Berg Alert 2010

mnt_tiska wrote:

Apart from that bit of fight back, what else is there to put these guys off robbing hikers?

Good question. Suggestions welcome here. I think that if the authorities had to visit the locals concerned it could help (I think this may have been done before though). Certainly our apparent affluence compared to them doesn't help, and so some sort of community upliftment would be ideal, though not a quick and easy solution.

@Kragbees: do you know if this was at the old or new campsite? The new one is inside the first boom gate, is fenced off, and there are supposed to be security people around. Where they there at the time or was their stuff unattended?

They are both on the RHS when driving in, but the old one is in a dense bunch of trees before you get to the first boom gate at the bottom of Mikes Pass. The new one is opposite the turn-off to Didima Camp and has newish looking ablution blocks and fencing.

The details of this incident interest me greatly, appreciate all the info you can get.

Thank you for getting these details Kragbees, I appreciate that. Its disappointing that this is happening even at the new campsite, but I guess a 30-year old habit is proving hard to to break! Have been meaning to get back to you about whether the old campsite is still open. I phoned Didima camp this morning and they say it is now a picnic area (it always was lovely under those trees). As I understand it, the relocation of the campsite had a lot to do with KZN Wildlife's policy on moving structures out of 1-in-50-year flood lines. I also invited Didima to give a response to what happened 2 weeks back. Understandably they need to consult the resort manager and/or the media officer about any sort of official response, and I'll update anything that I can about this.

From Vertical Endeavour and from a fellow hiker, I want to say that any security incident in the Berg is something that I take personally and do no wish to see repeated to anyone. Lets face the problem, talk about it and take all possible counter-measures.