General Grand Traverse planning & tips

Hi VE,

We are in the process of planning a 5 - 7 day N-S traverse over Easter weekend in April 2020. I have the speed traverse track which is available for download from VE, I have however heard the some of the sections of the speed traverse track is probably not the best route to follow due to various villages and dogs (probably other reasons I just cant remember now). I would be very grateful to obtain some information on different routes which was recently followed by groups who recently finished the traverse. Please contact me on messenger if your willing to share your information and GPS Tracks.

Kind Regards

Henk

Hi Henk
Three of us completed an unsupported 13 day N-S DGT in May 2019.

We did not follow the speed traverse route because of the scenery closer to the escarpment. We did summit all six peaks required to qualify as a DGT though. 

Our total distance came to about 240 km with a total ascent of 11410 m. Certainly not the shortest or easiest route, but if it could be of any value to you I would gladly send you my GPS tracks as well as a link to my hike report which describes the route we took.

Intrepid loaded a GPS track that has a lot of different variations - try that one. My GPS plan tracks (not that any of my GTs have stuck to the plan) have usually been a stitched together series of Stijn and Intrepid's tracks, plus a lot of my own info, and other people's tracks.

If you want to avoid dogs entirely - it is best to avoid a GT. You will almost certainly encounter dogs along the way. But the most skippable dogs are:
1) Between Thlanyako Pass and Didima Cave, instead of following the Yodeler's River, take the higher line. It is shorter, but very steep. Intrepid's track has this variation.
2) Follow the escarpment edge between Mafadi and Giants Castle (Intrepid's track).
3) From the bottom of Isicutula Pass, stay on the higher trails around Thaba Ngwangwe. If you stay on the highest trail, around 2700m, when you hit the south west corner of Thaba Ngwangwe, you can climb up to a saddle and drop down the other side, cutting a lot of distance off the standard route and skipping dogs. Not that dogs are a massive issue on Thaba Ngwangwe - its just that they are very easy to miss on this section.

The reality of a GT is that there are certain things you will almost always encounter:
1) Shepherds with their dogs (99% of the time these experiences have been nice, I very rarely have issues with shepherds)
2) Dogs without their shepherds - which can be scary with no one to call them off, but just throw a few rocks at the dogs and they will probably run away
3) Livestock - try and avoid being charged by a cow or goat. Being charged by horses has happened to me too, but that is rare.
4) Wind and rain, maybe even hail and/or snow
5) Mist
6) If you forget your sunscreen or lip ice, then a lot of peeling skin (it is particularly painful on your lips).
7) Sore feet, back and neck
8) Questioning what on earth you are doing up there (usually during bad weather or when you are sore)
9) A really awesome feeling as you come into the final stretch and realise that you are actually going to finish

Hi, I am planning a trip in March 2021 and would like to do the longer 240km route over a 10day period. Please could I get your report and GPS tracks to assist with this planning.
Thanks!

My wife and I are planning a GT in September of this year. I've only done the GT on 2 previous occasions during the month of December, 1st one was south-to-north and 2nd one, north -to-south. Current thinking is that S-N would be our preferred direction. My main thinking around this (excluding the standard logistical factors) is the prevailing wind direction during that period of time (historic data and experience indicates from a general westerly / south westerly direction). It is one of the lesser fun experiences to walk into a headwind, day in and day out    We are experienced hikers and have done many winter escarpment hikes. I've also read about the different schools of thoughts on the GT VE forums about the pros and cons of either approach.

Any additional insights / considerations relating to our suggested approach during September month will be much appreciated 

Hi VE!
My wife and I will be traveling to South Africa from Europe in November and would love to trek the GT. Both of us are fit and have experience trekking in Europe and Nepal, including self supported treks. We have found it a bit challenging to find information about the DGT from the comfort of our couch and therefore would love to get some feedback from you guys on some questions that we have:

• How do people deal with the logistics of getting to the starting point / getting back from the end point? Buses / services?
• I have read that the best period ends in October, and am aware that weather like can be bad at any season, but what can we expect in General from the month of November?
• Is there a preffered direction? Is this depedant on the season?
• Is there a preffered direction? I have seen and have the GPS track for the FKT: are there other preffered tracks?
• For now I am thinking about carrying all our food for the duration of the trek, but if I where to change my mind, how can food drop offs be organized?
• Safety: is it ok to travel as a couple? I would love to bring my camera with me, would that be possible?
• If anyone has done treks in Europe (Alps, GR20 in Corsica, Tour du Mont Blanc, etc…), how does the GT compare? This would help us plan better.

Thank you very much for your help, this forum has already been super useful!Cheers,Simon

Hi there. You have come to the right place for info on a DGT - plenty of people here with multiple completed DGTs.

Just a heads up - there is no trail as such for a GT, and there are no signs/markings along the way. Once you get to the top of the chain ladders you are doing your own route finding. When there are trails, they often lead in the wrong direction. There isn't even an official route, with teams differing wildly on route selection. So just be aware of what you are getting into. While I don't pretend that the Drakensberg is harder or more dangerous than other mountain range - the remoteness and lack of trails does catch some teams.

As for your questions:
1) Easiest is probably to catch a Greyhound bus to Harrismith (you will probably need to catch the Gautrain from the airport to the bus station), and chat to Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge about them picking you up there and taking you the rest of the way (which will probably be a bit expensive). You can probably hitchhike from Bushmans Nek to Underberg, and I believe Bazz Bus does Underberg to Pietermaritzburg, and then you can either fly or catch a Greyhound Bus from Pietermaritzburg to Johannesburg. Otherwise see if you can find a hiking group heading in the same direction and with space in the car. Do you have set dates yet?
2) I did my 3rd (and fastest) GT in November 2015 and had perfect weather. Rivers should at least have enough water in them by then. Just remember - unless you are planning to do a sub 4 day time, you will almost definitely hit some form of bad weather along the way. Just make sure you are prepared for it. Rain and wind are the most common issues, along with mist. Story of my November 2015 DGT is here: jonathantheghaznavid.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/my-first-speed-drakensberg-grand-traverse/
3) I'd suggest north to south as you don't know the mountains. If things aren't going well, Rockeries Pass, Mlambonja Pass and Camel Pass are all excellent bailing routes early on. On a south to north, the early bailing routes put you in more remote car parks without phone signal.
4) There are tons of route variations, download the GPX on this site (I think it was Intrepid's track) which includes various variations. Also download Stijn's speed traverse track - that means if you fall behind, you can use the faster line to catch up. If you aren't chasing a specific time, I highly recommend taking taking the Elephant Gully and Didima Ridge variations - both are less commonly used but are spectacular.
5) The Sani resupply is usually easy - if you can get it to Underberg, just arrange with Sani Pass Tours for them to drop it at Sani Mountain Lodge for you, and make sure Sani Mountain Lodge is expecting it. I've done this a few times without any problems. A resupply in the middle is harder to arrange, but you might be able to convince hikers on this site to meet you somewhere at Injisuthi or Giants Castle to help you with it - the hard part is getting the items to them beforehand (although I guess you can order them online and have them delivered to whoever has agreed to help you).
6) SA isn't the safest country around, but the Drakensberg is probably one of the safest parts of the country (read the security thread for some do's and don'ts, though). In 13 years of Drakensberg hiking and over 8000km (all with a camera), no one has even tried to take my camera. Odds are you'll go days without even seeing a shepherd, and aside from shepherds, you'll see practically no one else. I generally find the shepherds to be very friendly (especially if you share some food or a cigarette with them), so no major cause for concern there. Mountain dogs are probably the biggest danger - but the trick is to just pick up a stone and throw it at the dogs, and they usually back off. When you are outside of the mountains, probably best to have any valuables stored away, and try and avoid walking around Jo'burg at all - a lot of Jo'burg is fine, but you won't necessarily know the riskier spots. Obviously all the usual airport and surrounds scams apply as they would in any country.
7) A number of people on this site have done routes like 3 Passes in Nepal, and Stijn has also climbed Mont Blanc and has done the Pyrenees Traverse - so I'll leave this one to them. There is a thread on this forum about a French man who tried to bail from a traverse at Rwanqa Pass and needed to be rescued by helicopter when he ended up in the wrong gully, he did a writeup about it which may be of interest to you, although I don't have the link.

Just make sure you know how hiking permits work (there is a thread about that on this site). You will need to arrange hiking permits from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and you can't get them at the start of the hike, and can't arrange them online either. These permits include rescue if anything goes wrong, so they are very important. An upside to doing the traverse south to north is that you can buy them at Bushman's Nek at the start. Its about R80 pppn (about €6), so they aren't bad at all.

Hi Ghaznavid,
Thanks a lot for all of the information, super helpful!
The wilderness/not track part is what we came looking for as well, but for sure it brings with it some logistical challenges. Thankfully this community and people behind them are here to help!
I will digest all of this and let you know if I still have some questions.
Thanks again,
Simon

Hi all, I've been planning a Grand Traverse hike for the end of August over the last few months. I've been backpacking and trekking for about 8 years now, most recently completed the Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru. Initially I was told that August is good month to go but have been reading in the snow reports about low temps and have read some past trail reports mentioning serious blizzard conditions. Any thoughts / tips on late August for a GT? Thanks!

Keen to follow this. I'm hoping to do a solo attempt next year at the same time.