General help for overseas visitors to the Berg

ghaznavid wrote: Dogs are mostly a problem when you are near kraals. As AndrewP always says, they are gentle puppies when they are with their masters - but when they are looking after a kraal, they morph into rabid dire-wolves.

Yodelers and Jarateng are notably bad for dogs.

Is there a way to avoid Kraals ? How can I know I am near one ?

flying.morad wrote: Dogs don't scare me as long as they are not in a pack.

Well:


I don't have any photos from the few times dogs have been a threat (for obvious reasons), but lone dogs are pretty rare.

flying.morad wrote: Is there a way to avoid Kraals ? How can I know I am near one ?

You can usually see them from far away. Just for clarity - seeing as I believe the word "Kraal" is a South African-ism - a Kraal is an enclosure where animals are kept, usually built out of rock which a house:


Ones like the above without a roof are unoccupied.

On the speed GT route you will pass quite a few. All are avoidable, but it isn't always practical. If you pass them early in the morning, the owners are usually still there - so the dogs aren't an issue (although I recommend having extra sweets/snacks in your pocket for the locals - it is fair payment for passage through their land and to keep their dogs at bay - some chips, 2 or 3 biscuits etc is plenty).

The Yodeler's dogs can be avoided by taking the high line up towards Didima Cave. You can skip the Jarateng shortcut (which we skipped on our 5 day GT last year), but at the cost of 3 big extra hills. The worst dogs I have encountered where on the Jarateng a few years back, and just south of the Sani Pass road in the Southern Berg on my 5 day GT last year.

Thank you for the pictures and explanations. Well... I guess it will an interesting walk and the few dangers here and there are part of the adventure !
I will definitely go for the three extra hills and skip Jaranteng !

Do you have a route plan yet? There are so many variations one can take on a GT, largely depending on number of days. Personally I rate the best lines often skip the dogs (but are further and harder). The reason these are the best lines is the exact reason you don't get dogs - it is a case of following the edge of the escarpment as much as possible.

E.g. if you follow the ridge rather than the valley when doing the Thlanyako/Yodeler's bit, you skip the worst dogs in exchange for one of the most spectacular bits of escarpment (at the cost of climbing one monstrously steep hill vs the gradual ascent past Yodelers Cascades). Dogs aren't really a problem on the Leslies/Mafadi bit, but I rate the valley is one of the most boring bits of a GT, and the top of the ridge is one of the most spectacular.

I don't have a route plan yet. I have ordered maps and am waiting to receive them.
I am definitely interested in seeing the most spectacular parts, particularly if it skips the dogs.
I'm planning on downloading GPS traces from previous hikers.
I take it there is no trail on the GT. Is there information somewhere on those spectacular escarpment lines, or it just up to me and make my own way on the mountain ?

The VE track in the downloads section is good. PM me your email address and I will send you the track from my 2014/2015 GT. Sadly I only have parts of my 2015/2016 track.

How many days are you looking to do it in?

There are trails for some sections, but the trails are the lines used by locals - so you have to know when to leave them.

Sometimes there are cairns with vague trails - e.g. over Cleft Peak, but otherwise you pretty much make it up as you go along.

Hi flying.morad.....don't fear brother. The dogs are normally well controlled by their owners and will stop immediately by a command from their owners. Just a suggestion, maybe get a local hiker who knows the Drakensberg to go with you.....put the word out on VE when you have your route planned and see if there are any hikers available to go with you. Don't end up like the last Dutch hiker who went solo and had to be rescued with a helicopter! All the best with your planning

Kraals are placed according to a few simple rules. You can actually predict where they will be before you see them.

They will not be on the escarpment ridge itself but rather one ridge back. More sun and less mist that way.
They face north. To the sun.
They have a rock band behind them to protect from wind and to get extra warmth.

A give away is a huge area of very green grass below them. Fertilized and visible from much further away than the kraal itself.

As you approach the kraal listen out for birds. I assume birds mean no dogs and have not been wrong yet.

The sleeping cow next to a kraal is not a cow.

AndrewP wrote: The sleeping cow next to a kraal is not a cow.

haha, made me think of a Limpopo farmer telling us years ago, that floating log is not a floating log.

Thank you all for the information.
Trying to find a hiking partner could be a good idea. I'll see when I have my route. But I won't hesitate to go it alone.
Lol, I'll watch out for sleeping cows.