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Published: January 6th 2008
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(Nov 07)
Funny that some people don't even seem to know that there's reasonably high mountains in South Africa; when the guy next to me on the plane to Durban (a local "Capy") asked me what I was up to and I replied "hiking" he frowned, raised his one eyebrow and went "ri-i-ight"..."hmmmm...." with this sort of expressionless face and a big questionmark on his forehead.
Soon thereafter, countless locals gave their well meant advice that I couldn't/shouldn't go backcountry - and definately not by myself! Well, after all I had come to the "'Berg" ONLY to go hiking, it did seem a little tough to have everybody tell me that I couldn't do it....by then I had also become aware that much of any motivation to do something in my universe seems to be fuelled by some desire to proof that I CAN DO IT, I didn't think about it for too long, decided to play it at least half safe and hire a guide. Next thing I know is that I was on my way up the 2nd highest mountain in the country. Unusual for me but for some reason I fully trusted Ed, the hostel owner, that
had arranged the guide (a friend of his) to have worked out the perfect trip for me (after all he had spent two days assessing my fitness and has trekked to the highest mountains on earth). So, good thing that Sibusisu (the Zulu Guide) and I got on like a house on fire (makes a few things a lot easier if you have be in each other's face for 4 days). The other good thing was I hadn't read or heard anything about the trek that we set out to do, so I had no clue what I was getting myself into. As it turned out on the second day we had to master an ascent of roughly 1300 m altitude on one go; that as such is not really a walk in the Park but I also had to carry a pack of more than I normally like to have attached to my backside and the trail was f***** steep to say the least. Luckily the daily fog moved in at the right time to conceal the view upwards , so that saved me from a mind-battle along the lines of "oh my god, it still looks so freaking
far and I am convinced I will collapse in a minute". Since I couldn't get any bearings on distance or altitude still to cover we managed to reach the top surprisingly quickly (if you can say that after 8 hours) - amazing how the mind tricks us! The fog didn't clear for the rest of the day but it didn't matter. Sibu found the cave instantly. I decided to pitch my tent a little away from the cave to save a good nights sleep and let Sibu sleep in the moist rocky den with its fabulous acustic all by himself (he snores as I had found out the night before - luckily the waterfall in front of last night's cave had sort of overpowered his snoring!).
For some reason I was 100% convinced that the next morning was going to be clear and so it was (I would have done something evil if not - I didn't hike up all the way for nothing!!). I woke up without an alarmclock at exactly the right time to see the most spectacular sunrise of my life (I think...:-)). The escarpment was engulfed by a thick cloudcover a few hundred metres below us.
Waterfall
don't ask me about its name The continuation of the escarpment to the north and a mountain peak here and there a little east of the range stuck out of the clouds like rocks in the ocean. Awe-inspiring!
The good weather lasted all day and we spent a good portion of the day up the mountain. The descent was supposed to be sort of not too bad and do-able in about 4 hours, Sibu said. Well, it took us almost 8! That downhill (from 3377m to 1950m) must have been about the toughest thing I have ever done. Completely overgrown with either no path at all or one that we had to go search for for "hours", incredibly steep and slippery. In some sections the path (or what was supposed to be one) literally disappeared in dense bush, so thick that we could have done with a decent machete (still wonder how we got through without)! I had never been as happy about arriving at the campsite as I was that day. I hardly managed to pitch my tent, leave alone cook and eat. I was absolutely knackered! I still wonder how I got back down to the carpark the next day. I was so sore
I could hardly walk, and that for about 3 days!
For those who are headed in that direction: Inkosana Lodge in Central Berg is achingly beautiful, the owner super friendly and knowledgeable (especially re hiking trails) and his cooking absolutely supurb! His guide, Sibusisu, is the best I've come across (do not take literally)! If you want to climb Mont-aux-Sources (in Royal Natal) don't get fooled by the "Amphitheatre Hostel"; the guys tell you that it's impossible to go by yourself and they'll make you join one of their hyper expensive tours - that's all crap; get a car or a lift to Sentinel Carpark (for that it's best to overnight at Karma Backpackers in Kestell since it is quite a drive from Amphitheatre Hostel; the guys there are awesome and give you heaps of hiker's tips, maps and affection) and head out from there. It's only a 5 to 6 hours hike - the best daywalk in the Country!!! Even better still, ask Ed at Inkosana about a 4 days hike up Champagne Castle - inquire about the condition of Grey's Pass and Shipsprow gully - the latter was in aweful shape when I hiked it and I'm
sure you don't want to experience that:-)
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Stephen Paul
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
grrrr...
I HATE your travelblog entries. Why? You always go hiking and backpacking to the places I only have dreamed about for years!! In addition your photos make me drool. on the plus side I now know where to find a guide! This is an awesome post to some of Africa's closest thing to Alpine scenery. I love it, thanks for the tips and for sharing!!