Bannerman Hut

Hi, I’ve booked and paid for Bannermans hut for upcoming hike. 2-3Dec are in the hut. Does anyone know if the hut is earthed - how safe is it in a lightning storm. My last three hikes this month have been in tents and rather hair raising with storms.
Also how safe/sheltered is Bannermans Cave from a storm if we need to cram 6 people in an emergency for a night?
Thanks for any advice.
Also just a question (I’ve booked and paid for the full hut for 2 days R1600), how would you handle a situation where non paying hikers are already at the hut?

I don't know whether the hut is earthed, but it's close to the mountain and I would think a fairly unlikely spot for a strike. Bannerman is in good condition. Earlier posts refer to a part of the roof that's come loose; I don't know whether that's resulted in a leak. Drop sheets or the like are always useful.

There is more than enough space for six people: two rooms with four beds each, plus an eating area where additional people could sleep on mats. Since you have booked and paid, you have the right to ask people to leave. My experience in such situations is that hikers are generally friendly and polite, and encounters usually due to people seeking shelter from bad weather, running out of light, or getting lost. And in these cases, it seems to me common decency to accommodate, provided they aren't rude. If the other hikers simply don't know that booking is required, then the situation offers an opportunity for education. Sometimes all one wants is solitude or special time with your group, and others can be unwelcome. It all depends on the folks and your mood, I guess. There is a lengthy thread on cave booking etiquette which would apply to huts as well.

Thanks @therealdave for the consolation of the hut being in a ‘safe’ position relative to lightning strikes. I’ve been following earlier posts on this thread about the condition too, thanks.

Yeah, I’d definitely be open to other hikers seeking shelter in emergency cases. Regardless of me having booked and paid, as I would appreciate the same welcome if I was on the other side of the coin.

I do feel in non emergency cases I would have the liberty to ask non paying hikers to move on. It’s a pretty hefty expense to ensure your solitude. My group which is slightly conservative and first time berg hikers will be reimbursing me for their hut fees, I don’t know how they will feel either when strangers join in for free (unfortunately 2 cancelled and I’ll be bearing the brunt of the additional hut fees). I wouldn’t feel so much controversy with caves since there’s no upfront payment.

On the Saturday of the Easter weekend I stayed in Bannerman Hut overnight. The hut was clean, with no litter lying about, although there was a partially fiiled black bag in the basin (perhaps left by the EKZNW people who seem to be cleaning the hut), and some empty bottles and candles on the counters. It seems that some hikers also left some surplus coffee sachets, breakfast cereal and heating tablets in the hut, as these items were on the shelf in the dining room.

I noticed that the roof of Bannerman Hut is generally in good condition, but that some of the roofing screws are working loose. A piece of roof ridging between different roof pitches is also missing, and rain falling on that area is going into the ceiling. These items will need some attention soon, before further deterioration occurs that may endanger the integrity of the roof.

Yes, here is an image that Elinda took when the group overnighted there, and has kindly let me use.

In Elinda's photo you can see the missing piece of roof ridging at the corner of the hut, as well as some disturbance in the roof sheet layers adjacent to the missing piece.

 

We didn't take photos showing the roofing screws that are working loose, but that is clear when one is there and can see it - the heads of some of the screws are quite a bit higher than the roof sheet, indicating that they have worked loose and partially pulled out.