Sentinel Car Park to Cathedral Peak - Northern Berg Escarpment Traverse

Agree with tony, if you only have one car available to the group you are better off basing yourself somewhere and doing a loop. Their are some great options in the Northern 'berg at Cathedral Peak/Didima and Mweni.

Is their a reason you specifically want to do the whole "Northern Traverse"?

Hi Tony,

Thank you so much for the detailed answer!
We'll be traveling from Kruger on the 10th of March, and plan on spending a week roughly there, we got to go back to Jo'Burg on the 17th for our flight back. Do you know how is the roadtrip from Kruger to Drakensberg and from Drakensberg to Jo'Burg, it is nice / dangerous / worth doing?

Also, from what you are saying, i think we will probably stick to making a series of day hikes or shorter overnight hikes indeed, so i will try to find out more about the Bell traverse for example. How safe is it to leave your car overnight when you so short summit hikes like that, do you have to leave it on the side of the road simply, or in a parking lot?

Thanks for the advice on the locals as well, i was actually thinking the same, bring some cigarettes and chocolate bars and the like:)

@firephish - we were thinking about that particular hike because of several reasons, one was that we wanted something a bit more difficult / challenging but at the same time spectacular and doable in 5-6 days, and then, also because i had a difficult time in clarifying what exactly to do and where to go:)

Actually this brings me to another point - is there a place where i can see detailed online maps of the area, cause i had a real hard time in finding anything to show me stuff like trails, or camps, or any other detailed info. I was really able only to follow the terrain on Google earth to get an idea of the basic feel of the terrain and difficulty, but i would need more to plan properly!

Thanks again!!

Ok, cool. If you are confident hikers/scramblers the bell traverse is definitely an option.

There is a GPS track in the downloads section you can import into Google Earth, here:

www.vertical-endeavour.com/downloads/viewdownload/7-drakensberg-passes/110-bell-traverse-gps-data.html

This is an easy 2/3 day hike starting from and returning to Cathedral Peak Hotel / Didima. If you wanted to extend it to a 4/5 day hike you could just continue further south along the escapement and descend to the Hotel via Organ Pipes pass (via Camel Route probably easiest). Most people new to the 'berg would probably find such a route challenging - but you are looking for a challenge right?

Oh great, that GPS data is exactly what we need:)

That route sounds great indeed, in terms of starting and finishing at the same point. I was wondering then, would those few days ( 6-7 ) be enough to see at least that small part of Drakensberg?

And apart for that GPS data, what do you guys use as maps? I was looking for something like Slingsby's maps but online:)

Laila
you will find scanned copies of the Slingsby maps at www.berg.co.za in their maps section, eg cathedral peak . These are probably only suitable for planning purposes. Slingsby maps of the Drakensberg are no longer available, but Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have reprinted a series of 6 maps using the Slingsby data, these maps are available from many Drakensberg Resorts & Camps as well as slingsbymaps and mountain mail order .

I just checked with Cathedral Peak Hotel, and they do have the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife maps in stock at their shop.

Hope this helps .

edit: long VE discussion about Drakensberg Maps here

Hasamatt kindly provided a map overlay for the cathedral peak area that works with Google Earth (this would be the same as the slingsby map for the area essentially), you can get it here:

www.dropbox.com/sh/q4ptbqptq4922au/5AF4lVckie

If you wanted to continue further south after the bell traverse and descend to the hotel via Organ Pipes pass, the GPS track is here:

www.vertical-endeavour.com/downloads/viewdownload/7-drakensberg-passes/28-organ-pipes-pass-camel-route-gps-data.html

Good luck with your planning.

Oh perfect, the maps will be extremely helpful:)

So after finishing the Bell traverse, what do you guys suggest we do in the remaining 2-3 days, what would be other points worth visiting, even if it would be just day hikes without overnighting? Thanks so much for the great support!

Regarding your travelling, Kruger to Drakensberg would be on tarred main roads and quite safe, and through quite scenic areas, showcasing a diversity of South African scenery. Allow the better part of a day for this trip.

The trip back from Drakensberg to Joburg would mainly be on multi lane tarred highway and would take about 5 hours.

The car will be totally safe overnight for a few days, as you will park at the hotel parking area, or hikers car park, which is safe and monitored. Remember to fill in the mountain register at Didima office.

A very worthwhile hike to do would be the Bell Traverse from Cathedral Peak Hotel to the Drakensberg summit, summit traverse south to the top of Organ Pipes, and return down Organ Pipes Pass. This would take 3 days, and if you have a spare day or two you could do day hikes, or day drives/hikes to other areas of the Drakensberg.

Slingsby maps were great but originate from the 1980's and are thus not friendly for gps, although they do show the terrain and topography very accurately, and to plan your hike you would want the current hiking geomap before you arrive, so buying at the shop would not really help you either. Unfortunately we don't have online Drakensberg maps you can view, the best would be to open the gps track of the Bell Traverse to Organ Pipes Pass route in Google Earth and view it that way. I can also assist you with various gps tracks, and a scanned map of the area, if you are prepared to let me have your email address, which you can send to me on the pm (private message) section on this website.

Thanks again, i PMed you right now!

That's exactly what we wanted too, a multiday hike like that and smaller day hikes in the remaining days, so that settles my questions too

Hi.I would like some advice regarding planning a mini traverse. I am planning to go in mid-June this year. Advice on best route, where to leave and collect vehicles, expected number of days.
Alternatively I would appreciate some ideas on 3 night hikes in the berg that are clearly marked and not too overgrown.
Many thanks.