for several discussions on the Bell Traverse, and on Rockeries and Mnweni Passes. Read Stijn's write-ups on all three of the above in the Blogs, under Berg Passes. GPS data is also available in the Downloads, for caves, pass summits, and tracks for Mnweni and Rockeries Passes. I have tracks for the Bell Traverse, but they are not of a good quality (you walk too close under the peaks for good signal). I can publish these if you want, but will improve them with better tracks someday. See Grand Traverse tracks for the escarpment traverse.

Enjoy and let us know how it goes.

Thanks Intrepid

We have decided to go up the afternoon before and night hike up to shermans cave, that way we can get a head start the following day and like you said; enjoy the route!Please post the tracks you have for Bell traverse, even if it isnt of good quality we will definitly make use of them.have hiked mweni and rockeries passes before so familiar with that area but will check grad traverse tracks as well!
Will let you knwo how it goes!!

Hey Joshua

We did the Bell Traverse last year during Easter, fantastic route and we had no problem with water at all. I've been keeping my eye on the Cathedral Peak webcam and I believe water will be abundant now as well - loads and loads of rain.

It was our first try at the route and route finding was no problem, except for two spots: Soon after crossing the Mlambonja river, the trail meets the Sherman Cave trail and turns sharply to the left, something which isn't very obvious. But if you plan to overnight there obviously this is no problem. Basically, if you start contouring before crossing Orange Peel Gap, you're off-route.

The second spot is after passing Cathedral Peak and the Bell, and the trail veers to the south side of the Cathedral range. There was a split and we took a right turn. Soon after the trail petered out. However after some quick recon and a scary moment or two we were back on the trail - just keep as high as possible, the trail contours at the base of the final, sheer rock bands on the south faces of the Horns.

We started from the hotel at 12h30, and reached Orange Peel Gap at 17h30. There are loads of camping spots in that area, PM me if you want a pic to clarify. This is better IMO as it kills the strenuous climb from Sherman's Cave to the Gap. If you can reach the base of Cathedral Peak, even better.

Oh, and be SURE to climb Cathedral Peak. It may look intimidating but it's nothing more than a hike with some really pleasant scrambling. And the views, well...!

Gollum said:
This might help at this spot; "soon after you come out from behind the Bell and cross over the saddle to give you your first view of the Northern Berg, keep your eyes peeled for a steep path which climbs the slope on your left-hand side (about where Gollum went right). This looks like an unlikely route to take, but it is correct. It climbs steeply to a higher ridge, then contours round at a higher level. Saves a lot of unnecessary scrambling to higher levels on faded secondary paths".
See image taken as you ascend path (image 21 under "Drakensberg" gallery).

Enjoy!

@Sterkhorn: I'm probably blind, but can you please post a link to the picture in question? I'd like to bookmark it.

I have now uploaded GPS data for the Bell Traverse - see Berg Passes in the Downloads section. As mentioned, the track is not great quality, but gives you the important details nonetheless. The waypoints in this file should be fine.

I have also updated my Delicious bookmarking project to tag all the useful pages on this site for the Bell Traverse, see link below:
www.delicious.com/intrepid_ve/Bell-Traverse