Fangs and rockeries pass loop

Hi everyone 

I am thinking about doing a 4 day/3 night hike up fangs pass and down rockeries pass late June/ early July. My plan is to day 1 hike from the cultural centre to 5 star cave, day 2 hike up fangs pass and sleep somewhere on the escarpment, day 3 hike to mponjwane cave and day 4 hike down rockeries pass back to the cultural centre. I would like to know if an 11 year old would be able to do this route. It would be his first time hiking in the Drakensberg and only the rest of the groups second time (we hiked a route listed as "Injisuthi to Centenary Hut and Marble Baths Cave" on the drakensberg hikes website in April 2021) would we be able to do this route, is there enough water in the area in June/July and are there any suggestions for better sleeping spots, caves, routes, etc. 

Thank you 
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Fangs cave might be the best bet for night 2. 

It’s a big outing for an eleven year old especially if he is carrying his own kit. 

I’m sure he will make it but in my experience some youngsters tend to enjoy less taxing routes, esp as a first berg hike. I’ve seen some put off by long, hard hikes which I think you can safely class this one as. 

Thanks for the feedback

In my opinion this is a pretty decent amount of time for this route. The difficult bit would probably be day 2, up Fangs pass. Obviously peoples fitness and strength levels differ - what you might find easy might be hard for me to do, etc. With that being said, my daughter went up Xeni North as an 11 and a half year old child, carrying about 8kg's in her backpack. I carried fairly heavy to make the load on her and my son's backs lighter.

So, it can definitely be done. However, what I normally do for their once a year Berg adventure, is to prep them a bit beforehand. We would go for day hikes where I would increase the backpack loads, get them doing 5km runs with us (which they hate!!), and doing strength training for legs such as 1 legged squats. I normally start about 3 months out and gradually increase the difficulty level. You have 6 months so that give you ample time to get the entire group fit and strong

Just note that 5 star cave isn't very big, so depending on group size you might have to take a tent along. If you do decide to take a tent along, you can camp at the base of Fangs pass at the waterfall, which will help for day 2 as your ascent will then involve a bit less elevation gain.

Regarding water, this is in winter so you might have to carry a bit of extra weight in water up the pass as the river typically doesn't flow in the pass proper in winter. Remember to take enough warm gear for the youngster as it gets cold at altitude. I find a heated Nalgene water bottle in a sleeping bag does wonders for a warmer night's sleep.

Thank you very much. I will definitely follow your advice.