Giant's Castle Main Camp

Good day all.
Bit of a random post here but my fiancee used to go to a hut in Giant's Castle with her family circa early 90s. They used to be able to drive to it. Looked like a converted stable with bunk beds for hikers to stay over, anyone know where/what it is?

 

 
Hi Carl -
I think I might have stayed in this hut in 1985. We were there for a week doing some research work. The hut had formerly been some cottage for workers. The guy who was overseeing our research work had made an arrangement with the rangers which hadn't quite worked out and we were allowed to use this hut instead. It required some cleaning out. I clearly remember there being bunk beds in it and a small kitchen as part of one room.

Here are some screenshots from google maps of where I remember it to be:




The railings, door and window seem to be similar

 

This is more or less where I remember the location of the hut - away from the main camp, not far from the ranger's house and set among the workers buildings. The picnic site came later I think.

 




 

There is some similarity between the sandstone features on the Little Berg to the east and the features in your photo

 

I remember walking over to the rangers house from there. He was busy fixing a Mercedes car and had taken the engine out. I remember wondering how anyone would ever recall where all the wires and pipes would go. A few months later and I found myself doing the same job, but not on a Merc!
 

Excellent sleuthing, especially the sandstone comparisons!!
Thanks

So, we were at Giants Castle 3 weeks ago for a lekker snow hike.

Arriving back at camp we were looking for an empty chalet where we could have a quick shower, for which the parksboard now charges R380 (you can have the hut for 3 hours for this price) - we've never been asked to pay for showers before. I don't mind paying as I understand there are charges involved, but as this amount was a bit excessive for 3 people each taking a quick shower, we drove to the day visitor area to clean up at the ablution facilities. I didn't find any showers, only 2 huts with only toilets and washbasins. I also looked inside this building you were enquiring about Carl, as I was trying to locate the shower the lady at reception talked about. It, as well as the public bathrooms, are falling apart. Give it a few more years and the roofs would have collapsed, rendering it completely unusable.

Can anyone please advise where the showering facilities are?

Sounds another tragedy in the making.
We were at Highmoor in Dec 21. I had to go find the staff to help with something and saw the area they inhabit as well as all the additional huts used for winter firefighters, abject squalor is the term that springs to mind. Very sad.

So @Riaang, I will be at Giant's next-of-next weekend, if I can locate them I'll let you know, here.

Regards
c.

wrote:

Can anyone please advise where the showering facilities are?

I too have been directed to the picnic area, but as far as I'm aware there are no showers. I've resorted to rinsing off in the river further down the valley. There's an open area down where the road starts to curve right towards KZN - I've often seen people there washing cars or swimming. Higher up there is a nicer shallow pool with a grass bank, though I think this is on private property.

always been one of the drawbacks to hiking from giants castle. I have asked them about this on a number of occasions, the feeling i get is that attracting hikers is not a priority for them.

 

So this old hut next to the stables is being renovated, we noticed being at Giant's in July. Alas, it'll not be available to hikers but is set to accommodate Honorary Rangers and conservation researchers. I do wonder though whether the outside showers may become operational again. Could be nice.

 

Just a heads up - there was a massive fire at Giants this weekend. We didn't get to see how Bannerman Hut was looking as that area was still on fire when we reached the contour path (hopefully it already had a controlled burn beforehand) - so I'm not sure how far north this spread, but the bridge below the picnic site is gone, and a lot of the erosion barriers on Bannerman Ridge are destroyed. Langalibalele Ridge seems to have had a previous controlled burn and is fine. Some of the trails are also covered in loose sand, which is making them slippery and rather unpleasant.


For those who haven't heard, there was also a massive fire at Bushmans Nek this weekend that took out the hotel there. It is very dry out there, I'd be careful of hiking anywhere that hasn't been burned yet till there's some rain.