Cave Reservations Etiquette

intrepid wrote: Anton's Cave should not be on this list either since its a rock art site, and it would be interesting to ask for directions to Outer Horn Cave. I will pass this on their webmaster.

Interesting, Mark from EKZNW was saying that on the old maps Anton's and Vaalribbokkop Caves are vice versa, so that should probably be the case here. Vaalribokkop Cave is on the EKZNW list, and can be booked.
A bit of trivia, the kettle mentioned in berg.co.za in Hospitaalspruit Cave is still there, stashed under some rocks..

Also, Wonder Valley is listed under Monk's Cowl, but is actually administered by Injasuthi and booked through Central Reservations

Papa Dragon wrote:

intrepid wrote: Anton's Cave should not be on this list either since its a rock art site, and it would be interesting to ask for directions to Outer Horn Cave. I will pass this on their webmaster.

Interesting, Mark from EKZNW was saying that on the old maps Anton's and Vaalribbokkop Caves are vice versa, so that should probably be the case here. Vaalribokkop Cave is on the EKZNW list, and can be booked.

Maybe I've got that wrong, could be Hospitaalspruit and Vaalribbokkop. Whichever, Vaalribbokkop and Hospitaalspruit can both be booked.

I took my girlfriend (now my fiance) on her first overnight hike to Zulu Cave this past weekend (17/18 November 2018).

I booked the cave 2 months in advance. I planned to either propose to her at the waterfall in the cave or at another spot I know up the Emkhwazini River).

When signing the mountain register I made a point of telling the ranger and the manager that I had booked the cave, to hopefully prevent those who do not follow the rules about caving in the lower Berg.

Not long after we turned off the contour path to make our way to the cave (and I was thinking about the impending proposal), I saw a group of 4 turning down the same path in the direction of the cave. I knew that they were most likely going to the cave which I had booked - this annoyed me immensely.

This helped me decide on a proposal location and I did so at some not well known falls up the Emkhwazini River. All went well!

Upon arrival at Zulu Cave we found that the group of 4 consisted of 2 American tourists (a couple) and two Guides from Inkosana Lodge (they had their names on their T-shirt).

I was severely annoyed that people who are running a business and I am sure charging an arm and a leg to foreigners, did not even care to book the cave! Or even to enquire as to whether I had booked or if they were disturbing us (which they were). I did not challenge them in the cave because I did not want to ruin my fiance's special moment, or upset the tourists.

What was especially unpleasant is that the two guides stayed up well after lights out, talking loudly in Zulu and playing on their phones! I was even woken up in then night as the guides were talking.

The American tourists were quiet and respectful and clearly there for a serene experience. However, the guides were very unprofessional and should not have been at the cave in the first place. I wonder whether they have a permit or are allowed to simply take people into the Berg for a fee.

I found out from the Americans that they had stayed in Stable cave the night before. Upon my return to the Monk's Cowl Office, I spoke to the manager who advised me that Stable cave was booked out for the two previous nights by loggers! So the guides would have taken the young American couple to share the cave with loggers - clearly they made no attempt to book that cave either.

One cannot always expect people to know of or follow the rules. One would like them to however be respectful. But when you have a commercial lodge, namely Inkosana Lodge, charging the Americans about R6000 (as per the rates on their website) for a 2 night hike, you expect them to be professional about it. Book the cave. Not to intrude if they have not booked. Not to ruin my proposal weekend. Not to take your American tourists to sleep with loggers (who were courteous and wise enough to book Stable cave).

I am still considering what can be done about this. Needless to say, I am not happy at all and Inkosana Lodge are on my hit list!

Congrats on the engagement!

Re caves: remember that the capacity of 12 isn't for a single group. I.e. if you book a cave for 2, they can allow up to 10 other people to book it. The same goes for trail huts. I was in Zulu Cave a week ago with a group of 8 (we booked well in advance). Another group of 2 also booked the cave and thus we shared the cave with them. That's just how the rules work.

The other group should have booked, but they might have just checked that there was sufficient capacity, or could have booked after you checked. Most caves are empty most of the time, so some people don't bother booking caves. This last weekend I booked Twins Cave when I paid for my permits on the day.

Thanks for your response and the congrats. It is much appreciated.

Thank you for clarifying. I am not personally aware of how KZN Wildlife runs its bookings. However, I always understood that, in the Lower Berg, once a cave is booked then it is booked. For escarpment caves different rules apply.

I have always followed and lived by the guidelines found on Berg.co.za, and regarding "cave ettiquette" the following is stated:

"CAVE ETIQUETTE

• In the lower berg you must book your cave/s in advance of your hike, and make every effort to stick to your planned route.  Under no circumstances except in dire emergencies should you ever stay overnight in a cave you have not booked when the cave has already been booked by another group.  In such an emergency (e.g. extremely bad weather, flooded rivers or illness), if the rightful occupants are already there when you arrive and assuming there is still sufficient space for your group, it is polite to ask their permission to share their cave and to accept "no" as an answer if they don't want to.  If they say "yes", you should observer their lights out time and show due consideration for them.

This is a very valuable thread. 
It shows the gap between perceived practice as set out in  the Berg ettiquette and the actual practice of management. I have always assumed the perceived practice to operate. 

I wonder what explanation the guides have for not paying their fees? What are the consequences for the lodge?

Where can we find out the max capacity of the caves, as defined by management?

Does anyone have experience of not being allowed to book a cave because the capacity was exceeded for the date of the booking? I do not. 

ghaznavid wrote: Re caves: remember that the capacity of 12 isn't for a single group. I.e. if you book a cave for 2, they can allow up to 10 other people to book it. The same goes for trail huts. I was in Zulu Cave a week ago with a group of 8 (we booked well in advance). Another group of 2 also booked the cave and thus we shared the cave with them. That's just how the rules work.

This is very interesting and news to me. I've phoned and attempted to book various caves on numerous occasions previously and been told "Sorry, it's already booked by a party of 2 (or 3 or whatever)".

Congrats on the engagement Douglas.

I was one of the 'loggers' at Stable Cave, we didn't have any issues with the guides or guests, but probably only because we were lucky enough that they stayed right at the top of the cave. The American's did come down for a chat at one point and were quite cool.

The guides did, however, insist that they had booked the cave and this is when Ghaz's capacity theory does work. Not only was the cave completely booked out of us by Monk's Cowl conservation for us, but we also had 10 people in our party and in fact we had even more at the time of booking so there definitely wouldn't have been capacity for another party.

I've never heard of that rule for caves in the 'berg either. Encountered it for huts in the Cape, but not here. I've failed to book numerous caves over the years because they were booked by other people and have never been asked the size of my party before getting turned down...very much doubt that even other party had the full cave limit just by coincidence. Considering they did it to two caves in the same weekend I think it much more likely that they just didn't book, although it could have been an admin error on their side and perhaps the guides were told that they were booked by the lodge....or perhaps, seeing as you also had to share Zulu Cave last weekend, Monk's Cowl booking isn't doing their job very well.