Drakensberg hiking maps

14 Oct 2011 11:30 #4365 by tonymarshall
@ Ghaznavid,

I think John Mark means the original Slingsby Maps, not the current ones. Are these originals really downloadable, or is it the modified current ones? I believe they are not available, and look after my 1980's vintage set of three very carefully.

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14 Oct 2011 11:39 #4366 by ghaznavid
Replied by ghaznavid on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
not sure, but they don't have dino cave etc, so they probably aren't original

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14 Oct 2011 12:31 #4368 by john mark 1
Replied by john mark 1 on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
Yes, I was meaning the original ones. The link that ghaznavid gives is for the current set of maps released by EKZNW, which are largely based on the original Slingsby maps but a fair amount has been left out.

ghaznavid, do the original Slingsby maps really have dino cave marked on them?

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14 Oct 2011 13:21 #4370 by ghaznavid
Replied by ghaznavid on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
I assume so, people always refer to them having "taken certain caves off the map", the implication obveously being that at some point they where on the map, but it might just be a figure of speach (I tell you, auditing exams make you notice odd things in people's comments...)

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14 Oct 2011 17:05 #4376 by Sterkhorn
Replied by Sterkhorn on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
I stand under correction, but as far as I am aware, the maps in the link that ghaznavid mentions, are the original slingsby maps released by the Forestry Department, not EKZNW. The ones released by EKZNW are the Geomaps that Serious tribe mentions. We originally used to hike using the Government Topographical maps and some rudimentary maps that Mountain Club used to use. The Forestry (Slingsby)maps were the next maps to appear in the 1980's. I don't know if Slingsby marketed the Drakensberg maps outside of these Forestry ones. I do have scanned copies of all six pages involved, but they are each in the region of about 8 Mb in size.

As far as I am aware, it was a conscious decision to leave out caves such as Dino and Elands, because of their cultural significance. I only found the location of Elands cave from Reg Pearce's map (which are just as difficult to get your hands on).

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14 Oct 2011 17:23 #4377 by john mark 1
Replied by john mark 1 on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
That seems to make a bit more sense. Thanks Sterkhorn.

The Reg Pearce map that you spoke of, does it cover the entire Drakensberg range and does it have any extra info (such as caves and alternate routes) that Slingsby's maps do not show? About how long before Slingsby did Reg Pearce make his maps?

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14 Oct 2011 18:53 #4378 by Sterkhorn
Replied by Sterkhorn on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
I am not sure how many maps Reg Pearce produced, but they seemed to be geared to the resort areas such as Champagne Castle and Cathedral Peak area and were never in the same detail as Slingsby. They were always a nice backup for further clarity. They were the same size as Slingsby, but the scale was larger, so they covered a smaller area. I think they came out about the 1970's and were sold at the hotels at the time, but I would need to fish to find what I still have.

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15 Oct 2011 08:39 #4380 by Serious tribe
Here is a link to a berg website with the Slingsby maps, however the maps are small ito megs. Not sure where you would find them now except in a second hand shop.

www.berg.co.za/northern_berg_maps.htm

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15 Oct 2011 18:46 #4382 by Sterkhorn
Replied by Sterkhorn on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
Here is an sample scanned from one of Pearce's maps. As you can see, the detail is nowhere near that of the current maps.

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17 Oct 2011 14:14 - 18 Oct 2011 05:17 #4392 by intrepid
Replied by intrepid on topic Drakensberg hiking maps
According to what I heard, the printing plates for Slingsby's maps where destroyed in a fire. Surplus copies (new) of the Southern Berg mapset where still on sale in the mid 1990's, but I haven't seen any old copies on sale ever. They are useful for comparing names of places, and they also have a sentimental value for collectors. As for extra caves, they had a few extra ones which are not included on the the new ones (for good reason) but not a lot. I find the new maps clearer and they also include more of Lesotho. When using Slingsby's map, you sometimes went "off the map" even on escarpment traverses. Not to say they were bad maps, they were actually pretty good. Pity Geomaps moved away from Tyvek though.

Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
Last edit: 18 Oct 2011 05:17 by intrepid.

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