Injesuthi Hike Report:Centenary Hut-Corner Pass-Mafadi-Leslie's Pass

Hike Report: Centenary Hut -Corner Pass - Injesuthi Upper Cave - Mafadi - Leslie’s Pass-Marble Baths

We (six hikers of mixed fitness, age & experience) did a four day hike this weekend, starting at Injesuthi EKZNW Camp on Thursday 9 April 2025. We headed out at noon for Centenary Hut which we reached long after dark due to some adventures crossing the very full rivers, and Heartbreak Hill. It rained on & off all night, and despite damage to the roof (presumably due to strong winds) the hut remained largely warm & dry. Although the hut was weatherproof we found the inside & surrounds dirty & strewn with litter, perhaps a consequence of also providing refuge to smugglers & rural travellers; however the abandoned malfunctioned stove & gas bottle as well as other litter suggests that hikers are also responsible for some of the mess.

Friday dawned cloudy & drizzly and we set off later than intended along the contour path and up Corner Pass having briefly considered taking the Northern High Approach route. There are very few easy routes to the top of the escarpment and Corner Pass is not one of them, but the weather held and we made it up by late afternoon. Thereafter followed the long trek up to the Injesuthi Ridge with another 200m in altitude gain with some spectacular views out over a cloudy KwaZulu-Natal, with the mist rolling in & out as we went. We traversed across to Upper Injesuthi Cave in the dark, (navigating by altimeter) and we found the cave mostly dry but with numerous drips in the front half of the cave. Tired & cold we quickly settled in, ate & went to sleep.
    
Saturday dawned still, bright & clear with a carpet of cloud below. We ate, and set off for Mafadi via Injesuthi Peak and had perfect weather for the summit of ZA’s highest peak. We spent quite a bit of time there, including a very amicable encounter with Khumalo the herdsman, his young son and seven dogs. Then it was off across the escarpment again, fortunately mostly downhill now, to the top of Leslie’s Pass where we had lunch. A 25 minute round-trip to the valley below was required to fetch water as we did not pass any streams or drips along the way. At 2pm we set off down the pass and a very short way down found the lifeless body of an African Marsh Harrier, with no clear evidence of how it had died. Onwards & downwards we went, through loose scree, boulder fields, slippery grass slopes and finally the very steep descent down the final ridge between two tributary rivers to the campsite at 2100m. We had a brief debate about pushing on to Marble Baths Cave, but with all of us tired (some a lot more than others) and the prospects of bushwacking in the dark we decided to put up our tents, refuel, recover and soak in the mountain splendour instead. It’s a great little campsite snuggled up against the mountains and the full moon & clear sky made it a very special evening.
   
Sunday dawned bright, still and dewy which soon dried off, and with a long walk out ahead we set off towards Marble Baths. We took the Terrace Path that attempts to skirt along the edge of the river valley but bush encroachment means that the first hour was meandering and bushwacking though shrubs, trees and bushes. Thereafter the path varied between pleasant river-gravel and more shrubs and bushwacking to Marble Baths which we reached at 10am and spent an hour swimming, sliding and refuelling in the warm sunshine.
After that it was onwards & downwards for the final three hour walk out to back to the EKZNW Camp at Injesuthi.
  
Once again it was a memorable four days well spent in our magnificent mountain environment. It is difficult at times not to feel disappointed and frustrated that EKZNW do so little to maintain & preserve the paths, huts, caves and overall experience that they have been given authority over. But then I realise that in their lethargy lies a world of opportunity for those who are willing and able to experience what the very first Drakensberg explorers & adventurers must have experienced without crowds, restraint or restriction. And that is a privilege that I should not take lightly.

Thank you again to the VE community for this valuable repository of accurate, relevant and credible information.
 

What was the condition of the approach road to Injasuthi camp like? Is it still do-able in a normal sedan?

Good write up, thanks! And great pics !!!

Great write up, thanks! Awesome pictures guys! 

Hi ysb33r
the road in has some short (20-40m) badly broken up sections but they are negotiable by just going slowly. The EKZW section has been gravelled over the tar i.e. it is basically now a gravel road. A sedan will be fine if you're used to ZA roads.

Hi andrew r,
I am planning the same route next year March, so it has helped a lot (note to self get an early start  )
However, still undecisive in terms of taking the Corner pass or maybe the bit longer Judges Pass?
Great report and pics !!!

 

I was planning to go up Corner Pass early next week, but I am now wondering with the snow fall of the past week, whether it will be wet or choked with snow. Maybe it would be better to detour to Judges Pass.

 

I've done it in both wet and snow, and also with a bit of ice. Wet and snow no real problem, iced up was a bit more slippery but I still found enough hand and foot holds to easily get over the obstacles. In my opinion, Corner pass is much nicer than Judges, with the scrambles, the narrow pass etc. Also colder as it is sheltered from the sun. If it is impassable you can always decend to where the chimney starts and just take the "Around the Corner" pass. This gets full sun for most of the day and will definitely nothave any ice left on it by now.

There wasn't much snow and it's been hot enough to probably melt most of the snow in the pass.