Pins & Mbundini passes - Mnweni (Drakensberg) May 2008

I picked Gordon up from varsity just before 12am. Gordon had a meeting in Modderfontein at 1pm so we drove there first. While Gordon was in his meeting, I sat in the car reading. Gordon got out just after 4pm. Because it was a long weekend, traffic was horrific. A jack-knifed truck past Gillooleys interchange made matters worse and it took us the better part of two hours to get past Johannesburg. Despite heavy traffic on the N3 we made it to Bergville just after 9pm, paid our fees and set up under the tennis veranda as usual.

Day 1 (27 April): Waking up at 6am, we were on our way at 7am and arrived at Amangwane cultural centre a little before 8am. There was a multitude of people at the centre – more than I’ve even seen at Cathedral peak over Easter. There were at least 15 vehicles and about 30 – 40 people getting ready to walk in. We signed in, made sure we had everything and were on our way. Fairly heavy clouds on the escarpment and a strong wind made us walk at a brisk pace to warm up. We made good time on the road, but flurries of rain eventually stopped us to put on rain gear and splash covers. The walk-in proceeded well but when we hit the Mnweni river bed we slowed up as we got more and more tired. The last two kilometres we walked through tall grass on the path closest to the escarpment. Finally, at around 12:30 we arrived at the campsite at the bottom of Rwanqua pass. Although I had initially planned to go up Mbundini and down Pins, as we would be able to sleep higher on the first night, the strong wind and threatening weather made me decide that the Rwanqua campsite will provide us with much more shelter than the ridge halfway up Mbundini. So we swapped the passes around and decided to go up Pins, down Mbundini. After pitching the tent we spent the afternoon relaxing. Just after 3pm the large group we passed earlier that day, walked past, and set up camp just on the other side of the Rwanqua river. They were a large group of more than 15 people and also had one of the Mnweni guides with them. Later that afternoon I caught a small scorpion that Gordon and I took pictures of. At 5pm we cooked rice, biltong and tomato relish for dinner, had some tea and then went to bed. Although the wind raged throughout the night, it never rained.

Day 2 (28 April): The wind during the night kept the tent dry so we were able to pack up quickly and start hiking shortly after 7am. We were surprised that the other group had already left but when we later overtook them in the Mnweni river, we realized they hadn’t done breakfast yet! We started slowly in the Mnweni river bed but eventually moved up to the path to make better time. Shortly after overtaking the large group high in the Mnweni we crossed onto the western bank and moved into the bottom of Pins valley. As we had the entire day to do the pass, we took it slow and steady. We stayed in the riverbed initially as it was not choked with Chi-Chi. After gaining about 200m though, we were stopped by a 6m waterfall with one impossibly loose southern flank and a steep rock face on the north. Our only choice was the steep rock and Gordon took the lead. We had to be very careful as one poor choice of foot- or handhold would have meant a serious fall. Gordon made it to a ledge leading into the top of the waterfall but was hesitant to commit with his pack. I dropped my pack behind him, walked to the end of the ledge and saw that I could fairly easily jump across to the top of the waterfall, which I then did. A lower and easier ledge allowed Gordon to bring the packs to the side of the waterfall and push them up to me from where I stacked them next to the waterfall. Gordon then retreated and came up on the higher ledge and made the jump across without a problem. It was however, very scary. We also realized that there was no turning around now and we simply had to deal with anything else the pass threw at us. We gained another 100m or so in the gully before being stopped by another waterfall. This time there was no option of climbing up next to it. A very steep rocky gully led up on its southern flank and we started up this, thinking we’d be able to use it to get past the waterfall and then get back into the gully. However, once in the gully it was very difficult gaining the other gully again as it had impossibly steep and loose sides. We carried on in the gully that led on for a long time, and eventually started worrying about water as we thought we were going back into the first gully. When we stopped for a breather high up the rocky gully, we traversed across the bank to see if we would be able to access Pins river again. It looked very hard so we decided to stick to the rocky gully and see where it took us. The rocky gully eventually ended against some cliffs and we were forced to traverse across towards the Pins gully. We were now level with the junction of the Pins gully and the gully that led straight up to the saddle between the Mnweni Pinnacles, the gully and saddle being visible from the Mnweni cutback. With a few very scary and dangerous moves, we were able to gain access to the Pins gully again and we were very happy that there was still water. We filled up and sat down for a while, trying to relax our nerves. The Pins gully allowed us to gain another 150m before it ended dead in a vertical wall of loose rock and scree. We thought we could see a possible line that led diagonally upwards through the rock but after struggling up dangerously loose scree and sand, we realized that we were looking for trouble. While balancing high up on the rocks I saw that a lower ramp led up the southern grassy bank from where we might be able to get past the vertical wall. To gain this ramp I had to slide down my bum. Gordon was higher up than I and he was unable to climb down with his pack on. He dropped his water bottle that bounced into the gully I was standing in. Unfortunately I had no way of taking his pack so he decided to drop it, hoping it would roll down into the gully we were about to take. This was a big risk since a miss would mean the pack might disappear down Pins gully. But Gordon was in a pretty desperate situation, so he dropped the pack. I tried to snatch the pack as it came tumbling past me but its momentum was too great. Luckily it bounced into the desired gully and finally came to rest against a rock. Gordon forgot to take his camera off his pack and was concerned whether it survived the fall. I had a quick look and was relieved that it still worked fine. Gordon then slid down the scree on his bum to join me at the bottom of the gully we hoped would lead to the top of the vertical wall. I scrambled up first and when I got to the top I was very happy to tell Gordon that the rest of the pass looked considerably easier than what we’ve done so far. We continued up the pass keeping a lookout for Pins cave where we were hoping to spend the night. About halfway up this easier slope we saw a dark hole appearing in the cliff to our left. It immediately became apparent that it was the cave and when we finally stood in it we were overjoyed that it was a well-sheltered cave. However, there was no water and I got ready to walk to the top of the pass to go and look for water. While I was gone, Gordon would make our quarters for the night liveable. It was very cold: clouds were drifting around in a strong wind and the temperature was most likely well under 10 degrees, even at 14:30. It took me about 20 minutes to climb the last 150m up in the pass, summitting just before 3pm. I then walked down about 500m to a puddle from which I was able to fill the Drom bag and our bottles. On the way back to the top of the pass I spotted two people approaching from the north. Thinking they were Basothos I kept on walking. When I stopped to check their progress I noticed they wore pants and had packs on their backs. Curious, I walked towards them and when I reached them, discovered they were two Jo'burgers traversing to Giants in nine days. They were already looking for a campsite and knowing that the cave had space, I invited them to join us in Pins cave. They collected their own water and then walked with me back down to the cave. Gordon was already ensconced in his sleeping bag as it was getting bitterly cold. The two newcomers, Dave and Greg, put their tent up in the cave which later on turned out to be a good idea. Gordon and I agreed to keep our dinner for the next day’s lunch, and rather saving water by only making some tea and having the next day’s lunch. This we did, and before the sun was completely set, we were in our sleeping bags trying to warm up. Since I had my summer bag with me, I had to wear almost all my clothing to keep warm. Not long after getting in, I decided to also unpack the tent and cover myself with that. About 15 minutes later, sleet and snow started swirling into the cave and Gordon pulled a part of the tent over him as well. We spent the rest of the night trying to stay warm and hoping the next day would bring better weather.

Day 3 (29 April): Although it was still very cold and windy when we got up, the skies were clear and it promised to be a decent day. Having planned this day as a short day, we didn’t rush, and only got on the way after 8am. The last 150m up the pass was hard to climb with our heavy packs but we were very happy to have completed Pins pass. From the top of the pass we stayed on the ridge leading to the top of Black & Tan wall and when we arrived there, dropped our packs and walked to the edge recording our first summit for the trip. The view across the Mnweni cutback was stunning but the chilly wind took us back to our packs quickly. By the time we reached the top of Fangs pass we were almost a stone’s throw away from our destination: Rat Hole cave. From the top of Fangs pass I walked on a coordinate from Chris Sommer and arrived smack on top of the cave at 11:30. We had only walked about 8km for the morning but we were both happy to have a short day to relax still aching muscles and nerves. After enjoying lunch of pasta and bacon and collecting water, we spent the rest of the afternoon reading. After 3pm I had a look at the map and other coordinates I had and discovered that Skylight cave, so named by Chris, was just across the small valley from us. We then took a quick walk across to have a look at it and agreed that it was a rather dismal cave with only a little wind protection and no rain protection whatsoever. Back at Rat Hole, we made dinner of meatballs, Smash, onion and pepper. I spent the night in the back of the single file cave, getting hot and claustrophobic. It was an interesting experience using Rat Hole cave, but I probably would only use it for emergencies in future.

Day 4 (30 April): The wind blew a little during the night but when we got up at 6am, it was a quiet, cloudless morning full of promise. At 07:15 we were on our way, crossing the valley towards Mbundini pass. Discovering that it was quite a climb to reach the top, we were happy to drop our packs to climb Stimela peak and Mbundini buttress. A pack of baboons necessitated closing our packs properly before leaving. The climb to Stimela peak was well worth it, with a stunning view south as far as the Cathkin range and north as far as Sentinel. Below Stimela peak we scrambled across to Mbundini buttress which had similar good views. At 9am we were at our packs and started descending Mbundini pass which did not look half as fearsome as Pins. In the first 45 minutes we dropped 300m, despite some bouldery terrain. Occasionally we took to the flanks of the gully, mainly because the map indicates that the way-to-go stays on the southern flank and later traverses to the ridge between Mbundini and Fangs passes. Getting below the main cliffs was not too difficult but when we finally decided to start traversing we got onto some very steep grassy slopes neither of us were too happy to be on. The Mbundini gully looked to be a bit tricky though so we abided by our decision and traversed across. We had to cross a few lateral gullies but finally we stood on the final ridge leading down to the main river. From here I took the lead and made it down in less than 20 minutes with Gordon being more careful behind me. Both of us got down to the beautiful lunch spot on a slab of rock in the river at around 12:30. Having had a hard workout in the morning, we immediately had our packs and shoes off and washed off in the stream before having lunch. At 13:15 we packed up and left on a trail that we saw. Having come up in the riverbed previously, I wasn’t aware of the path but it certainly made our progress much faster. It took us about halfway down the Fangs valley before descending back into the riverbed. Then it went slower again as we followed the course of the river. On our way to the Mnweni river we passed two guys who were part of a 6-person group, the rest of their group lower down. Shortly thereafter we passed another two of the same group and discovered they were not really sure where everyone was. We walked until we got to the Mnweni river, dropped our packs and started looking for a decent place to camp. Though I couldn’t find a decent spot, I did find a path that seemed to run high across Dassie back to Mlambu’s kraal. Gordon however found a campsite that although very close to the river, was well tucked away in the shrubbery. As it was only about 3pm, we rested well for the rest of the afternoon. As the shadows lengthened we started dinner of pasta, tuna and cheese. After dinner I finished my book in the tent, then went to bed.

Day 5 (1 May): I had Gordon set his alarm at 5am – I wanted to miss the holiday traffic back to Pretoria. The tent and flysheet was a little wet from perspiration but we packed up quickly and were on our way at 6am, shortly before dawn. The path that I found the previous afternoon was good and we made excellent progress on it. Crossing very high on the ridges leading into the Mnweni river, the path descended steeply past Mlambu’s kraal until we were back on the path we came in on. We cruised faster than 5km/hour and soon we sat under a pine tree, looking at the cultural centre in the distance. It was a short walk back to the road and we arrived back at the cultural centre at 09:30. We both had a nice hot shower before driving back.