Schoongezight Cave

Busy planning some hiking options over the Easter Weekend. Current plan is up Thuthumi Pass and down Tlanyaka Pass. Has anyone recently visited Schoongezight Cave? I've never been there before and have always been a bit hesitant of it given the proximity to the smuggling route. Any insights will be greatly appreciated. 

I've stayed at Schoongezicht Cave several times in the last couple of years, and have never had any problems there.

Excellent, thank you Tony! Looking forward to explore that section of the Berg. 

Thank you so much Intrepid. That is good to know. Will be sure to take some insect repellent (just in case)  Do you perhaps have any recollection of how many people it can accommodate? (some sites says a max of 8). 

8 would perhaps be pushing it, with some people being in not so great areas of the cave. I can recall in 2013 we were 6 people there, and that was what we thought the limit was. After that the group I have been there with has been 3 or less, and we have all had good, comfortable spots.

Thanks a million Tony & Intrepid! 

We are a group of 5  and look forward to giving the cave a go. Thanks also for the heads-up on the potential impact of the floods, was wondering about that given the history and close proximity of the cave to the river - will keep a backup plan just in case. 

Hello guys,

Happy to report that we had a fantastic time at Schoongezight Cave (as our final overnight spot on a Thuthumi and Tlanyaku loop). Thanks Intrepid and Tony for your advice. As expected (good call, Interpid ), the cave was definitely impacted by the recent floods (evident by the amount of rocks and sand as well as flattened trees on both sides). After some landscaping we managed to make it very comfortable and had a very pleasant evening. We fitted 5 people easily and there was definitely room for an additional 1 and maybe 2. 

The views from the cave are out of this world and it was an interesting experience to have the river flow by so closely (couldn't help but imagining how the Ndedema river would like it flood). Can highly recommend to others who are willing to explore this lesser visited area of the Berg.   

 
 
Before landscaping
 
After landscaping