General help for overseas visitors to the Berg

With regards to getting a map, if you do go to Didima, the Cathedral Peak hotel does sell maps, but maybe email them in advance and ask them to make sure they have one in stock for you. The other reserves won't be as easy to get to hold a map for you, but from personal experience I have never come across a reserve that didn't have maps in stock.

ghaznavid wrote: With regards to getting a map, if you do go to Didima, the Cathedral Peak hotel does sell maps, but maybe email them in advance and ask them to make sure they have one in stock for you. The other reserves won't be as easy to get to hold a map for you, but from personal experience I have never come across a reserve that didn't have maps in stock.

Refer to my post here:
www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/2501-geomaps.html?limit=6&start=30#52996

Purchasing the Berg Hiking maps online:
www.slingsbymaps.com/drakensberg.aspx

Vert endev

First sorry for the sparsity in this post, my phone isn't that smart.  Will try to get a new post on the map info with pics and filling in what I've left out unless someone else wants to do it. 

Nice site for the Slingsby maps, but looks like they only deliver in SA. Thought I'd go to the office of National Geospacial Information in Mowbury.

Here's a link to all they're office locations
 www.ngi.gov.za/mapmanager_internet/default.asp

Also found this great site, you should really check this out
www.madmappers.com/
Use the mad map viewer link 

So for my itinerary was going to Johannesburg from Cape Town going straight to Drakensberg, from there going down to hike in Tsitsikamma and Surf Jefferies Bay, then back down to CapeTown.  Think I'll try Bell Traverse first, and if there is any mutiny in our ranks or our bodies raise the white flag after the first night out, go down and spend a second night in Giants Castle.

I'd make reference to the alternative of flying to Durban from Cape Town, but since they closed the old airport and opened the new one so far away from Durban, the drive to Didima would be roughly the 4 hours and thus the same as driving from Jo'burg.

I assume you are driving through from the Berg to Tsitsikamma and Jeffery's Bay? If so, there is a nice scenic route to drive, rather than taking the main highways (which are admittedly fairly scenic, especially the valley of a thousand hills between Pietermaritzburg and Durban), in Howick there is a turnoff to route 617 (the Underberg road), it goes through the "rolling hills of the midlands" and at Underberg you can see the entire southern Berg. The road then pivots and follows the small berg south till it gets to Kokstad where (after driving through a town which you can't call a one road town - it has 3 roads ) it joins the N2.

Hi there,

Berg novices from Germany require your help on a couple of matters.

We plan on visiting Lesotho's highest peak, Thabana Ntlenyana, at the end of March but are not to keen on driving all the way up to Sani Pass Top. Instead, we were thinking about the following itinerary:

1. Start down at Cobham, reach both Hodgson's Peaks via Masabasuba Pass and then continue to Sani Top Chalet where we'd stay overnight.
2. Next day, it's all the way to Thabana and back to the Chalet for another overnight stay.
3. Return to Cobham the following morning.

It appears there's two major obstacles to overcome. Number one, we'll need to cover rather long distances on our way but that's fine - we're well prepared for some serious uphill battle so that shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as the weather remains bearable. Our main concern, then, is obstacle number two: As there doesn't seem to be any South African border post at the top of the pass (only at the bottom which, unfortunately, is nowhere near Cobham), how can we legally leave South African territory for a couple of hours and then re-enter the same day? We can't risk to get into trouble just because of some missing departure stamp. Any ideas how this problem can be solved?

On a different subject, is it possible to climb Champagne Castle and Giant Castle in one day, respectively? If so, which routes would you recommend?

And last but not least: How safe is it to camp on top of Leslie's Pass?

Best regards
Olli

rafiki66 wrote: Hi there,

Berg novices from Germany require your help on a couple of matters.

Welcome to the forum

rafiki66 wrote: We plan on visiting Lesotho's highest peak, Thabana Ntlenyana, at the end of March but are not to keen on driving all the way up to Sani Pass Top. Instead, we were thinking about the following itinerary:

1. Start down at Cobham, reach both Hodgson's Peaks via Masabasuba Pass and then continue to Sani Top Chalet where we'd stay overnight.
2. Next day, it's all the way to Thabana and back to the Chalet for another overnight stay.
3. Return to Cobham the following morning.

It appears there's two major obstacles to overcome. Number one, we'll need to cover rather long distances on our way but that's fine - we're well prepared for some serious uphill battle so that shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as the weather remains bearable. Our main concern, then, is obstacle number two: As there doesn't seem to be any South African border post at the top of the pass (only at the bottom which, unfortunately, is nowhere near Cobham), how can we legally leave South African territory for a couple of hours and then re-enter the same day? We can't risk to get into trouble just because of some missing departure stamp. Any ideas how this problem can be solved?

I'm climbing Sani pass, both Hodgeson's and descending Masubasuba Pass this weekend - look out for a thread with info on this next week.

Sani Top chalet to Thabana Ntlenyana is quite a distance to do in a day, with day packs and really good fitness it is possible, but difficult.

With regards to your passports, if you go up Masubasuba and come down it, you will not go through any border posts, alternatively, if you go up and down Sani Pass, you will have all the necessary stamps in your passports. The guys who know border post procedures better can comment on this one...

rafiki66 wrote: On a different subject, is it possible to climb Champagne Castle and Giant Castle in one day, respectively? If so, which routes would you recommend?

And last but not least: How safe is it to camp on top of Leslie's Pass?

Best regards
Olli

Giants Castle as a day hike is tough - I am doing in either later this month or next month as an overnight hike sleeping in the cave on Giant's Pass. Its doable in a day, but very difficult.

Champagne Castle, however, I am 99% is basically impossible as a day hike. To stand a chance you would have to use Grey's Pass (Ships Prow Pass would take too long - its double the length and tops out much higher than Grey's Pass, its also widely held to be the second most difficult pass in the berg. By contrast - Grey's Pass is the only berg pass classified as "strenuous" rather than severe or extreme on the difficulty ratings). Getting to Greys Pass is roughly a 10km hike, the Pass is a further 3km and then its another 3km to the peak, 32km in a day with an altitude gain of 1.6km is a huge ask and I personally don't think it is reasonable to expect that its possible.

It would be alot easier to drive up Sani Pass, then go to the left and hike Hodgson's Peaks, same day. Next day go to the right and slave your way on foot to TN and back in one day(!)(slog? labour? trudge?). Catching lifts up and down the pass is not too hard. If you decide to do it your way, carry your passports. You will be spotted by Basotho border officials going to Sani Top as they are next door, unless it is late, and they will want to see the pports and stamp you. The officials also at times come to the Sani Top bar for a drink so be aware. It would be nice to get stamped to avoid any bad blood. This is not a posting for the rewarded and the special; it is a bleak and lonely posting on the dark side of the moon for those desperate to be transferred elswhere. They see alot of things but what they usually dont like is unrestricted trammeling all over Lesotho "illegally". I am not a fan of bureacratic officialdom by any means, but at Sani Top one has to deal with it. As for SA, they would tell you you have to get stamped at Sani bottom post, then you can drive to Cobham and hike up into Lesotho, etc. Nobody does that, we just hike up and into Lesotho and back again "illegally".

Thank you very much, Thomas & Ghaznavid, for your help. I'll have a closer look at your thread with info on Masubasuba Pass as soon as you post it. Have a nice hike.

I assume it's also possible to walk up Sani Pass to the top, but is there a walking trail nearby or would we have to use the dirt road for the vehicles and put up with all the traffic and exhaust fumes?

Thank you
Olli

Sadly my hike this weekend got cancelled