VE Cobham Weekend

28 to 30 October we had a VE weekend away in the mountains, we had put the invite out to all members and were fortunate enough to have 11 members join us at some stage during the weekend, as well as a couple non members.

diverian and Witchiwoo had been camping for 5 days already when Intrepid, ClimbyKel, Lorinda, tonymarshall, Papa Dragon, Katya and myself joined them at 9am on Friday.
We all had a quick discussion about routes and decided to head up to Mpongweni rock art site. After a quick stop at Boundary Rock we climbed up 400m to the top of the ridge. The crack in Siphongweni Cave was explored before having lunch at the overhang which contains some great paintings!

Mpongweni rock art site from Siphongweni Cave


This area contains some very interesting rock formations which reminded me of the Whytes Cave area.


My sunglasses survived a fall from the top of here


There were a few drops of rain and lots of threatening thunder as we headed back to the campsite in the late afternoon.
We were lucky enough to see a massive herd of eland (I counted 76) next to the river, as well as a couple secretary birds.

A few more members joined us for a great evening around diverian and Witchiwoo's awesome tent setup (a huge thanks for their hospitality!)
The braai and drinks were enjoyed by all as we got to know each other a bit better.

At 5am on Saturday we were "greeted" by diverian giving us a wake up call with some pot bashing! I'm sure the few other people in the campsite were not too charmed...
Our original plan was to camp about 7km upstream on the Pholela river but with 8 of us doing the overnight portion of the day we decided to overnight in Spectacle Cave for two reasons: there was a bit of rain forecast, and it was closer to the escarpment as a base camp.

The new arrivals that joined in for this portion were JonWells and Sterkhorn. The other 6 overnighting were Intrepid, ClimbyKel, Lorinda, tonymarshall, Katya and myself.
We set off at 7am on another very warm day. At the 7km mark we stopped for a quick dip at the original camping spot to cool off, and bid farewell to Papa Dragon who had walked in with us, but had to head back to attend his son's 21st.

From there we continued up the Pholela valley for another 6km to arrive at Spectacle Cave just before 11:30.


We all enjoyed the shade that the cave offered and rested up for about half an hour before starting the afternoon mission…. Amakehla Pass. Intrepid was the only one who had done it, while almost everyone had done Masubasuba Pass so the choice was clear.

Spectacle Cave


Half of the group opted for a relaxing afternoon at the river, while tonymarshall, Intrepid, Katya and myself headed off.

The 1st view of Amakehla Pass from directly above Spectacle Cave


About to start the steeper sections on the pass


We topped out at 15:30 after encountering rain, hail, thunder and lightning, the worst of it was as we hit the escarpment. Shortly after coming back down the top gully we were greeted with sunshine again!
We ascended the full ridge route, while descended down the main gully from the saddle before contouring around to the ridge again. Tony will post full details of the pass in this thread
At 6PM we arrived back at the cave to enjoy some well deserved beers!
We bunkered down for a fairly warm night under the clear skies.

The Sunday morning greeted us with mist and a very light drizzle at times. Everyone sleeping on the bottom section the cave had gotten slightly damp during the night. It seemed Katya and I had inadvertently chosen the best spot on the top level.

The planned swimming spot


We had hoped to have a nice swim on the way back but the cool misty weather put a damper to that idea and we arrived back at the campsite at 10:30, while Sterkhorn headed off for another night in the mountains, camping around Pinnacle Rock.

By all accounts everyone had a great weekend. It's always nice putting faces to the names we see on here so often.

Thanks to everyone that made this event as memorable and thoroughly enjoyable as it was. Its been one of few VE gatherings that didn't involve pangas and pine trees! I particularly enjoyed the social aspect of this trip too.

During my time in South Arica I was able to visit not just Cobham, but Garden Castle, the Mnweni and Qwa Qwa too. I am very grateful for the time I've been able to spend with various VE members in the Berg during this time. Thank you for being part of memories that will see me through until my next visit whenever that may be. I write this as I am already thousands of kilometers away from the Berg, on my long journey back home to Canada. The mountains waiting for me there are already heavily laden with snow, and while I will enjoy them thoroughly, in my heart I will cherish fresh memories of warm, crumbly basalt, grassy landscapes, the bark of baboons, and a very unique and special Drakensberg landscape! I appreciate the fact that I am not alone in this enchantment with the Dragon - thank you to everyone on VE that continues to make this community what it is.

Till the next time.