Injasuthi peaks (Drakensberg) Jan 2007

Gordon and Charles picked me up from work at 13:30 Friday afternoon. Because we left early we missed the worst of Johannesburg traffic and we made good progress to Harrismith where we stopped for a bite. We arrived in Bergville just after dark and settled into our usual spot under the tennis court veranda.

Day 1 (20 January): At 5am we were up and gone by 6am. It had rained during the night and there was heavy fog all around – it looked like a typical summer’s morning. The road into Injasuthi was horribly potholed and Gordon had to drive slowly. We arrived at Injasuthi at 07:45, signed in and got ready while we waited for the office to open at 8am. When it did, we paid, parked and were ready to go. Right from the start I decided to go the long way round, missing out on the river crossing. We walked down past the bridge crossing the Injasuthi and started climbing up on the top path. Not long after I told Gordon and Charles about the giant earthworms I’ve seen on this path before, we came across another one, just as big as when Darrell and I first saw one. Due to the previous night’s rain and the heavy fog everything around us was wet and it wasn’t long before we were soaked as well. Even so, we made walked well past the normal junctions and soon stood on the path that branches off past Battle and Lower Injasuthi caves. The grass, ferns and reeds were as tall as always and we struggled through all the muck, getting wetter as we went. When we first saw a path leading up a ridge, just past the narrow point in the valley, we headed up. From here it was a regular slog up the hill. The heavy mist and cloud soon enveloped us completely and I had to go by GPS to judge how far we still had to go. Finally, just after 2pm, the hut materialized out of the mist. Putting Gordon onto the stove to start a pot of tea, I went to fetch water. We had planned to sleep in the tent in the lower reaches of Corner pass if the weather allowed, but we decided that the hut was most certainly a better prospect for the night. The rest of the afternoon we lazed about the hut, reading and chatting. At 17:30 I started with supper, making viennas, sauce and Smash with beetroot salad as a starter. It started raining lightly during the early evening, so we were soon in bed, hoping that the next morning would show better weather.

Day 2 (21 January): I had Gordon’s alarm set at 04:00 with the intention that we get a very early start if the weather was good. However, at 4am there was still heavy fog in the sky and occasionally some drizzle came down as well. Consequently we slept in until about 6am. We had a quick breakfast and decided to leave everything as it was, in order to save some time on our plans for the day. We decided that we would start by going up Corner pass and climbing the Corner itself, and then try some other things depending on the weather. When we started walking we could occasionally see some blue sky through wafts of mist – the contour path was level with the upper levels of the cloud. We walked around the contour path and got to the bottom of Corner pass in 45 minutes. Gordon and Charles were a bit shocked when I showed the upper gully of the pass to them but it wasn’t deterrent enough to get up the pass! We started at a good pace but later discovered that we actually missed the path that still runs up Corner pass for about 100m before continuing to the contour path. We stuck to the river bed initially but soon climbed out onto the northern slopes that were at a decent enough angle to make good progress. Taking a few breaks, it wasn’t long before we traversed back into the throat of the pass at the head of the gully. Stopping now and then for breathers and to drink water from the drips in the gully, we finally made it to the top just before 11am. We almost immediately carried on to the top of The Corner where we took our still wet boots off and had a decent break. We had done well up to then and I decided that at the very least we should have a go at The Judge as well. After taking a few pics we walked over to the top of The Judge where we sat for lunch. Updrafts brought some low level cloud onto the escarpment and it made us decide to not waste too much time on top. Figuring that we still have plenty time available to us, we went for Popple peak as well and claimed it in style. Then it was a fast descent to the top of Judge’s pass which we reached with almost everything below us blanketed in fog. Not being able to see what’s going on below us in the pass, we took our time descending. Judge’s pass is definitely a rock pass with some steep scree in the top gully, although not quite as steep as Corner pass. The gully opens up a bit lower down with some slabby rock and a few cascading waterfalls that made progress slow, though not impossible. About 200m above where I suspected the contour path should be (2600m), we climbed out onto the southern slope to skip a small cascade and then I decided to stick to the slope until we reach the contour path, thinking it would be harder to miss the contour path on the slope than in the rocky river bed. As we descended on the slope, the mist started clearing a little below us and we finally spotted the contour path. Getting to the contour path at 15:45, we still had a long way to go, so we put our minds to it, making fast progress initially. As the slog on the contour path got longer and longer, we slowed down a little. Clouds built up again and it started to rain just beyond Corner pass, where we also missed the descent to the contour path and just climbed over the ridge, descending back to the contour path again. We approached the hut in total white-out conditions and I had to rely on the GPS to guide us off the contour path. The hut appeared ethereally at 17:05. It was a super long day but with great rewards – three summits and a new pass! Sending Gordon out to fetch us some water, I started making tea and asked Charles to start cutting up some of the veggies for dinner. After dinner the cloud in the valleys cleared a little and we had a very peaceful twilight, standing on the ridge behind the hut looking out over the Little Berg.

Day 3 (22 January): Deciding the previous night that we would like to go to Lower Injasuthi cave, we got up at 4am to see if the skies were clear. They were, but a strong westerly wind was blowing and when we started walking at 05:10, we were wearing full rain gear. We walked around the large contour bowl north of Centenary hut and after just over an hour’s walking we came to the top of the ridge we had to descend according to the map. There was however, no path leading down the ridge so I led and struck my own way. Walking with the wind now, it was much more pleasant and soon we took our jackets off. About halfway down the ridge I checked the map and realized that we seemed to have gone past the spot where we should have descended north towards Lower Injasuthi cave according to the map. I felt very apprehensive about walking down the ridge to the north without a path, as there were numerous sandstone cliffs and dense forest we could see on the opposite ridge’s southern slope. Accordingly, I decided to forget about Lower Injasuthi cave and headed straight down the ridge. But we soon walked into another cliff right at the tip of the ridge. I dropped my pack and scouted two or three possibilities but all of them turned out to be no-goes. We then agreed that our best option is to climb back some way along the ridge, contour south towards the path that ascends to Centenary hut and then climb down. Although this meant quite a detour, we were at least assured of a way down past the cliffs. The contouring south was a bit tricky with some steep slopes and very dense vegetation to cope with. However, we finally made it down to the path that runs through the worst part of Injasuthi’s heavy ferns and grass and we knew we were back on track. By this time, it had grown very hot and we were already tired by the morning’s exercise. Getting back to the good path between Battle cave and Injasuthi camp, we took a long break at the first river before tackling the slog back to camp. I decided to walk the shortest route back, even though it meant taking our shoes off to cross the river. We arrived back at the car just before 12 in the afternoon and were on our way by 12:20, having showered and bought cokes.

Amphitheatre (Drakensberg) Jan 2007

Day 1 (6 January): We left Harrismith at around 05:30, driving through Phuthaditjaba to get to Sentinel car park at around 06:45. The road between the car park and Witsieshoek Mountain resort was definitely repaired and the driving was actually enjoyable. We sorted out all our gear, paid and left for the zig-zags. With only Ian, Laurel and myself in the group, I expected to make good time, and was not disappointed. We followed the viewpoint route and took a few pictures on the edge. Laurel complained about her bag being a bit heavy so I took her daypack off her pack and had Ian latch it onto mine. We reached the chain ladder in good time and it wasn’t long before we reached the top. We were at the lip of the Tugela by 10:10. Dark looking clouds were building over Lesotho and I made the call to rather go up to the cave than carry on on the escarpment. Basothos came to visit at the falls and it made me very apprehensive. We filled our water bottles and started the long slog to the cave. From far away we spotted two figures at the top of Crow’s Nest and as we came nearer we heard them play music on their own instruments. The Basothos approached along the top of Crow’s Nest and when we arrived in the cave they walked down and stood at the entrance watching us. One started playing his instrument again but we ignored them and eventually they disappeared. Having had little sleep the previous night in Harrismith due to some noisy kids, we decided to make some tea and then have a snooze. At around 5pm we got up to start dinner. Ian walked down to the river to fetch water while I started cooking. At the end of the day the weather never got worse than threatening clouds and I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t carry on to the Ifidi area. We slept reasonably well and had no Basotho trouble.

Day 2 (7 January): We woke early to a red line on the eastern horizon topped with heavy cloud. We didn’t see the sun rise but had early breakfast before setting off just after 7am. It started to rain just before we left and we were dressed in full rain gear, carrying our daypacks with lunch, water, cameras and navigation equipment. I decided it was worth the risk leaving our packs in the small wormhole next to Crow’s Nest cave. We hiked down the slope of Crow’s Nest towards the Khubedu valley. After the first hill I picked up the Khubedu shunt and we made good time despite a strong Lesotho wind. We passed the first valley that leads up to the back of Mt Amery and turned up the valley leading to Ifidi and Ifidi buttress. Crossing the Khubedu we took a short rest break, getting too cold in the wind to sit very long. We walked fast up the valley as well and eventually I spotted Ifidi buttress at the head of the valley. Getting to the top of Ifidi buttress was dead easy but we were greeted with a view worth much more effort! It was an unbelievable sight – although everything was covered in very heavy blue cloud, we could see the entire Mnweni cutback, Cathedral range and even the Cathkin range in the distance. Taking a few photos we soon got up to leave; the wind was chilling us very fast. We descended towards the escarpment edge and then climbed up to Ifidi. From here we could see the Ifidi valley, Thaba Edanyazana and Mt Amery. We descended to the top of Ifidi pass and had a very hurried lunch in the icy wind. Ian had complained that morning already about a sore hip joint and it kept bothering him during the hike. Consequently I decided to rather head straight back to the cave via the inland valley, instead of sticking to the escarpment. We set a fast pace down the valley and soon crossed the tip of the spur to get Crow’s Nest back in view. At the Bilanjil stream we quickly filled our bottles before starting the climb. Having had very little to eat for lunch I lacked the energy to get up the hill but finally managed it. We were very happy with having done about 19km before 1pm! It was chilly in the cave and we have been looking forward to a cup of tea so I immediately set about brewing two pots of tea. After tea and some snacks, we put the groundsheet down and had a bit of a snooze, resting tired muscles. A little before 5pm I went to fetch water and started cooking when I returned. Laurel and Ian helped by cutting up the veggies and bully beef. After dinner we sat drinking tea and eating Romany creams, watching the afternoon clouds billowing onto the escarpment. During the night the clouds closed in every now and again but sometimes I was still able to see stars.

Day 3 (8 January): I got up early to see the sun rise and was glad to see a blanket of cloud below the Amphitheatre. I took lots of pictures as the sun rose but eventually it was time to eat and pack up. Although I thought about climbing Mont-aux-Sources this day, none of us seemed too keen to do anymore than getting down so by 7am we were on our way. Just before descending down to the chain ladder we stopped to take some pictures – the low cloud over the northern ‘Berg made for some good shots. Past Sentinel we started descending into the cloud and it got a bit chilly, but as we approached the car park we dipped below the cloud ceiling. After signing out we were on our way back.