Injisuthi hikes - 4 days or longer

Hi All,

My family and some friends are going on our first overnight hiking trip to Injusuthi, can anyone please advise what to pack and what to leave, we are 4 adults and 3 children? What is a absolute must and what can we go with out? we are going the Easter weekend?

Thanks in advance?

Welcome to the site

Remember that your main priority must be to keep your pack as light as possible - just not taking it so far that you jeopardise safety.

Basic overnight kit for a small Berg cave overnight hike:
- Sleeping bag
- Ground mat
- Space blanket (for emergencies - weighs about 20g and costs about R20)
- First aid kit (probably 2 for a group of 7)
- 1 change of clothes (remember that you shouldn't hike in your dry clothes if a pair is wet - dry clothes are for sleeping in)
- A warm top/fleece
- A raincoat
- Map
- GPS/Compass/something for navigation
- Gloves and beanies
- Enough food

A gas stove is really an optional item outside of winter. For such a large group you can probably take 1 or 2 and just do large batches of water.

The 2 questions of packing are:
1) will I almost definitely need this?
2) is it reasonably likely that I might be in serious danger if I don't take this item?

If you can't answer yes to either, leave it at home. It is all the small items (solar chargers etc) that add up and make your pack ultra-heavy.

Having decided on a watered down trip... teenage girls..."long time no hike dad"... we decided on a circular and hopefully scenic walk. I haven't done this stretch: We can do it either way, but for now the plan is:(Slingsby's map) Injasuthi- up Van Heyningens Pass- up Shada ridge towards contour path... camp(tent somewhere there- Hit a left towards Cowl Fork and continue along the contour path and back via Grindstone Caves... we have three nights to meander and explore... hopefully with good vistas and alluring peaks behind us. Depending on circumstances- some of us might do a day walk up a pass? or up to see Cowl Cave (any suggestions?) We plan to have a relaxed contour path trip. I would assume there is enough potential camping spots? About 3 tents... We sacrifice our own pleasures for the sake of our children

Thanks this is a huge help.

Thanks, we are booked in the Grinestone cave on the 1st night and on the second and third we want to set up tent where ever. I heard that it is possible to set up tent along the way, as long as you have a roof you can basically sleep anywhere. We want to go and see the Marble baths and then I saw some interesting caves like the Dino Cave and Cow something.
Will revert back after the weekend, we just still trying to get everything before we go.

Having decided on a watered down trip... teenage girls..."long time no hike dad"... we decided on a circular and hopefully scenic walk. I haven't done this stretch: We can do it either way, but for now the plan is:(Slingsby's map) Injasuthi- up Van Heyningens Pass- up Shada ridge towards contour path... camp(tent somewhere there- Hit a left towards Cowl Fork and continue along the contour path and back via Grindstone Caves... we have three nights to meander and explore... hopefully with good vistas and alluring peaks behind us. Depending on circumstances- some of us might do a day walk up a pass? or up to see Cowl Cave (any suggestions?) We plan to have a relaxed contour path trip. I would assume there is enough potential camping spots? About 3 tents... We sacrifice our own pleasures for the sake of our children Any advice or suggestions of similar hike?

Hi All,
Our weekend is finally around the corner, does anyone have a aerial photo of the route to the Grindstone Caves in the injisuthi area and one for Marble Baths, alternatively what is the difficulty level of these two hikes? Any advise is welcome....

I have been past Marble Baths quite a few times. It's quite a straight forward hike on easy paths. In the first 20 minutes from the road there is a river crossing which can be tricky if water levels are up and you don't want to get your feet wet but it isn't a dangerous river as such..

The total distance to the Baths is 7km from the road / bridge. Overall the path is easy with no significant uphill sections although it can get overgrown in parts.

Hope this helps? Enjoy!