VE Berg trip 4 - Busingatha Valley

Firstly, I am grateful to the AmaZizi for allowing us to see some of the community and to explore their wilderness. Through this trip I have come to understand and appreciate Amagug'Ezizwe (Treasure of the Nation) that much better. It is a name which refers both to their culture and their mountains - which to them are profoundly interconnected. It is very encouraging to see how concerned they are are about their own environment and what they are doing about it.

Secondly, I am grateful for the team that made the trip happen. It was enjoyable to get to know those that I hadn't met before. I particularly appreciated the good spirits of everyone on the second day as we attempted to reach the escarpment via the southern Inner Tower Gully. Inspite of a long day, which started and ended off with ploughing through some pretty horrible bush, and not having reached the top properly, everyone was co-operative and cheerful, and everyone still enjoyed the outing. Thanks also to our guides Petrus Ngwane and Elijah Mbonane, who not only showed us around, but also gave us some wonderful glimpses into the AmaZizi culture, and taught us many Zulu names and medicinal uses of the plants growing in the mountains.

Thirdly, on the objective of trying to reach the escarpment via the southern Inner Tower Gully - let it be said that this route is only for the very adventurous, and requires a good level of fitness and determination. Furthermore it requires a competence in being able to scramble up short rock pitches. It is better described as a scrambling route than a hiking route. The three of us that reached the neck between Inner Tower and the Amphitheatre turned back due to time constraints. If we had not done this, we would have been walking back to our cave in the dark (as it is we only narrowly escaped this). I have been on this neck on several other occasions, which we accessed via the escarpment. This last section involves two tricky bits too and a bit of fun scrambling. Its a pity we didn't manage to get all the way up on this occasion, nonetheless we now we know that the entire route is do-able, but that it shouldn't be seen as a straightforward hiking route. If it even can be classified as a pass, then it is technically more difficult that any other pass I've done so far. I know this route has been done by some MCSA companions previously, but I believe it has seen very few ascents.

In closing, this is the first trip of several hopefully, as this area still has much more to offer.

Scenic panorama of the AmaZizi Drakensberg, viewed from Busingatha Cave:



You may have read and heard that the proposed cableway bottom station is infested by wattle and that the land is thus disturbed already - the implication being, "who then cares if the land is disturbed further by building a cable car". However it is very important to emphasise that it is only the actual area around the proposed site which is wattle infested. The AmaZizi nature reserve and wildnerness area is actually very pristine, relatively untouched and has a biodiversity of 80%. The cable car would affect and disturb this area too, since pylons would need to be built and the cables would run over this land. The wattle would in time probably be removed anyway through the work of the AmaZizi Wilderness Group since alien plant eradication is part of what they do. Wattle invasion even occurs within the MDP-WHS and it simply has to be managed.

Close up of Eastern Butress shown below. Note the sharp arete coming down near the right-hand skyline, made visible by the shadows, extending into the long, green grassy ridge to the right of the red face. This is the Singati Arete - arguably amongst the finest and most aesthetically pleasing of all berg climbing routes.