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TOPIC: Best overnight berg hikes you've done

Best overnight berg hikes you've done 20 Feb 2009 17:58 #333

My nominations:

Day 1: Sentinel Car Park to Stimela Valley
Day 2: Down Fangs Pass to 5-Star Cave
Day 3: Up Mnweni Pass to Ledger's Cave
Day 4: to Twins Cave
Day 5: Down Bell Traverse to Cathedral Peak Hotel

Day 1: Bushman's Nek to Tarn Cave
Day 2: up Devil's Knuckles and down Bushman's Pass to Bushman's Cave
Day 3: Along the little berg and up Mzimude Pass to Mzimude Cave
Day 4: across escarpment to Rhino Peak and down Mzimkhulu Pass to Fun Cave
Day 5: down Mzimkhulu Valley & past Garden Castle Hotel to Sleeping Beauty Cave
Day 6: Along the Giant's Cup Trail back to Bushman's Nek.
  • Stijn
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Re:Best overnight berg hikes you've done 23 Feb 2009 11:05 #335

Those are some nice zig-zags! The Bushman's Neck area lends itself particularly well for that, though my own version is less impressive.

Had a particularly interesting 4 days at Giant's Castle once in mid-winter involving Giants Pass, Bannerman Pass and Judges Pass. It was improvised because we got so badly battered by a particularly vicious wind at Makhaza: tents got damaged, equipment was blown away, had to yell into each other's ears, and simply could'nt function properly. Four people, who thought they had seen it all, quickly retreated back down Giants Pass and traversed across to Bannerman Hut to do the other 2 passes.

You would have thought that we should have known better after the warning lecture we got at the reception before we headed out, in addition to the big branches we had to drag off the road on the way in! The following 2 nights in Bannerman Hut were very snug though.

I'm going back for some more zig-zags in the Giants area, but since it involves undocumented passes that I'm not even sure about, better to wait till I've done it before writing about it.

The Didima and Yodler's Cascades area is a quiet little treasure that not many get to. It can be accessed from Monk's Cowl via Gray's Pass or from Cathedral Peal via Organ Pipes, Thuthumi or Tlanyaku Passes. It is possible to do a 4 day loop through the area, as I'm about to do this week, involving Thuthumi and Tlanyaku Passes and Didima Cave. The best is to have 5 days which will give time to enjoy seldom seen views, some of SA's highest peaks and several swims in the pools in the Cascades.

So, not to mention the Bell Traverse and Northern Berg mini-traverse classics, my nomination would be a 4-5 day loop through the Didima area.
  • intrepid
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Last Edit: 23 Feb 2009 11:26 by intrepid.

Re:Best overnight berg hikes you've done 24 Feb 2009 09:48 #338

Yes, I can't tell you how inviting those pools behind Windsor Castle and in the Yodelers Cascades valley were on our recent record traverse. Would be great to go there with a few days to explore the area - Thlanyaku is also the only non-rock pass I haven't been up between the Chain Ladders and Giant's Castle Pass - just never got round to it I suppose
  • Stijn
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Re:Best overnight berg hikes you've done 24 Feb 2009 23:36 #339

And Didima Cave is worth seeing, it compares with Injasuthi Summit Cave in several ways. The escarpment edge around Didima Buttress and Witch Peak is amazing.
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Re:Best overnight berg hikes you've done 25 Feb 2009 11:23 #340

My 2 fav.s are :
Fangs to Rockeries :
D1 : 5 Star cave
D2 : Fangs cave
D3 : Pins cave
D4 : Mponjwane cave
D5 : MCC

Days on Escarp are short but plenty time to walk along the edge and admire the views, take pics, climb peaks.

and
Cobham :
D1 : Spectacle cave
D2 : explore valley opposite, check out Pholela, Lakes, Venice caves. Enjoy the Lakes District views. Overnight in Chameleon cave
D3 : Meet the army at Wilson’s cave, up Stones Pass (S) to Sandleni cave after sitting out a storm on Sandleni Buttress, a beautiful rainbow as the storm moves onto the lower Berg.
D4 : Across the Escarp and down Masubasuba Pass, meet a Rinkals along the way to Gxalingwena Cave
D5 : To Cobham offices

In hindsight, Pholela cave would be a better option end Day1. Also too much Basutho activity prevented me from climbing Hodgson’s Peak South.
  • Magan
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Re:Best overnight berg hikes you've done 27 Feb 2009 09:42 #345

First of all, let me say thanks to the great people who run this website. It really is a great resource and frequently inspires me to want to just drop everything and head up into the Berg.

A group of my friends and I have been toying with the idea of heading up to Didima Cave. I have no experience in this area, so would appreciate any advice anyone could give on whether it would be feasible to hike in from the EKZNW Monk's Cowl camp up Grays Pass to Didima Cave and back again in 4 days. Can you recommend any alternative route options that would allow us to complete a loop? Thanks.
  • Balarka
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