Northern Berg escarpment loops from Sentinel Car Park/Amphitheatre

Correction! Map no. 1 is not "Amphitheatre" but "Royal Natal". Please be accurate for the sake of new visitors trying to find information.

Is the #1 Royal Natal Map still the one I need for this hike?

Yes. It covers the area from north of the Royal Natal Park down to Ntonjelane Pass which is near the Cathedral area.

Thank you for all your help!

How frequent is water up on the escarpment? Hiking along it, will we run into streams or will we need to hike around to find it. We're planning on having 2-3 liters of water space on each of us. Will that be sufficient?

There will be plenty of water up on the escarpment during December. I would say most of the streams will be running, the 2-3l containers are a good idea though, but it is unlikely that you will have to walk with them more than 2l full as you should find plenty of water. Likely you will also have a few thunderstorms.

esaito: might see you up there. I am taking my stephdad up there for a similar hike round about that same time. Don't think we will go much further than Ifidi though, it will be purely a photographic trip. I am trying to convince him though that we need to go as far as Ledgers cave. We have 5 days to do it in, from the chain ladders and back.
My only concern is mist this time of year. If you don't have a gps, you must sit tight and wait it out.

Hi everyone, I am planning a 4-day northern 'berg trip with some friends, from 27 April to 1 May. Everyone on the trip has done at least one overnight trail, with most people having done at least Ship's Prow (on the October trip).

What we've planned so far is a 'there-and-back-again' from Sentinel car park: park there, get to the top, spend 2-3 days on top, then walk back. We're looking at this option because the logistics are very easy and it will give us a good amount of time at the top without too much effort getting up there (hopefully we can climb some khulus and Mont-aux-sources). We originally looked at 'northern traverse', from Sentinel to Cathedral Peak but we don't think we'll have enough time for that, and the logistics are harder. We'll be taking tents, but would like to experience sleeping in a cave as well.

What is your opinion on this route? Do you have any recommendations on how far along the escarpment we should aim for? Possible options, according to the map are: Fangs Cave, Black and Tan Wall or Mweni Cutback. Would Mweni be aiming too far?

How busy do you think this area would be at the end of April?
How safe is it in terms of smugglers/thievery?
Would we need to book anything beforehand or can we just arrive at Sentinel car park, sign in, pay and start walking?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi Josh

Check this link out of a trip that i did last year, it could well fit your bill for a 4 day trip. Fangs Cave is a must.

www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/55169-northern-berg-photo-trip-august-2012.html?limitstart=0

Well, Ampithreatre will look a bit like a train station over that long weekend - or at least is did when I was there on 1 May last year. We didn't see a single local in Mnweni during late April last year, but I think it largely depends on weather - and don't count on not bumping into them. This area is the most popular place to do hikes like yours, probably because its the easiest to do this. With the really easy Chain Ladders and the easy Balinjil Ridge (only shown on the old Slingsby maps), the easy Stimela Ridge, the easy Ifidi Ridge and the easy Icidi Ridge, you can get pretty far pretty quickly.

The last day of our GT last year was probably the easiest and we did Icidi to Witsieshoek starting at 7AM reaching Witsieshoek before 2 (with taking a lunch break and not pushing it at all). If you bag basically every khulu along the way you could still probably reach Fangs Cave (or even Mponjwane Cave for that matter) without much difficulty in 4 days.

Just don't skip out on the Icidi Crown (I imagine Ifidi Buttress would have roughly the same view as well). It would make a nice "get up early and watch the sunrise from it" peak. The peak isn't named on the map, but its the 3215m peak just north of Icidi Pass (not sure if the same height is shown on the new maps - I am still using the old Slingsby map for Mnweni and RNNP). Its a long steep walk, it will take you well over an hour to bag, but its view is more than worth it.

H Josh

Myself and a mate will be going this hike at the exact same time as you. If you find any information that could be helpful, please would you let me know. I've done the Sentinel to ?Ledgers Cave before, and its a beautiful hike...really a do-able hike since I did it when I was 14 years old and 90kg!

Garrick B