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Nicola arrived back from work at 14:30 and we left for Nicola's parents immediately where we dropped the cats and picked Gordon up. We drove without incident but had heavy traffic on the R21 due to lane restrictions, arriving in Harrismith just after 8pm. We slept in the caravan park which was fairly noisy as usual, but due to a long day behind us, we all got a good night’s sleep in.
I woke everyone at 5am and we had some breakfast and coffee before leaving the campsite just before 6am. We arrived at Sentinel car park just after 7 and were surprised that the last km or so of the gravel road has now been paved as well. We signed in, paid our fees and off we went. A slight breeze was a bit chilly but it was a beautifully clear day above us – very smoggy below. The ‘Berg hasn’t had rain yet in the season and everything looked dry and dusty and huge patches have already burned. Gordon decided to take the Gully route to the top while Nicola and I ascended the chain ladders. At the top we walked past some standing pools in the upper reaches of the Tugela but it was obviously not running. As we walked lower down towards the Tugela lip we spotted Gordon coming towards us with his water bag, looking for water. We met at a fair-sized pool and filled up with water – about 16 litres beween the 3 of us. Then we made for the hut and climbed the ridge behind. As we dropped towards Bilanjil we saw some pools of water and decided to sleep at Bilanjil rather than further along the escarpment. We dropped down into the stream just below the Bilanjil shelter and had a long rest and lunch, even soaking our feet in one of the lower pools.
About 12:30 we packed our bags and hid them away in the gully running towards the Bilanjil waterfall. Then we started the slog across the Amphitheatre, passing Ethereal Tower and then ascending the ridge running towards Eastern Buttress. When we crossed the ridge, our goal, Mt Amery, loomed in front of us. An attached peak of well over 3000m, with a sheer drop in the region of 800m off the escarpment, the summit provides one of the best views in the entire Drakensberg in my opinion. We made it to the top just after 2pm and sat for a while enjoying the majestic scenery. A pity the smog covered so much of the Berg; the Cathkin peak range was barely visible and Harrismith’s Platberg not at all. With the day becoming a bit long, we scrambled down and then slogged the 4km or so back to Bilanjil, reaching it at 15:30. Happy that our packs stayed undetected by Basothos and baboons alike, we soaked our tired feet yet again and then started an early dinner of rice, braai relish, carrots and bacon. With dinner finished around 17:30 we made our way out of the stream bed to the Bilanjil shelter and pitched the tent. A last cup of tea warmed us up before heading for the tent where we tied all the packs together and then also to the tent and some heavy boulders outside, just in case.
The night passed uneventfully and we rose at 05:00 with the sky just beginning to hint at dawn. Quickly everything was packed, including the tent and the sun rose just as we were having breakfast. Sometime after 6 we were hiking and sweated our way up the hill, back towards the chain ladder. On top of the ridge we spotted some more hikers in the Tugela basin, but since our path went past the hut and directly to the chain ladders, we didn’t get to talk to them. We took a sip of water where we crossed the Tugela, then climbed down the ladder and met two hikers starting out on the Grand Traverse. It was an easy hike as usual all the way down. Just as I got onto the last zig-zag I saw a pair of Drakensberg rock-jumpers and waited for Nicola to catch up to see them as well. We then also added a Rock kestrel and Wailing cisticola (lifer) before reaching the bottom. Donning some fresh clothes, we were off to Harrismith for some Jucy Lucy and then home. The end of a very rewarding weekend!
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