Mini Hike Reports

Last week Sunday my husband and I left Monks Cowl Carpark with high hopes and sheer determination to finally get up Grays Pass. This was our 3rd attempt Our first attempt was cut short by me getting terribly sick. On our second attempt it rained continuously for 2 days and with heavy hearts we decided to turn back.
I have to admit this put a lot of pressure on me as I am not as fit as my husband and find it a bit difficult to keep up with him. Surprisingly, I managed quite well and not long after we reached Blind Mans Corner...maybe because I had walked this route twice in the last few months

It was beautiful seeing the mountains in the Winter light and once Intunja and the Dragons Back came into view our pace slowed down quite considerably. The afternoon light was perfect and we spent more time than we should have admiring and taking photos.

We picked up our pace until the river crossing and thought we were doing well but soon realized the path to Keith Bush Camp is quite a long slog up.
It was getting late and not knowing exactly how much further KBC was, and with no GPS we set up our tent to the right of the main path...it seems to be a secondary path adjacent to the main one leading to the highly eroded area.
I was expecting a cold night but surprisingly, with the wind, it wasn't!

The next morning, due to a late start, we decided to stash our packs and head up and back down instead of our original plan of sleeping at Nkosazana Cave. I was not prepared for what lay ahead! It was just vertical climbing that didn't seem to end! And looking back you realize how steep it is! I was really struggling and half way up I told my husband that I couldn't go on but after a rest and something to eat I felt a little better. We lost our way from the path only once. Thankyou to all the members on this forum for explaining the route with descriptions, pictures...that helped us immensely!

We finally reached the gulley 4 hours after starting and carefully made our way up to the top. It was spectacular! My first pass and I had made it!

We walked to the cairn and found a place to rest and absorb the surroundings.

Unfortunately we didn't explore as it was getting late and we didn't want to be caught in the dark. Going down was slow as I took a nasty tumble. It was only later I realised my leg was swollen and bruised.

We made it back down and prayed our packs were still safe. Luckily it was. We decided to camp in the same place as the night before. It just didn't make sense to walk the distance to KBC and by now I was feeling the pain of my leg.

After having some protein and carbohydrates for supper we turned in...only to be awoken after 1 by an animal outside our tent. I couldn't make out what animal it was...but it sounded distressed. At no point were we afraid. When we opened the tent to see what it was, it ran into the long grass. Our sight was also obscured by the clouds that had formed in the entire valley.

After that we tried going back to sleep but being light sleepers that proved difficult. We decided to have an early breakfast, and head out as early as possible as my leg was really paining and the swelling had not gone down. We packed up and at first light we were heading down the path back to civilization.

On a personal note....i found this Pass really tough but for my husband it was easy and that's because i wasn't fit enough. We will definitely be looking into using GPS for our next hike. We are not so experienced but learning with each hike. I am not too clued up with distances and terminology...all i know is that i love being in the mountains...the peace and solitude is addictive and we are already planning our next trip

Some pics (taken with my mobile phone)

Well done on completing your first pass! It is a wonderful achievement and I am sure it will be the first of many to come. Nothing compares to being in the mountains!

Great work on getting to the top for the first time. It is a very special achievement that not many people get to experience (luckily for us!) Please keep us up to speed on your next hike. If you have the determination to attempt a pass 3 times in a few months you will definitely be back for more soon!

Elaine and myself did a photography hike at Garden Castle this last weekend. We planned to tent next to a Tarn on a mountain we discovered on Google Earth. After climbing to a high point we discovered this mountain had been burnt a few days before and was blackened with soot so we decided to go higher and tent at the base of the Little Rhino. The rock formations in this area always amaze us and we had a great adventure. To see our photos please go to this link... richardhuntphotographer.blogspot.co.za/p/garden.html

Cool spot Richard.

Interesting paintings! Do you think that one with the forward facing Eland is genuine? Never seen that perspective before.

@GriffBaker .......Yes that cave had many paintings like all the others in the Berg but those two I photographed were different. The only painting of an Eland head on I have seen and then the other painting of a complete family unit with women at the end of the lines facing the men as though they were the heads of that family. I often think of that Eland facing head on and wonder the significance.

Perhaps a misunderstood artist before his/her time, trying to break the mould with his/her unusual perspective and liberal views on family hierarchy.

Our pine hike report:
www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/13-drakensberg-environment/3217-the-pine-tree-project.html?start=150#72042

@GriffBaker & @Richard Hunt
I posed the questions expressed here to a Rock Art expert, Jeremy Hollmann. These are his comments and some enhancements of the images using a technique called "DStretch".
"The 'Family group' is interesting and well preserved. There are lots of details. I dont think its a family though. A group of hunters rather, with their bows and arrows, and the similarity of the pose probably means that they are dancing, even though they are also holding hunting equipment. That's common in the rock art. The portrayal of them facing the viewer is unusual, groups of hunters are usually shown from the side, in procession. Some of the figures have pointed (antelope?) ears. This is also commonly painted. The figure at top left is a woman (big buttocks, two breasts hanging down) and she is bending forward and clapping her hands together. This is a classic pose, repeated over and over at sites across the country, a bit like always seeing the Madonna and Child in old Christian religious paintings. A few of the figures at the bottom are sitting with legs drawn up, wearing cloaks and also clapping. The clapping is to do with dancing, they clap 'medicine songs' that help the people to dance. There are medicine songs with different names, like 'Eland' or 'Honey' named after 'strong' things. They are not tuneful songs but rather clapping rythms with meaningless sounds. But they are powerful and help the men to dance. The medicine songs are performed at dances where the men are going to heal sick people or to stop a run of bad luck or to ask god for game. This information we get from 19th Century Bushman testimony and from the Kalahari Bushmen, who do the same thing.
The eland from the front is also a lovely example. You can even see the tail held to one side.They are a feature of the Drakensberg, not too common but quite widespread. They are also painted from behind, and from above! (see attached photo from Highmoor NR). It's also done with rhebok. Some people have suggested that the holding of the tail to one side might depict female eland behaviour, when she's ready to mate she holds her tail to one side, but I'm not sure if the tail is held high enough and far away enough to be sure about this."

Jeremy Hollmann is an independent rock art specialist who has worked at the Rock Art Research
Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand and at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum. His
research interests lie in Southern African rock art and the Bleek and Lloyd Collection of
/Xam ethnography. He is a rated scientist with the National Research Foundation of South
Africa and has published extensively. Facebook page www.facebook.com/Jeremy-Hollmann-Rock-Art-Specialist-547454012062127/