Bushmans Neck day hikes

I notice there seem to be several passes in the Bushmans Nek area. Can anyone suggest a good Day trip from the hotel? Preferably to the top of the Berg.
I am comfortable with a good 6/7 hour hike.

Thanks

So I know this thread is 4 years old but today I decided to take a solo trip to Thamathu Cave and if time allowed go up the pass onto the escarpment.
I managed to convince my family to let me go for a hike, so never doing this route before I decided to go light and fast. Needed to be up and down as fast as possible
My first goal was to get to the cave and from there depending on time try and have a go at the pass.
So I started off at the Border Post ,set my new Garmin Fenix watch which has a built in GPS to head me towards Thamathu Cave, I arrived at Thamathu Cave in 1hr53min and my garmin was within 2metres of the cave so I was mightily impressed.
I left the cave and headed up the path above the cave to try find water as my bottle was now empty.
I found a little trickle half way up the path above the cave. I filled my bottle and head to the top of the ridge, looking down at my watch I then realised I had been 30mims looking around the cave and its surrounds and my push for the escarpment would have to happen another time.
Managed to descend the path reasonably quickly, it was pretty uneventful on the return trip, I must however say that this is a first time that I haven't hiked with trekking poles and they definitely make a huge difference. Especially on the descent.
My stats for the day were
Total distance. 15.5km
Total time: 3hours 57min
Total Ascent. 708m
Total Descent. 685m
Photos to follow

All in all a great day hike..

Hey guys,

Looking for a bit of advice here from the locals down south of the berg.
I have only ever done northern and central berg trails but next month I will be heading down to Bushmans Nek/Sani Pass area for Ultra trail Drakensberg.

I will be staying at Bushman hotel for a few days after the race and would also like to check out another part of the suthern berg for later on in the week.
I wont be taking any overnight gear with me and will most probably just be staying in normal accomodation during the whole trip.

Im basically just looking for suggestions on areas/day trails that are must see's for my week there.
and also any suggestions on where to stay after I leave Bushmans Nek hotel.

If there is a worth while/notiable over night hike ( preferably lower berg as I dont think I will have the legs to top out after the race) then perhaps I will pack some extra gear.

Thanks in advance.
Rob.

 

Rhino Peak via Mashai Pass is the most popular route in the area, a true classic and well worth the effort.

If you are up for a bigger day, the South Knuckle at Bushmans Nek makes for a great day out. Or even better - do all 3. But if you are sore after your race, that's probably a bit much for a day.

A very easy day hike is Sleeping Beauty Cave. You have towering sandstone cliffs above you the entire way. You can continue up the valley past the cave if you like, although the most intersting parts are before the cave. In December in the early morning, the rock formation called The Monk is hit by the light perfectly and actually looks like a monk - although it is a bit late in the year for that now. That hike won't take very long, though - in a time when I was fitter, I managed to get from the offices to the cave in under an hour - and that didn't include any running.

As Smurf mentioned, Sehlabethebe is a good option if you still have the legs.