Mini Hike Reports

Viking wrote: Was Matthew expecting General Christiaan de Wet to pop up from behind a rock?

At least he isn't wearing his usual WWII apparel - he takes his military history very seriously...

I think his helmet is a lot better than his Nazi hat....

Hobbitt wrote: I think his helmet is a lot better than his Nazi hat....

*Fascist Party WWII Italian hat.

Aaaah.... He loves his Italians....

On the weekend of 15-17 April, Vaughan and I did the classic 3-day loop at Cathedral Peak: up Organ Pipes Pass and down Mlambonja Pass, with nights in Roland's and Twins Caves. It had been 15 years since I had done either of these passes so it was great to be back. The views from Organ Pipes in the late afternoon light were a real highlight!

Vaughan is fairly scared of heights, so we avoided Camel Pass, but didn't want to hike up Mike's Pass. Hence day 1 was a 21km slog from Didima Lodge, up Tryme Hill, along the contour path and finally up the ridge to Organ Pipes itself. Quite a challenge with a full overnight pack! I had brought a short rope along in case Vaughan needed a hand rail to access Roland's but he had psyched himself up so much that he was in the cave before I even had a chance to set it up

The weather was grand for all 3 days and it was a perfect way to introduce a newbie to the Berg. I'll let the photos speak for themselves..

Btw, does anybody know if the Southern variation of Mlambonja Pass has been done before? It's the grassy pass visible on the left in my last photo above - looks fairly straightforward except for the top bit which narrows and steepens through the final rock band. You would access it directly off the Mlambonja Pass path, just before it descends back into the river again above the major waterfall at about 2200m.

On Wednesday 27th - Friday 29th April, myself, my wife (Dom) and best mate Paul did the Mnweni - Rockeries loop for the first time.

We overnighted in our tents at a very misty MCC on Tuesday evening and got moving around 7am on Wednesday under clear skies. We opted to walk the road and were accompanied by several young children who were walking to school (on a Public Holiday!?) and enjoyed chatting to us about our upcoming adventure. We had planned to camp at Chi Chi bush camp and managed to get there in around 8 hours. Along the way we stopped at the Mnweni Pools and had a long rest and swim, which included a rather rapid trip down the water slide for your's truly! We managed to lose the main route for a while after the pools, but got back on it about a kilometre before the turnoff to Fangs. It was a long slog, but we set up camp with great ease and watched the amazing star show emerge as it grew dark. The sky was incredibly clear and we enjoyed the show immensely.

The next morning we had a bit of a lie in and got cracking on Mnweni Pass around 8am. We managed to summit at approximately 11am after taking many many photos on the way up this Berg classic. The weather was absolutely stunning and the views of the Pins and the Hanging Valleys were absolutely amazing. After collecting some water in the Senqu, we trotted off around the escarpment towards Ledger's Cave to find a scenic spot to lunch, eventually deciding on a spot with what must be one of the best views I had ever encountered. Lunch was spent musing about Tolkien, perspective, future attempts on Ifidi, Rwanqa, Fangs and Mbundini and whether we should stay in Ledger's or Mponj Cave for the night. After going down and checking our Ledger's and running into a party that was planning on using it, we decided on Mponj Cave and so went to fill up with water and then trace the escarpment edge all the way up the hill taking in the increasingly amazing views. Mponj Cave was in a good condition, very comfortable and was sheltered from the wind which picked up dramatically overnight with the approaching front.

The final day saw us emerge from the cave into icy winds that were gusting at between 70 and 80 kmh. Another water stop saw us trying to fill up bottles whilst being blown over by the wind. The same wind tried to blow us all the way down Rockeries, which slowed our progress quite significantly. This didn't detract from the sheer delight we found in the scenery on the way down, with the Rockeries and the North Peak of the Saddle being the main focal points. We walked back to MCC, with the last 4km on the road in blistering heat causing some partial sense of humour failure!

All in all it was a great trip and its good to have this one behind us. The next Mnweni Mission is already being planned!

I'll post some pics when I have managed to get the good ones together.

Here are some shots from the trip.

Bio, what Camera equipment do you have?
Very nice pictures!