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Mnweni hikes - 4 days or longer
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We have taken a lift from the cultural centre before when doing Mnweni pass. They drop you off when the large tree on a slope to the left of the road comes into sight. This saves about an hour or more on Mnweni walk.
The road does carry on from there!!! So, is it possible to catch a lift a little further down the road if doing Ifidi pass, and get a little closer to Cycad cave/ flat rocks.
Another question, can tents be put up on the flat rock / ledge camp. We will be doing this at the end of April as art of a 4 passes hike and will need a place for 6 tents as high up the pass as possible, but still being safe and comfortable,,, OK, Berg comfortable.
Do we have a waypoint for this camp?
Any comments on the lifts / camp spot welcomed.
G
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Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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Geordie wrote: Another question, can tents be put up on the flat rock. We will be doing this at the end of April as art of a 4 passes hike and will need a place for 6 tents as high up the pass as possible, but still being safe and comfortable,,, OK, Berg comfortable.
Do we have a waypoint for this camp?
Any comments on the lifts / camp spot welcomed.
G
No waypoint for the flat rocks upstream of Cycad - except that they were in and surrounding the river and a few kms further on from Cycad. We slept out - so no tents and were scattered around over several meters - where ever there was a sufficiently flat enough spot for one person to be comfortable. It is not possible to pitch a tent here. Out on the river terrace it may be 'possible' - but it will be rough, uneven and vegetated. Therein lies the advantage of sleeping out - great flexibility but you'd need to watch the forecast v.carefully and not everyone likes doing it.
The next day, on the way up Ifidi, I kept an eye out for what would have been the next best place to have stopped and I didn't see one.
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intrepid wrote: One day when they build the bridge across the Mnweni, close to the junction with the Ifidi, which is apparently in the pipeline, it will be possible to drive all the way to the school.
Not just "in the pipeline" anymore. The bridge over the Mnweni was under construction during our hike in December 2011 so should be complete by now?
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So no tenting past Cycad and Cycad looks dodgy, how about camping in the river bed just before the pull up to Cycad??
How big is Cycad and how bad is Cycad. We could carry a broom from the centre to sweep it out, or am I dreaming??
This is my Northern most adventure after Mnweni Pass so please confirm the route to Cycad!. From the cultural centre, it looks as if you stay next to the river past the new bridge and then cross the Mnweni close to the confluence and then start bending left up the Ifidi valley. Am I correct?
Also I take it that there is a major path which, in berg fashion, will reveal itself as we go along?
We will start just after lunch and I don’t want to get lost before we even get to Cycad cave. Has anyone got this on a GPS track or am I worrying about what is actually a simple to follow road/path??
Regards
G
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There was a path to cycad and many paths leading to the last Kraal prior to cycad which was abandoned. The kraals had fruit trees next to them - possibly peach.
After cycad the path was vague and when we spotted a local on the morning of day 2 while we were still at the 'flat rocks' and asked where the path was, the guy helpfully pointed at the river and said that is the highway. I wouldn't camp prior to cycad - still too much activity and it leaves more for the next day.
Cycad was lived in when we passed through - dope growers mainly. In most berg caves there is something of a distinction between the loo and the sleeping area. In cycad at that time there wasn't....
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Anyway thanks for all the info, I'll post a write up and some pics when we get back.
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Just before Cycad is a forest so no camping really. Cycad could sleep about 6 people or so, probably more depending on how creative you are. You will quite probably need to clean it up before moving in. I did mark a camping area about 280m on from the cave, can't remember details, but there are flattish areas around and have look under the patches of trees there too. There is a small campsite at the base of the pass where the gully starts in earnest but I think your group might be too big for it. There is also a very small bivy cave halfway up the gully, but nothing you will want to aim for.
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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