Keith Bush Camp - Gray's Pass - Vulture's Retreat - Champagne Castle hike

Thank you so much Smurfatefrog. I really appreciate it and will definitely look into Vultures Retreat.

Thank you again.

Hi Everyone

I have been snooping around this great forum for a few days and must say - it's awesome.

My girlfriend and I are wanting to go hiking this coming weekend and aren't sure what routes to take. I have done a fair amount of day hikes but she hasn't done many. We are both moderately fit and are looking for a challenge but nothing too hectic.

We will be staying in a tent (kway Nerolite) and have all the necessary lightweight kit to see us through.

So far we have planned the following:

Day 1 - Start at Monks Cowl and head off to Zulu Cave for the night

Day 2 - Zulu cave to Keith Bush Camp

Day 3 - Keiths Bush Camp to Vultures Retreat

Day 4 - Vultures retreat back to Monks Cowl

Any advice is welcome as we are obviously new to overnight hiking but keen none the less. This hike will also serve as a practice run for our 3 night guided hike in the Grand Canyon early next year.

Thank you in advance!

Are you heading to Zulu Cave because you want to go to Zulu Cave or to shorten day 1? 2 days to reach Gray's Pass is very slow, especially if you are planning on heading from the top to the car park in a day.

We want to go to Zulu Cave, maybe we should go straight through to Keith Bush Camp, Vultures retreat and then Zulu Cave for the last night so we don't descend in one day?

That would probably be easier.

Make sure you head right to the escarpment edge at Vultures Retreat, there is a nice spot near the top of the falls. Great spot to watch the sunrise

Great, we will do so.

Thank You

Also take ear plugs if you are not familiar with sleeping near waterfalls (such as at Zulu Cave), as this can be very irritating to newly crowned overnight hikers!

Zulu cave will take you down a bit (in altitude) so if you plan on going up via Grays pass on day 2 you will do a bit more climbing. Descending all the way back to Moncs Cowl in a day is fairly easy, so whichever way you go there will be a bit of a climb back up from Zulu cave to the contour path. Nice cave, quite large, took the kids there last year.

If it's your first time up Grays pass just take note of the route you follow. At one point (I guess about max 100m below the cliff face) you need to turn left up and slightly Southwards before the path continues back up in a Northerly direction. If you miss this turnoff (and its fairly easy to do, I made this mistake myself (you will eventually end up at a smooth and steep rockband with no way forward. You then have two choices - either navigate a very thin ledge to the left for about 4m (about 2 - 4cm wide for the most part, with a bit of a drop-off below you. Unless your girlfriend is very adventerous I doubt she would want to go accross the ledge) wherafter you can climb up to the very clear footpath about 15m above you, or backtrack about 50m or so and search for the turnoff you missed. It will be on your right hand side at this point, but apparently it is very difficult to see. I chose to go accross the ledge and had to shout instructions to the rest of the group as I could see the footpath, but nobody in the group noticed the turnoff. Granted, they were all short (all under 1,7m tall), but my wife even argued with me that there was no path where I was directing her to walk.

Enjoy!

Hi guys. I'm new to VE so I just want to say you have a great forum going here.

On the upcoming weekend in March (17th-21st), 3 friends and myself are looking to do a 3 night circular route in the northern Berg. I must say that I have not, nor has anyone in the group, ever spent a night on the escarpment (the most we've ever done in the Berg was a 2 night hike last year from Mahai to Ribbon falls and back, sleeping at the Sentinel car park). Thus I would like to ask some questions to inform my decision of whether we should go ahead with it or not:
1. We plan to drive down from Joburg on the 17th and spend that night at the Sentinel car park and begin hiking on the 18th. My concerns are mostly around safety; I know there have been issues with theft/assault in the past so what would you recommend for a 3 night route which is safe and managebale for a group of moderately fit people (I think we could manage +- 17km/day)?
2. We plan to camp so what permits do we need to book, if any?
3. For tents, we have a FA Lunar Eclipse and a 360 Degree Lightweight 2, would these be sufficient for the Berg conditions?
4. Is it ok to just use the standard 1:50 000 Berg maps or is it recommended to use a GPS?
5. We are also open to trying other areas in the Berg, for example: we also don't mind spending the first night at the Didima campsite and
hiking from there. Are there more 3 night circular options to choose from in this particular area?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.