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Sadly this mountain paradise does have a troubling history of cross-border drug trafficking & cattle rustling. Together with Basutho shepherds from Lesotho herding their livestock on the border, visitors to the Drakensberg are increasingly under threat.

At Vertical Endeavour we believe that there must be a greater awareness of this issue. It must be spoken about in the open, troubling as it is. Through this we believe that people will be better prepared when they do venture out into these mountains. It is not our intention to scare people away. The problem will only get worse if it is ignored. We spend a lot of time in these mountains ourselves and intend to continue to do so being fully aware of the issues.

We hope that you will participate in our Drakensberg forum, which has a dedicated section on the security problems. Here  you can voice your opinion, ask questions and find practical information about where these problems are occurring, how to avoid them and how to react when you are threatened. Please also read all associated articles - they contain a wealth of information.

Though a mountain wilderness, one is never alone in the Berg. There are various groups of local people that you may encounter. The following is an outline of who you might meet:

Locals from the foothills

• • • • • • Basutho shepherds

          • On the escarpment you will encounter Basutho shepherds who move into the high lying mountains for summer grazing. The majority are encountered any time from October through to April, staying in crude huts and caves. Some are there even during the winter. They are responsible for most of the security problems that hikers have experienced, certainly true for the Giants Castle and Amphitheatre areas. Being very familiar with the habits of hikers in their area they have time on their hands and they spend more time in one place, giving plenty opportunity for night raids. As with most locals they tend to be friendly and inquisitive during the day, generally just being interested to see if you will give them sweets or any food. But unlike the others they will go out of their way to steal your equipment. Lone hikers have been mugged, and in the case of females, even raped.

      • Smugglers

      • Of fascination to most hikers are the smugglers. They can actually be encountered almost the whole year round, though the peak season being February - April following the harvest season. The marijuana is grown in Lesotho and smuggled into South Africa by Basuthos, either carried on their backs or on mules. They meet locals at the bottom who take it on from there. Associated with this is the smuggling of guns, which has recently started to escalate alarmingly. Typically they are encountered in the late afternoon heading down a pass into South Africa. It is quite common that they walk at night too since they make use of the cover of darkness. This group of people are determined to get about their business and so security problems seem to be more opportunistic, especially if hikers are camping near their smuggling routes. By avoiding camping near their trails, at the top of the passes that form part of their routes, or sleeping in caves that they themselves use, a large proportion of the risk from this group is eliminated. Having said this, the smuggling is becoming so widespread and prevalent that many areas are affected and it is not always possible to totally avoid them. You may identify trails and passes that they use by the associated litter that they leave behind: camp fires, tobacco packets, empty pilchard cans and bread packets (purchased in South Africa), strands of hession and plastic that the bags used to carry the canabis are made of, coloured wool-like strands from their blankets and those used to tie the bags closed, worn out gum boots and bits of rubber that have been used to mend them, and typical rags or woollen hats they wear on their heads which presumably get blown off by the wind or forgotten behind at a rest place.

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        Cattle rustlers

Cattle and horses are stolen from locals and farmers in South Africa and herded up the steep passes into Lesotho – something which has been occurring for more than a century! It is not unusual to see skeletons of animals that have fallen and died along the way.

A very informative report on the smuggling and rustling problem was published by the Institute for Security Studies. You may read a copy of the article here.

Casual Basuthos

You may also meet Basuthos that are travelling across the border for social visits, to buy supplies, or ones that work in South Africa. You may encounter families, woman, children and old people – whereas the smugglers and shepherds are mostly men. They are friendly, sometimes quite interesting, and generally pose no threat, though some will undoubtedly be opportunistic thieves.

Should you encounter locals of any kind we suggest that you greet them friendly or simply just wave. Most will greet back. Should it be apparent that they are smugglers do not enquire about what they are up to or what is in their bags. Most will beg for sweets or any kind of food, even if that is the only bit of English they understand. We strongly urge people not to give them anything as this leads to problems associated with begging that people are all too familiar with the world over. Giving them a sweet will not get them out of poverty or improve their situation. It has the opposite effect. Simply reply that you do not have any, or only have enough for yourself. This response is generally accepted.

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