The Caves of Ifidi

** This thread discusses: The Caves of Ifidi **

Brilliant article Intrepid. This must be one of the biggest and best of the summit caves!
Am going to google and plot.

Shot

Good job Intrepid!

We bow to your superior cave-hunting skills (and persistence, I take it!)

Intrepid: Phew! I'm having to ratchet up my failing RAM, here. We only ever went up Ifidi once & we definitely stayed in the grotty little shelter marked on my map. Looking for other caves wasn't really in our brief and I'm pretty sure we took the word of the MCSA guys on the "committee" for the name, location and size of the cave. As I recall the next day was pretty misty and we had a bit of a nervous [and wet] "feely-feely" stumble around to Mbundini, so we wouldn't have spent any time looking for anything better. "Ifidi" or "False Ifidi", it wasn't that much worse than some other much-vaunted caves that we relied upon. Nkosazana above Grey's Pass - I think I still have the bumps on my head. Stayed there many times, once with a cat [who caught a mouse - a story for another time] and that place was always wet. Nonetheless, thanks for the great info and the nostalgic pics! - Peter

intrepid wrote: On a side note, I've heard several negative impressions on Nkosazana Cave. I guess its strictly a dry season cave. My own experiences in it have all been pleasant, on a number of occasions, the best of all being on a morning when we woke up in the cave to a white landscape outside.

I always hear negative reports on certain caves - I have been very fortunate in never having problems like this, even when I slept in "I'm sure its not a" Cave, I woke up in the mist and 1m further down the bank than where I was when I went to bed, but I was completely dry, and despite the 20 degree slope on the floor, the cave was fairly comfortable (assuming I haven't just forgotten how uncomfortable it was)...

In respect of Nkosazana Cave, I think it can depend on "how the wind blows". Our experiences have been good in the past, bearing in mind that we have usually visited it in Autumn/Winter months. However, a few years ago we were up there in early May, a week after a snowfall, and the cave was completely clogged up with snow (we could not get in at all). The wind had obviously caused a snowdrift up around the cave.

We spent the long weekend on a leisurely hike between the Amphitheatre and Icidi areas, with two nights spent in Ifidi Cave. Thanks again Intrepid for the write-up on the caves. It is truly one of the Berg greats, with an awesome view. I was also impressed with its shelter from the wind. The early part of the weekend was very gusty, and whereas the Ifidi Annex was still very wind-blown, true Ifidi was pleasantly and deceptively calm.




Taking into account the observation techniques one develops over time when cave hunting, such as recognising potential rock formations and overhangs, an observation on approaching the area brought a question to my mind. From a point at the water source near the Singati Wall, the rock outcrop over the Ifidi Cave is very prominent (as it is from the mentioned Thaba Endanyazana), and lends itself to further investigation. Granted I had the advantage of your description and one member in my party insisted that there was no safe access to the feature that was my goal (as observed from a distance). My question: Did you find the cave via the means described in your write-up, by progressively venturing further round the grass slopes and investigating the rock outcrops as you went, or did you, through observations of the rock structures from different vantage points lead you to investigate that particular outcrop as a potential site?