Littering in the Drakensberg

This weekend proofed to be the same as almost every other outing in the Berg. Inspiring and humbling because of the beauty and majesty of the mountain and the environment and infuriating because of people. The ascent to Mafadi via Corner Pass was a pure joy with no litter visible. This changed at the top of South Africa. A PET bottle was left at the cairn on top of Mafadi. At least only one piece of litter on trail all the way from Injisuthi to the top of Leslie's Pass. This is where it changed dramatically with numerous spots where waste was simply discarded. In the end I ran out of space to add more crap to my pack to carry out.

The majority of the litter I have picked up throughout the years have been mainly left by the Basotho's (Boxer Tabaco, Bread Bags ect). Recently I have however seen it shifting to more hiker based trash, which is worrying, as we are supposed to be more responsible.

With a lot of people "discovering" hiking over the lockdown period, the problem is bound to get worse in my opinion. This is a very complex issue to address, you can educate hikers on the "leave no trace" principals, but you can't control their actions. The only solution I can see is to hike others litter out or hold cleanup hikes to renowned litter spots (Top of Amphi ect.)...this will restore some balance. It's also the responsibility of the hiking leader to ensure no one left something behind, I always do a round after everyone has left.

Another big area of concern is toilet etiquette in frequented areas...think Keiths "sh*t" Camp ...you can find multiple heaps in a 5m radius around the camp...With Mnweni seeing absurd amounts of foot traffic recently, I can only imagine what it looks like around the corner at Ledgers Cave...

KZN wildlife really needs to invest more time and effort in educating "new" hikers in proper toilet etiquette and littering...for what its worth.

If you can afford Backcountry meals...surely you can have a private porter to carry out your waste

vivo101 wrote: KZN wildlife really needs to invest more time and effort in educating "new" hikers in proper toilet etiquette and littering...for what its worth.

..responsibility should be shared by retailers, as they too profit from selling trail-food and ought care...

Retailers have no control over how and where their products are used. At the end of the day, you can try as you may, but going upstream with the supply chain will have very limited effect or success. The problem is with the individual littering, and not with whoever is selling them gear, consumables etc. In my opinion (and you are welcome to disagree), the behaviour pattern of said individuals needs to be addressed for littering to be reduced. It will never be stopped, just as speeding (with laws in place, fines issued etc.) will not be stopped either.

How behavioural patterns can be changed is a whole different kettle of fish altogether.

I meant retailers ought share responsibility from an education perspective.

Never underestimate how much picking up even one piece of litter can make. Just take a look around any town or city and you'll see piles are rubbish next to a bin. This is because once there is some rubbish lying there, something in our brains lets us think that it is ok to add to it and the bigger the pile, the more we feel ok about it. This happens in our houses as well - just notice how fast a slightly untidy garage becomes a disaster area.

So just picking up that one sweet wrapper or tin can go a long way to stopping the next person from dropping something.

Macc wrote: Never underestimate how much picking up even one piece of litter can make. Just take a look around any town or city and you'll see piles are rubbish next to a bin. This is because once there is some rubbish lying there, something in our brains lets us think that it is ok to add to it and the bigger the pile, the more we feel ok about it. This happens in our houses as well - just notice how fast a slightly untidy garage becomes a disaster area.

So just picking up that one sweet wrapper or tin can go a long way to stopping the next person from dropping something.

Beautifully put Macc. Spot on.

HI All,

We were 6 hikers who hiked up to Gxaliengwa cave this past weekend (23-24 January 2021)
Our ascent route was up via Pinnacle rocks. After reaching the cave, we then continued up and summited the Hub, before returning to overnight in the cave.
Our descent back to Cobham was via Ngwena pool on the giants cup trail.

Throughout our ascent and descent we encountered a significant amount of litter along the path - everything from plastic bottles, used diapers, packets, umbrellas and all types of polystyrene containers.
The amount of litter was surprising - and it was only when we passed the first group of Lesotho nationals - walking down the pass toward Cobham/Underberg - did we then suspect where the litter was originating from. After we continued to encounter groups of Lesotho nationals walking down the path - did we engage with one group - who in very broken English, informed us that due to the Sani Border post closure, they were now forced to hike down the Gxaliengwa valley via Lesotho to return to work in Underberg and surrounds (presumably)

During the 2 days spent in the area, we estimated to have seen well over 50+ people walking down the pass, some carrying babies and small children as well as bags and suitcases, throughout all times of the day, some in small groups and others in bigger groups. There was no hostility involved and it was evident that these were people 'commuting' from Lesotho into South Africa via an alternative route due to the border being closed.
We would assume that this movement of people in the Mkhomazi wilderness area is in itself possibly something that needs to be further investigated by the relevant authorities?

However what was immediately concerning to us as hikers, was the amount of litter we collected from the path. Between the 6 of us hikers, we collected and carried approximately 5 large black rubbish bags full of litter back to Cobham.

We reported this to the Cobham rangers office upon our return, although there didn't seem to be much concern or accountability from the ranger on duty.

Assuming this is a new occurrence, has anyone else encountered this in the area?
And more importantly - who would be the best people/organizations to contact to notify?
Does anyone have a contact within Ezemvelo?
The concern is that if this stream of people continues, the amount of litter that will accumulate along that pristine part of the Gxaliengwa valley will be devastating.

Any feedback/advice would be welcome

Thanks,