Sani and Phinong passes (Drakensberg) Aug 2005

After a meeting I drove to Darrell’s place. Darrell and Liza showed up a little later but by 4pm we were on our way. We drove all the way on the N3 to Mooiriver but only found a dodgy municipal campsite. We continued on to Howick where we got a decent caravan park and paid the R40 pppn. We pitched the tent only and slept peacefully till the next day.

Day 1 (20 August): We left at 05:30 and drove to Sani pass. On the dirt road things went a bit pear-shaped. The road had deteriorated severely since I was there last and Liza and I had to exit the car a number of times and direct Darrell around difficult spots. About 3km before the border post, Darrell decided not to put his car through the punishment anymore. We turned around, drove back to Sani pass hotel (the first decent place we could leave the car) and parked. Then we packed up and started walking on the road. I was confident that we would get a lift at some point but Darrell was very pessimistic. When the first few cars didn’t pick us up I settled into a decent pace and just kept walking. When we haven’t gotten a lift after an hour and a half of walking I started getting concerned. Neither Darrell nor I had water so I was hoping to get to a little stream we saw along the way. I finally got to a little pool where I drank from but the other two were a bit skeptical about it. Soon thereafter I flagged down a Dutch couple in a Jeep. They could only offer one of us a lift and I was trying to think who should go when another empty 4x4 stopped behind them. They were willing to take Darrell and Liza and I went with the Dutch couple. We soon passed the point where we turned around and not much further the 4x4 Darrell and Liza were in had to stop to lock there differential – we would never have been able to get past this point in Darrell’s car! At the border post we said our goodbyes to our friends (they turned around here) and continued walking up after getting stamped through. We walked about 2km before a very friendly couple stopped and picked us up for the last 6km to the top. At the Lesotho border post the wind was blowing fiercely. It was already after 12pm and we were all hungry. Not long after we left the road over the Sani flats towards Mqatsheni, we stopped at a small stream for lunch. Expecting that we wouldn’t have water where I camped to sleep, I filled my Drom bag and carried it all the way. The wind was strong and cold and we had to dress up to stay warm. About halfway to the top of Phinong pass I started struggling with the heavy load and we finally decided to camp on some soft grass next to a pool in the upper reaches of the stream we had lunch in. We dumped our packs and had a short break. Darrell and Liza wanted to go up to the little snow patches on Mqatsheni, but it seemed like too much effort to me. I chose to go towards Thaba Phinong instead. However, not long after we went our respective ways I spotted three people approaching the general direction of our campsite. Not trusting them at all, I walked back to camp and decided to not summit anything that day, despite the 3 people passing the campsite harmlessly in the distance. I rested the rest of the afternoon flat on my back until the other two returned. We pitched the tent and started cooking at 5pm. Unfortunately we didn’t have any condiments for the mince and rice and it turned out very bland. Not long after sunset we were in bed but disappointingly, temperatures that night only dropped to -0.5ºC.

Day 2 (21 August): On the 2nd morning we packed up early. As we didn’t need the Drom bag’s water the previous night, we kept it for the next night on Kokotobangi ridge where I was pretty sure there won’t be water. But I couldn’t carry it alone. I took Darrell’s share of the tent and also the pots and stove so that he could carry the 8 litres of water. We walked to the escarpment edge and was greeted by a ferocious wind. I found Phinong pass easily but noticed the map indicated the start of the pass incorrectly. Descending the pass went slow but we eventually reached the top of Kokotobangi ridge where the wind across the ridge picked up again. Clouds were moving below us in the valleys and high cirrus indicated a possible cold front moving in. We moved well on Kokotobangi ridge but sat down for an early lunch just before we reached Secocosebhaca. After lunch we continued with a fast pace. As we descended from Secocosebhaca, clouds became heavy and just past the sandstone boulders where Shirley Eddie and I slept previously, it started to drip slowly. As I was ahead by about 200m, I started looking for a good campsite. When Darrell and Liza caught up, we put the tent up in a hurry and rushed inside. Although it rained a little on and off for the next two hours while we dozed contentedly, it never came down strongly. The wind removed most of the clouds and we were able to cook a nice dinner of cous-cous and bacon on a nearby flat rock. At sunset we went back to dozing until the next morning.

Day 3 (22 August): With all of us wanting to get down the ridge, we were on our way by 07:30. The last section to the path going past Salt and Pepper went fast. The descending path zig-zagged much more than I remembered and we soon opted for a straighter trail that went down the ridge. Not long after I picked up the original trail again and continued down to the pub where Shirley, Eddy and I came past the first time. Then we were on the road back to Sani pass hotel. I sped ahead, wanting to get the awful road over as soon as possible. Darrell and Liza stayed close behind and eventually we reached the hotel.