Round trip with Cockade pass

A group of us are planning to hike up Cockade and down something else in the near future. I'm looking for ideas.
We've done Camel and Tseketseke many times before, so I'm preferably looking for something else. In an ideal world I'd like to go up Cockade day 1 and down something else day 2 for a short day 3 back to the hotel. So 2 nights in the berg.

The options that come to mind are Xeni, Organs, and Mlambonja. I've never done Mlambonja so I'm quite keen on it, but I don't think there are any good camping spots at its base. Xeni and Organs have the same problem (and Xeni has the difficulty challenge as well).
Am I overlooking anything? Worst case we could start from Twins on day 3, but it is a long day back including the drive.

Can one still start from the hotel and hike up Cockade in a single day? I'm aware of the rock slide and I'm wondering how much more difficult the pass is.
This same group did the route from the hotel up Camel in the rain and snow in a single (long) day last year, so that should give an idea of fitness.
 

Hi Zecrates,

You can also overnight in Twins cave, or any of the other caves at the top if you decide to descend via Mlambonja pass. It's typically pretty quick down this pass. We typically descend in under 6 hours and then its fairly slow and not pushing at all. Fastest was near 4 hours, but that was much harder. 

Any of the Xeni passes or Mlambonja South Buttresses passes will work, but they are all very steep, with Xeni South the easiest of the 3. Mlambonja will be way easier and faster in general. As Smurf mentioned, all these passes have camping spots at the bottom at or around contour level. 
Is going Cockade up in a day possible? Yes. If you are fit enough you can even get back down in a day, but again, this effort will be way harder. Its all a matter of your fitness and strength levels, the conditions of the terrain and weather of the specific day etc. 

So, to summarize - Cockade up and any of the passes you mentioned down in 1 day will be something you will remember for a while. It will be a rather epic adventure. Especially with a 20kg backpack. Up in a day, down the next day will be much more doable for reasonably fit and strong hikers. 3 days for this loop I would say is a typical and average amount of time, leving lots of time for rest breaks and taking in the scenary. Mlambonj down is generally fast and easy, but Xeni and Mlambonja South Buttress passes will be harder and slower going.

Take the above info and build yourself a cool hike, and above all, enjoy the Berg!!!

Thanks Smurfatefrog and Riaan!
Sounds like Mlambonja is the way to go. Do you have GPS coordinates for the contour level camping spot? How many tents can it take?

I don't have the coordinates, but I can tell you exactly how to get to it. Here goes:

As you go down Mlambonja pass you will go pass the col with Twins cave on your left. It's nice and open and grassy, with a clear and well defined footpath. As you descend you will soon enter the river gorge section. You will be in and out of it for a while, but most of the time the path is easy to follow, except for a few places where it crosses the stream. Eventually the terrain will start to open up as you exit the gorge. Here, you will transition over to the right side (true right) of the river, and you will basically be walking on a ridge. It sort of curves out to the right and then comes back in to the left, back to the river.

As you arrive at the river, you should see a couple of flat rock bed sections right in front of you. The 1TreeHill path exits the river right at this same point - you should be able to find this easily on the KZN maps. Now, the sleeping spot you are looking for is a few hundred meters downstream from this spot. You should be able to see the footpath ascending from the river up to the contour path a bit above it, on your right (and on the right of the river). The camping spot is roughly at the base of this ascending, steep path.

Another way to find it, is to look for the tallest tree next to the river in the vicinity of this ascending path. I am of course assuming this tree still exists. If it does, it's an easy marker to aim for. There are, if I remember correctly, 2 cleared areas under and around this tree. Definitely enough space for 2 tents, not sure if it can accommodate more tents. The ground is reasonably flat and smooth here - definitely much better than the surrounding landscape!

There is a path/trail leading to this spot as well, so when you walk from the rock plate section where you encounter the river after the ridgewalk and you find this path, it will take you right to the campsite. It's on the right hand side (true right) of the stream.

Hope it helps!

Enjoy the Berg!!!