Hike Report: Langalibalele-Bannerman Loop
30 Oct 2024 07:37 - 30 Oct 2024 11:21 #79316
by andrew r
make a difference. today.
Hike Report: Langalibalele-Bannerman Loop was created by andrew r
Giant’s Castle Hike 25-28 October 2024
After a bit of a break from the mountains I was back in the Drakensberg at Giant’s Castle this weekend in a group of five. The only previous time I’ve been to this area, we hiked up Bannerman Pass, overnighted in Bannerman Cave (after a long trek to find it) and then down Langalibalele Pass, so being limited on time & some of the group of undetermined ability, the plan this time was just to reverse the route.
We headed out on Friday afternoon (later than hoped, as usual) and made about 4km and 200m of elevation before darkness, mist & light drizzle set in and we stopped on a flat piece of ground alongside the path & set up camp.
The next morning we set off in light mist at 6:30, breakfasting at a nice pool with waterfall before heading up Langalibalele Pass, which we topped at about 11:30 with bright sunshine at the top.
We then set off on the harder than anticipated trek across the escarpment to Bannerman Pass. There is a significant ridge between the two passes with over 250m elevation gain to get over the ridge. The wind picked up and we had lunch sheltered against a rock band before continuing up the final push and then down the other side to the top of Bannerman Pass which we reached just before 4pm with the clouds quite a long way down the pass.
We made the call to set off down the pass with the aim of overnighting in Spare Rib Cave, about 280m below. This was a lot harder than expected due to the size of the scree boulders and amount of loose scree, however we made it down to where we expected to find the cave & started scouting about on the south slope for signs of a track, finding a biggish but very wet & sloping cave. Thanks to the trip report by tonymarshall we knew that this was ghaznavid’s False Spare Rib Cave so we kept looking a bit further along the same track & found what we were looking for: a large, mostly dry cave with small platforms shaped out of the sloping floor by previous inhabitants. There was a significant amount of water dripping through all over the roof and only four of the platforms were occupiable, but that was enough for us. Having had a long hard day we were tired, hungry & relieved to find our shelter for the night.
The next morning dawned bright & clear; however, we set off later than intended as the north facing cave stayed dark well into the morning. We breakfasted at a small pool, reaching Bannerman Hut at 10:00. From there it was the long trek back to Giant’s Castle Main Camp in sunny but very windy conditions, which we reached just as a mini-storm swept through.
All in all, it was great to be back in the Drakensberg, thanks to everyone on this site for sharing your enthusiasm, experience & knowledge.
After a bit of a break from the mountains I was back in the Drakensberg at Giant’s Castle this weekend in a group of five. The only previous time I’ve been to this area, we hiked up Bannerman Pass, overnighted in Bannerman Cave (after a long trek to find it) and then down Langalibalele Pass, so being limited on time & some of the group of undetermined ability, the plan this time was just to reverse the route.
We headed out on Friday afternoon (later than hoped, as usual) and made about 4km and 200m of elevation before darkness, mist & light drizzle set in and we stopped on a flat piece of ground alongside the path & set up camp.
The next morning we set off in light mist at 6:30, breakfasting at a nice pool with waterfall before heading up Langalibalele Pass, which we topped at about 11:30 with bright sunshine at the top.
We then set off on the harder than anticipated trek across the escarpment to Bannerman Pass. There is a significant ridge between the two passes with over 250m elevation gain to get over the ridge. The wind picked up and we had lunch sheltered against a rock band before continuing up the final push and then down the other side to the top of Bannerman Pass which we reached just before 4pm with the clouds quite a long way down the pass.
We made the call to set off down the pass with the aim of overnighting in Spare Rib Cave, about 280m below. This was a lot harder than expected due to the size of the scree boulders and amount of loose scree, however we made it down to where we expected to find the cave & started scouting about on the south slope for signs of a track, finding a biggish but very wet & sloping cave. Thanks to the trip report by tonymarshall we knew that this was ghaznavid’s False Spare Rib Cave so we kept looking a bit further along the same track & found what we were looking for: a large, mostly dry cave with small platforms shaped out of the sloping floor by previous inhabitants. There was a significant amount of water dripping through all over the roof and only four of the platforms were occupiable, but that was enough for us. Having had a long hard day we were tired, hungry & relieved to find our shelter for the night.
The next morning dawned bright & clear; however, we set off later than intended as the north facing cave stayed dark well into the morning. We breakfasted at a small pool, reaching Bannerman Hut at 10:00. From there it was the long trek back to Giant’s Castle Main Camp in sunny but very windy conditions, which we reached just as a mini-storm swept through.
All in all, it was great to be back in the Drakensberg, thanks to everyone on this site for sharing your enthusiasm, experience & knowledge.
make a difference. today.
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Last edit: 30 Oct 2024 11:21 by andrew r. Reason: added detail
The following user(s) said Thank You: Serious tribe, elinda, Stijn, JonWells, DeonS, firephish, GetaPix, ghaznavid, Smurfatefrog, tonymarshall, Riaang, ivan, TheRealDave, HikerParsons, GriffBaker, riaan300, Smithers_23
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