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

Now its just 2 of us. I am nervous about doing a high altitude hike with just two people. So I wanted to ask, are there any lower altitude 2/3 night circular hikes between caves in the Didima area that you can recommend? Do these all get booked through the Didima camp?

Hi Mike,

I'm doing a hike in the Cathedral area and you are welcome to join me and my wife if you and your buddy want to spend some time in the Berg and specifically on top of the escarpment. Plan is as follows:
Friday night (17Mar) sleep over either Didima campsite or preferably one of the two bottom caves up the Bell traverse (Shermans or Barkers chalet - I still have to book today). Easy day.
Saturday: Up the Bell traverse to sleep over in Twins cave/annex.
Sunday: Walking north to Fangs cave (Mnweni area) and then back to sleep in Easter cave. Long day, not too much climbing but probably just over 30km's of walking
Monday: Traversing south towards Ndumeni dome and towards Didima dome (quick recce of the area as I will be walking here on my April GT) and then back to sleep over in either Rolands cave or one of the two Ndumeni caves. This day will involve quite a bit of altitude gains with a couple of steep ridges to climb out. Not sure how fit you guys are but if this is too much you can always camp/cave at Organ pipes (halfway) while we first explore further South and then come back to Organs.
Tuesday: Up early and down Camel to the hotel for a lekker hamburger.

Forgot to mention but on this hike no tents are required as we'll be sleeping over in caves.
Assumption: caves are available. Always bring a tent along in case caves are occupied or weather turns bad on route to cave.

Hello mountain people!

Has anyone camped on top of Champagne Castle? It seems very possible! I know crime spreads throughout the country, but is it a NO GO (Champagne castle and surrounding areas) in terms of sleeping? As much as I think it's safer to sleep in the valleys, there's something so special about setting camp on a peak!

Marz

Hello Marz,

Welcome to VE.

The Champagne Castle area is relatively safe and there should be no concerns about setting camp on the peak, which has a large flat area around the summit.

Welcome. There are numerous threads on safety here on VE. My general rule is that I won't set up camp if someone is watching me. Even if it means camping in less than ideal places. I would also beware of any thunderstorms as you definitely don't want to be on top when lightning starts.

Well done on the UTCT run! 2nd lady on the 35 and 13 th overall - what a beast! Hopefully you can spice up our "trail running" section here on the forums

Thanks for the info and the congrats!!

@Marz, as Tony said you can definitely camp on top of Champagne Castle. The views are spectacular. Alternatively you can go to Moncs Cowl cave which is not too far from there, or drop down into the valley below. Notre that you will in all likelihood not find any water on top, so fill up for the evening and next morning and slog it up to the top. A small price to pay for those views