Ledgers Cave

Attention Mnweni hiking experts.

I will be returning to hike in the mnweni area this winter. The previous time I could not find Ledgers cave due to low cloud and very poor visibility. I am also relatively new to this specific area.
Can someone please explain to me how to find ledgers cave when approaching from the top of mnweni pass.

It will be highly appreciated.

When you get to the top of mweni pass you should see a peak on the left with lots of fins of rock. Walk around that and follow the edge of the escarpment until you see a cairn near the top of a small gully (you should be able to see the cave from here I clear weather). Walk down this gully and along the ledge until you get to the cave with man-made rock walls around it.

Thanx Hobbit

How far would you say is the cave from the top of Mnweni pass?

It is about 1.4 km from the top of Mnweni Pass around the peak described by Hobbit, to the access gully to Ledges Cave.

It is also slightly easier to walk between the river on your right and the escarpment edge on your left, than to follow the escarpment edge. When you round the peak on your left coming from Mnweni Pass, you can look ahead (if visibility is clear) and see a low cliff in the distance, at the end of the escarpment on the left hand side. Walk towards this cliff as a marker, and as you approach it deviate slightly right, and as you crest the low ridge after ascending above the river as the river turns to your right, you will see the cairn marking the top of the gully as referred to by Hobbit.

Thanks Tony and Hobbit

That is exactly the info I needed.
I cant go wrong now.

Hi Louis,

Let me know if you need some photos of the approach and I'll send it you.

Photos would be appreciated (a picture says a thousand words).
I was up there 2 years ago and also could not find it. But we didn't plan to sleep there so we didn't really search for it.

Some photos of the area and access to Ledges Cave. Danie please feel free to post additional photos, particularly of the cave or the cairns above the access gully.

A panorama of the area from the top of Mnweni Pass to Ledges Cave, with the important features marked up, taken from in the Mnweni Cutback.



A view similar to what you see when rounding the peak between Mnweni Pass and Ledges Cave, taken from the top of the peak. It isn’t necessary to ascend too high when going around the base of the peak, keep fairly low heading slightly to the right from the top of the pass, and go anticlockwise around behind the peak.



The access gully to Ledges Cave from the plateau above, taken from above the cave. There are two large cairns marking the top of the gully, one at the top of the gully, and another at the high point above the gully which is visible from further away. Unfortunately I have no photos showing these cairns clearly.



Ledges Cave at the base of the upper rock band, viewed from above the access gully.



The access gully from the plateau down to Ledges Cave through the upper rock band. The path along the base of the rock band to the cave is visible to the right of the photo below.



Ledges Cave with the three main sleeping areas visible. There is a strong drip on the access gully side of the cave which can be used to collect water (or even to shower/wash) in summer, where the bottle is placed to collect water in the photo below.



Hope this helps.