Up Mlambonja South and Down the Bell Traverse, in rather dodgy conditions!

I've looked at that pass to the south of Mlambonja a few times in the past before, always wondering if it tops out. With Tony's recent ascent of it, I had the perfect excuse to explore it. This past weekend (23 - 25 Aug 2024) my wife, brother-in-law and I tackled this pass.

We left Centurion at 2H50am and left CPH's parking area at 8H19am. It was overcast with a rather cold wind blowing, which was perfect for hiking. By the time we hit the zig-zags 5km's from the hotel, the sun had caught up with us. From here onwards it was noticably warmer. I've come down Mlambonja pass many times before, went up One Tree Hill a few times as well, but this was my first time ascending the zig-zags. They definitey made for a relaxed ascent. I always find them tedious and slow on the descent, but they were clearly built with an ascent in mind. We got to the T-junction on top of the lower berg and turned right towards Mlambonja Pass. Where the contour path link up with the 1TreeHill path (just above the camping spot under the big tree) we entered the riverbed and hiked another 100m or so further ahead to a rocky plate section where we normally stop for a quick break, mostly n the descent. We had lunch as it was around noon and then traversed out onto the low ridge to the left. We had decided to take a bit of a different line to Tony's. he approached it all the way from the bottom of the riverbed, buy we decided to walk on the ridge a little to the South of the river section. So, before long we arrived at our selected path departure spot and headed up the ridge. This ridge is pretty steep and there is no path. I found a vague game path and followed it up the ridge. Really pretty views from the ridge. Did I mention it was steep? Maybe I wasn't as fit as before, maybe it was the heat, shucks, maybe my pack was too heavy, whatever the case I found the going quite hard.

Once we'd gained enough height it was time to traverse to the right towards the riverbed section which Tony ascended. This sideways hiking over broken terrain was tough on the feet. All 3 of us had sore feet after the 800m or so sideways traverse. It reminded me a lot of the Pins pass traverse I did a few years ago, but fortunately this one was a lot shorter. The slipping and sliding on the dried out soil and dry grass eventually ended once we reached the boulders in the dry riverbed. Happiness! Solid stuff under our feet. Flat top rocks - mostly, made the upwards movent much easier.

Before long we had gained a good amount of height again, and the false passhead was in sight. The neck (or col) got closer and closer and we eventually stood on it! The next day was my birthday and Sanet decided to carry a buddy Coke up for me. I could see she was struggeling a bit, so I suggested that she present me with my gift on this spot. She did not hesitate for a second! Into the backpack went her empty hand, and out she pulled a Coke can. It was only a small one (think 300ml) but man it tasted good! Yes, I shared it with her. We now had 2 choices. Go left up the very nice and easier looking grassy gully to the left, or straight ahead into the steep and tough gully. There really was no choice here, the only option for us was straight ahead. The views towards Twins was nice, but the sun was a bit in the way so we couldn't see much detail.

We decended a bit and then hit the steep gully. It was steep, but doable. All you had to do was take yur time, keep going and before long the top would present itself. Which was exactly how it happened for us. I did bonk about 7m from the top though - all the suger in the Cocke was burned up at this point and i had to stop and eat some nuts and fruit to obtain enough energy for the last push. 5 minutes was all it took and I was ready to go again.

We topped out at around 16H30 so still had quite a bit of sunlight left for the day. It was super nice to be on the escarpment at last, and we sat and rested for a few minutes and just admired the views. Couldn't rest too long as we still had to drop down the valley to get water at the river. We left Sanet at the packs and Van and myself carried our 3L bladders and 1L bottles down to the river, filled up with water and trekked back to where we had left our bags. Goodness gracious, adding 4L of water meant yu could immediately feel the weight increase for the last few meters to the top of Mlambonja pass. we decended down the path to Twins and arrived at an empty cave. Made camp, cleaned up, ate, and then just looked at the trillions of stars and the milky way moving over our heads. Went to bed at around 21H00 and was woken by the near-full moon a few times during the night. It was as bright as a spotligh in the complete darkness surrounding us. A nippy wind was blowing, and I was happy I had packed my buff and beany. Just shown you, never completely trust the weather forecast!

We were up at first light and made a steaming cup of coffee. Rusks were enjoyed by all for breakfast, and by 7H45 we leasurely hit th epath towards Cathedral Peak. Last night we had fille dup with enough water so that we each carried about 1.5L of water. I've always found water immediately south of Cathedral Peak, so I estimated that this amount of water would be sufficient to get us there. I wanted to stand on top of Cathedral Peak today, before descending to Barkers Chalet for our overnight spot. 

There are 5 dodgy spots that stand out for me on the Bell Traverse. Yes, the entire route is dodgy with huge dropoffs in sections, but nothing worse than what you would find on say the section immediately below Orange peel gap. For those who have never done th eBell Traverse before, I will describe these spots in a bit more detail. I have dne this route many times before. I've never been afraid on any of the obstacles. I've done them in the rain, in thick mist, in windy conditions, in all seasons and in both directions and it has never bothered me too much. Note that I'm not afraid of heights, but I certainly respect it and make sure I go slow and methodically over dodgy sections. Today was different though. For the first time I experienced fear, and i now sympathise a lot more with people struggling with a fear of heights.

Obstacle 1:
On the desent the first dodgy obstacle you will enounter is maybe 300m or so from Twins cave. Where the Mitre joins The Twins Cave rock complex, you have to step down a narrow rocky path with a bit of an intimidating drop-off immediately to your right. I went down it easily enough, but the problem is that at the crux of this obstacle, I bumped into the slightly overhanging rock on my left, and it pushed me towards the drop-off. Fortunately it was a soft bump, but if you have something sticking out like say a mattress or something you carry horizontally at the bottom of your pack, and this thing catches on this rock, things could go south very rapidly for you. I have a video of this section that I will add in later. I wnet down, put down my hiking poles (they are definitely in the way here(, and collected Van's as well. He came gingerly down, followed by Sanet. She had no problems on this obstacle, Van and myself experienced it a bit differently. It's easy enough to do as the walk down area at it's narrowest point is maybe 30cm wide, so you can walk down it but don't bump into the protruding rock. I took a video of it and will post it with this thread.

Obstacle 2:
After getting down obstacle 1, you immediately descend down the gully immediately to your left, onto the path leading out to the right. I didn't measure this one precisely, but you will come accross obstacle 2 basically in the vicinity of where the Chessmen join the Mitre. It's maybe 300m or so down the path once yu are walking horizontally again. This one is typically a bit harder for shorter people, and predictably Sanet found this one scarier than obstacle 1. You have to get over a hole in the path, which is maybe about 50cm wide, and on the other side of this gap is a flat rock but it is again about 50cm above the path, so you have to clear the gap and step up onto the rock. There is also a sizable dropp-off immediately to your left, you do not want to mess this one up. Van and myself went over and up it easily, but I had to pull Sanet up onto the path as she found the step up to be too high to do comfortably on her own. This obstacle would be easy enough for most people to do, but don't get fixated on the drop-off to the left. It's kinda like the approach to Rolands. Mostly good solid rock under your feet, but don't look at the drop-off to your left as it is intimidating. I didn't take a photo of this obstacle as I ws helpingSanet over it, so if anyone has a picture of it, lease add it here.

Obstacle 3:
This is the one that freaks people out the most, and for good reason.You will find it under the chessmen, and they will play chess with you at this obstacle. Don't make the wrong move! You have to climb around a rock in the middle of the path. The drop-off to your left is near vertical for the first 10m or so, then it grades out to maybe 70 degrees and much lower down it eases into maybe a 50 degree slope before dropping off a cliff. The footholds on the rock are barely wide enough for your feet, and the are slightly slanted towards the drop-off. You also have to climb up it, with maybe about 70cm gained in height. I definitely prefer doing this one on an ascent, but as we were descending the Bell Traverse today, I had to do it with the drop-off on my left, which, for right handed peope are typically a bit harder to do. A fire had recently been through this valley and it had done 2 particular things that made obstacle 3 much more risky than normal. It had burnt down all the grass, so there was absolutely nothing to hold onto (every other time I could hold onto berg grass for support and balance), and it had completely dried out the top layer of soil. Everything was therefore covered in a thin layer of sand and loose soil. It was like walking on marbles and I could feel my footholds weren't very secure. If I leaned too much inwards I could feel how my feet wanted to slide out, so I had to concentrate on staying as upright as possible so as to put all my weight down into the rock so that i wouldn't slip off it. By now I was over the first part, and I couldn't turn around, it was way too risky, so I had to go forward. About 5m forward was a downclimb section, again on bare rock, but at least here the rock below me was wider and nearly flat. I had to lower myself down on one leg, ans as I felt my backpack touch the heel of my boot I tilted forward and planted my left foot on the rock. My foot didn't slip and I was through obstacle 3. I walked a few feet forward where the path was wide enough and turned around to look at Sanet attempting the upclimb section. I normally help her over difficlut sections like this, but there was no way I was going to risk it today, it would be foolish to even attempt to help her as both of us could easily fall off here. I could see the fear in her face and realized that this obstacle, which she had also crossed many times before, with me, looked like DEATH to her. And she was right. 

Van helped her reverse her two upwards steps and she was back at the start of the obstacle. Thanks Van! Sanet walked about 50m back on the path looking for a suitable spot where she could downclimb and pass obstacle 3. Van, meanwhile, was checking out obstacle 3. He was hesitant. He said he was ok with the upclimb section, but after seeing what I had to do to exit the obstacle, he came to the same conclusion as Sanet. Not wanting to die today he followed her and the two of them dropped about 50m inheight, went below obstacle 3 and then had to climb up a pretty steep section to get back up to the contour path. 30m lost, but 2 lives saved today. Definitely worth the effort. Again, I didn't take a picture of this obstacle as it would have been suicidal. I'll look to see if I have a pic in my archives, but if anyone has ictures please add them in here.

We regrouped, took a quick breather and then headed onwards towards Cathedral Peak. We first encountered the inner horn, then switched over to the outer horn. At the switch point you sort of zig-zag down the side of the inner horn. Again, nothing dangerous here normally, but with super dry soil and no grass to hold onto, we had to go slow and pay special attention to where we placed our feet. I can't remember exactly where obstacle 4 is situated, but it is below the outer horn somewhere. It's really not much of a problem normally, and it was easy today, but you upclimb a section of rockband about 1.5m high. The initial step-up is high and shorter people might struggle a bit, but with the rock being dry today it was easy. Slightly more challenging in the wet, but if you do have to slide down it then at least the landing is about 60cm wide, so more than enough real estate to keep you safe. No problem for any of us today. Oh, there are 2 paths around this rockband, one high and one low. I suppose weather conditions would dictate which one you will take. By now it was properly hot and the sun was cooking us like kaiings, so I didn't even think of taking a photo of obstacle 4. If anyone has a pic, please add.

Obstacle 5:
If I remember correctly this one is fairly close to Bell cave. It's the final rockband on the Bell Traverse, and it is nearly 3m high. What makes it interesting is the fact that it has neat steps you can take to get up. More than enough place for your feet, and very evenly spaced. Lots of grip underfoot as well. I went down this in April 2024 and didn't even give it a second thought. Again, don't slip here as the drop-off is the problem here. Slow and steady will get you down easily and safely. 

The 3 of us stopped in Bell Cave for a quick photo or two and a snack, before proceeding towards Buggers Gulch. It was steep and loose as always, but I've always enjoyed going over it. The descent on the Natal side is getting more washed out by the day, but it has exposed some bedrock which makes it both safer and easier than before.

Problem. There was no water at Cathedral Peak. As far as we could see down the valley, the river that has always had some water for me, evenif it was only a small tricle or pond, was bone dry. Our water was nearly finished, and it was getting warmer by the second. The fire had ravaged Cathedral Peak as well, so we would agian be faced with the same situation as at obstacle 3. No grass to hold onto and very loose soil. Having already narrowly escaped death a few times today, on my birthday, I decided not to tempt fate any further today. The other two were in full agreement that we attempt CP at a more opportune time in the future. We had lunch on the flat rock below CP and then set off down the path. I nearly stepped upon a small chamelion on a rock in the path. it was perfectly camoufaged, and I only detected it by its funny way of walking, that typical rocking back and forth motion they have. Problem was, all the grass was burnt down so no grassy stalks were waving in the wind, so it stood out. Which saved it from being crushed under my boot. My first ever chamelion in the berg, wow, this was special! 

The rest of the path down to the waterfall just above Shermans cave was uneventful, except for Orange Peel gap. Wow, this orange is definitaly getting peeled! We were slipping and sliding down its side. I went up it in wet weather in April this year, and that wasn't too bad, but with everything being bone dry it was another matter all together! Sanet wasn't feeling like doing a bum slide down the orange peel as she has a brand new backpack, so it took us a good 15 minutes to descend this slippery shoot. About 1km form the waterfall Van ran out of water, and 500m form the waterfall I was starting to suck in only air from my bladder. It was quite a relief when we could fill up and get our bodies hydrated again. We filled our bottles and then set off for Barkers Chalet for our last night in the berg.

What a delightfull spot! I've never slept over here before, and the setting is truly idylic. The cave can easily sleep 8 people, you are tucked away into a natural forest with large, shady trees, surrounded by pools of water. I suppose in summer the river would be flowing here. We could wash down all the sweat and soot from the hike and sat and kuiered till late (9pm in the berg is late for me). The moon was once again a spotlight in the sky, but tonight it didn't bother me one little bit. A crow was making funny sounds not too far away in the trees. A small muse came to visit and he left with a full belly. Life was good and we all fell asleep, tired, but happy and content.

Sunday morning arrived with coffee and rusks, but I had to make it. Sanet was up early today and commandeered us up. By 7H30 we said goodbye to the cave and tackeld the last 3km's back to the hotel. I counted 8 helicopters on the lawn next to the soccerfield. Apparently some training was had over the weekend. For once we left the berg super early and got home long before sunset, which, for a chane, was good. 

Now I'm wondering where our next hike will be. It will have to be wet and the grass will have to be long enough to hold onto. I'll be back soon!

The target in sight
 

A view back dwn from the top of the zig-zags
 

Getting closer
 

I slipped on this crossing - it was covered in super slippery moss and I took a tumble and ended up up at the bottom of the rock from where I took the pic.
 

This is where we exited the path and got onto the southern ridge
 

On the ridge, looking down
 

Tea-cupping horizontally accross towards the riverbed
 

This is way steeper than it looks on the pic
 

Higher up, looking down
 

At last - stable footing in the riverbed!
 

Buck checking us out. There were 3 of them
 

The view upwards towards the false top
 

From the same spot looking down. Beautiful!
 

This pass just cariier on and on and on...
 

Looking back down at the false top
 

The nice and easy grass gully towards the left
 

The view towards Twins
 

Looking up the final gully
 

Looking back down
 

Topping out!
 

Resting at the top
 

Sunrise at Twins Cave 


Dodgy Obstacle 1 
 

Dodgy spot 3 viewed from further on the contour path
 

The detour followed to bypass obstacle 3
 

Dodgy spot 3 taken in Apr 2024. Note that the taller guy is close to 2m tall, and the step down is substantial

 
 
 
 
 

The contour path immediately after obstacle 3
 

Views from the BT
 

Same as above, looking at Bell cave in the background
 

Buggers gulch up view
 

Van coming up Buggers Gulch
 
 

Descending Buggers Gulch
 

Buggers Gulch
 

Looking back at BG Descent
 

Chamelion in the footpath
 

Hot, dry and everything burnt down
 

Orange peel gap slip and slide/rock coaster
 

Barkers Chalet - Nice!
 

Camp life
 

Barkers chalet - to the left