Ship’s Prow Pass

Hi everyone. We plan to hike Leslie's pass up coming down shipsprow pass during easter weekend.  Can someone please help me with the latest gps coordinates or tracks for shipsprow pass? Especially the coordinates for where the pass & contour path converge?
I will be very gratefull for any help 
Thank you
Hanri
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Hello. I plan to finally tackle the legendary Ships Prow end of April. I'm going up Grays and coming down Ships but definitely sleeping up top. I've read somewhere on all these pages that Vulture Retreat is a good place to pitch your tent for the night. I can only imagine what the views must be like from there. Any other suggestions that puts one at an excellent vantage point for a spectacular sunrise from the escarpment? Maybe closer to Ships? If not, can anyone give an approx time that it will take to hike from Vulture to the top of Ships? Thank you!

When we hiked Ship's we camped about 2/3's of the way from Gray's to Ship's... and still didn't make it out of the valley that day - it was wet and bushy AF tho, and we were also pretty inexperienced at the time. If your group moves at a good pace I'm sure you'd be fine starting from Vulture's Retreat, but I'd still make an early start. After all this rain - both currently and throughout the summer - I'd expect that valley will be slow going with unstable boulders and dense bush. I'm sure you're aware of the incident with hikers that were caught in a flash-flood, worth bearing in mind at the mo.

Looking at photos from that trip it took us about 30 mins from where we camped to get to the top of Ship's, but we didn't take a particularly direct path and stopped to inspect the north gully (Cathkin Mountain Pass) for a bit.

You have a couple of options.

You can also overnight in Nkosazana cave, it will probably be wet now after all the recent rains, but an option.
You can also pitch your tent tight at the top of the pass itself. Will be windy, but will be spectacular for sunrise pics if it doesn't rain.
You can also pitch your tent on Champaigne castle itself - a bit higher and then you can over look Moncs Cowl.
You can pop over the ridge and camp directly above Moncs Cowl. There is a river down this valley so should sort you out for water. Really stunning section here, and much more secluded and way less foot traffic, which is good at night.

I am presuming you are planning on descending Ships Prow South, right? I would NOT recommend a descent of SP North if it's wet. Went up it last year and we were slipping and sliding around a lot. A bit wet would probably compact the ground, making for easier underfoot conditions, but if that large scree section becomes unstable............. Read my trip report about it and have a look at the pics of this scree section. Also, North section is steeper than South. South has lots of grass over smallish boulders, which will make for easier navigation.

Whatever you do on the descent when you get into the river section, try and stay on the true left of the river. There is (was) a sort of path, could be completely overgrown or washed away now, but it helps - slightly. You will be forced into the river every now and then, and there are rock piles to go over, but these are actually a welcome sight - you will understand when you do this section. Towards the end, I'd say roughly the last 400m or so before you exit the riverbed (that is, if you are going to Cowl fork), you will be walking in the riverbed. Forget about looking for cairns or anything as route markers - just pick the easiest terrain (which, around here, is anything devoid of bushy undergrowth). Remember, the exit is on the true left so it is a bit counterproductive to walk too far on the right. Unless, of course, there are fewer bushes and small trees on the right. Then, you will find yourself naturally being lulled to the right.
A large section of the rough bushes had burned off when we went up the river section last year, but I suspect (strongly) that there would already be a lot of undergrowth in place by now.

A final point to ponder - the Sips Prow river section contains probably the worst bit of bundu bashing I've experienced anywhere from Sentinel to Lotheni. It's abrasive on gear, so please don't wear your favorite jacket or pants for this 3km stretch down the riverbed - I made this mistake on my first Ships Prow hike and everything looked pretty much well used after going through the river grinder section.

Still, it's one of my favorite spots in the entire Berg. Best sunrises from the camping spot in the river, very secluded, tough, steep - everything that makes for a proper adventure in the Berg.

Enjoy!!!

Thanks Riaang!
I'm definitely going to have a look at Nkosazana cave, but I don't want to sleep there. All your other options sound spectacular... what to choose!!? 
I have indeed read all the write-ups about Ships and am indeed descending by South Fork, yes! I'm contemplating sleeping at the campsite in the riverbed of Ships, seeing that the sunrise is awesome from there. But I'll see when I get there.
Thanks for the camping suggestions for up top!!
Looking forward to some bundu bashing