Berg Alert 2012

Here's the ECR story www.ecr.co.za/kagiso/content/en/east-coast-radio/east-coast-radio-news?oid=1576421&sn=Detail&pid=6028&Safety-alert-for-Berg-hikers-

"Safety alert for Berg hikers
28 March 2012 - 11:59
By Shaun Ryan
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife officials have assured tourists and back packers who are planning on visiting the Drakensberg next week that it's safe.

Last week five hikers who had camped overnight in the Amphitheatre region had some of their equipment stolen while they were asleep.

Their shoes and backpacks were stolen from their tents.

Wildlife authorities have urged hikers to use a watch system at night and to remain vigilant at all times.

They say they will continue teaming up with the police to conduct regular patrols.

Ezemvelo's Musa Mntambo says the unfortunate incident was the first in three years.

"As Ezemvelo we will continue sending our field rangers up the mountains to camp there overnight. We also urge hikers, when they are over-nighting in the Drakensberg area, to stay within the vicinity of our field rangers' tents. Also, we will continue with our combined patrol operations with the South African police.""

I heard stories about a major dagga-bust in the Cathedral Peak area just before Easter, and here it is. (This explains why the police were flying around in a chopper over the weekend).

www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/police-make-drug-bust-at-boarder-1.1273534
- 920kg of dagga, 48 bags, street value of R1.8 million seized (which was probably carried over passes like Organ Pipes and Tlanyaku)
- Four men (in their early twenties) and a 16-year-old boy arrested, and will attend a bail hearing on 17 April
- They were in possession of a 9mm pistol
- The operation was a joint effort by Pietermaritzburg Equestrian Unit, the SAPS Airwing and KZN Wildlife.

There are no reports that hikers and visitors to the area were affected.

Seems like there was a second bust and another 3 were arrested. Police came across a donkey train laden with 28 bags of dagga, 514kg worth R1 million that allegedly came down Mnweni pass.
www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/alleged-drug-couriers-in-court-1.1273892

My own Berg trip over Easter started off with the news of the major drug busts that had just happened from people we met on the trail, with more detail than what was reported in the media. We were told that things were on high alert and it was suggested we be very careful and that we should avoid leaving gear unattended. And we saw and heard the choppers flying around the Mnweni several times during the trip. So the smuggling was very much on our minds, and we had to consider what to do with the rest of our gear while we were up on the peaks climbing. So in that sense I do see these incidents as a Berg alert. It affected us.

I think the smuggling activities in the Berg are reason to talk about. They are not a reason to keep quiet. It is part of our Berg experience and will thus come up naturally time and again, as much as any other topic does. I think a silence on the topic is unrepresentative of what we go through and see out there. It is vital that we share knowledge, insights and updates with each other. Even discussing how we interact with them is vital. I do not believe this necessarily equates to being a threat to them, nor that it will compel people to start becoming a threat to them. It is primarily about being alert and informed. It is about our safety. Even overseas visitors pick up on the issues and they wonder what to do when visiting the Berg. We all need a place where we can get info on what it is all about, where it is happening, how to interact with them and how to avoid potential problems. That is the spirit in which we should be discussing this.

There is a risk in South Africa that we become too fixated on crime and negativity. I do want to guard this forum from that, but I do not believe we need this right now. In comparison we spend way more time discussing other topics and generally I find the tone on the forum to be positive and constructive.

Certainly I understand and support the concern that they should never perceive us to be a threat. But we are not giving them a reason to perceive that, nor is forum chatter resulting in more busts. The authorities are well aware of the issues and have their own intel. There are more patrols and confrontations that go on than the public is even aware of. The smuggling is also definitely not a secret. Everyone living in the area is painfully aware of it and media reports are pretty blatant anyway. We know it, they know it.

Years ago I wondered off solo into the Ndemdema and Organ Pipes area with little awareness and understanding of what I was walking into. I had several encounters with the smugglers on that trip, some of which really rattled me at the end and led me to breaking off the hike early. There was no forum and I had almost no people whom I could relate and talk to about what I had seen. Since then I've encountered them many other times. Many of the encounters are uneventful with little interaction other than a hello or wave. Some were a bit scary. Others were fun and interactive, even very large groups of smugglers having loads of fun seeing themselves on our digital cameras. The difference now is an understanding of what is going on. And a forum where others have the same experience.

The Berg Alert thread needn't be overly focused on the smuggling, that is not its main objective. It aims to present current information on security topics for hikers, climbers and and any other user group in the Berg. If that at times includes references or reports about the smuggling I think its OK. Let us continue emphasizing and focusing on the good, without ignoring the bad and the ugly.