Lesotho – Drakensberg (Thaba Nthlenyana) - December 2004

31 December 2004:  After successfully squeezing Frans, Andre, Bernelle and myself (with our 4 backpacks) into my Fiat Uno 1100, our planned 17-day adventure in the Drakensberg officially started! 

We would do the Grand Traverse, starting at Bushmen’s neck and finishing at the Sentinal, We would sleep in caves and have one refuel at Sani Pass Top Chalet.  The excitement was contagious, even after we realised I had forgotten to book a cave and we had to change our route slightly.

1 January 2005:  An 11 hour, 14 km hike followed, where some frustration was felt by the others because I was adamant on finding caves, whilst the rest were slightly worried that we would not make it on time.

2 January 2005: Our hike started off misty and wet, hiking the 4 km that we could not fit in the previous day, past Tsepeng pass.  There were flowers everywhere and it took some concentration not to step on them. 

We continued on to Mzimkulu Pass, where we got slightly disorientated as the mist set in. When the mist got too dense, we pitched our tents. When the hail started, Frans announced that it’s whisky on ice time.  Since we had plenty whisky, I pulled out all the stops when it was my turn to make Irish coffee.

3 January 2005:  The wind and rain played ping-pong with us all night, with a huge thundering storm added for variation.  Starting out at 06h30, with clear skies, we made it to Sani Top Chalet by 14h30 where a ice-cold beer and Gluwein awaited.

Frans’s knee was acting up badly and he would not be able to continue hiking. This leaves the expedition count down to three. A meeting was called and the following things were discussed

• “Berg” rule is never hike with less than four people;  
• Security in Lesotho is an issue;
• The weather is unpredictable in summer;
• We completed only 49 of the 217 km planned, and we started off from the South, whereas it’s normally done from the North.

Just before a decision to do another two day hike with Lorna, Ian and Leslie to Thaba Nthlenyana was reached, a perfect rainbow showed itself and more drinks were ordered.

4 January 2005: We left at 08h30 and had a Basotho entourage all the way to the camp on the slope of Thaba Nthlenyana where we pitched our tents at 15h30 in the hail. Just to keep everyone amused, Andre had some fun by running naked in the hail.

5 January 2005: We woke up at 03h00 and reached the peak at 05h00, just in time for a spectacular sunrise. I was instantly forgiven for forcing everyone (except Ian and Leslie) to get up so early. 

After a hearty breakfast that Ian had waiting at the camp, we hiked back to Sani Top Chalet, chatting away. The spectacular view imprinted on our minds forever.

Back on the tar road, we stopped for lunch at Himeville, where very few windows had survived the hailstorm.

Swaziland – Emlembe, Sibebe and Malelotja

Someone predicted bad weather for the weekend but I spend at least 2 hours on the net surfing for a weather-site predicting sunny weather – and voila – how bad can a cloud with one tiny drop somewhere in the distance be?

At 14h00 Bernelle, Frans, Lorna, Andre and myself were on our way in our two Uno 1100's to the Kingdom of Swaziland. We spend the night at Legends-a backpackers lodge with some very interesting characters and were woken at 2h00 by that one drop (that quickly turned into millions of big drops. But not to worry – when our guide turned up at 3h30 the weather was perfect and we were off - to climb the second largest rock mass in the world - Sibebe.

We didn’t get very far when Nthulani informed us that the rock was too slippery and that we had to turn back – so Lorna and I ended up watching birds and the other three had a rest. And then we were off to do some adventure caving.  Swaziland is really a beautiful place and after the caving we were soaking wet and we had a nice “swim” in the cuddle puddle close to Legends.

We had to abandon our mission

Then we were off again – by now the rocks were mostly dry – but what a mental challenge!  A little voice inside my head kept telling me that it was absolutely impossible to get to the top without ropes – luckily Fluff was brave (maybe because she could not turn around?) and I had some serious conversations with myself (one shuffle at a time/don’t look down/you can do it/are you $#@ crazy!!! etc.)

It's a long way down

Once on top it took me a while to get my knees to stop shaking (and to find Bernelle who fell in love with the place and went exploring).  Finally the adventure started...  We took a different route down and had some nice "bum slides". 


We also had to squeeze through a beautiful cave where I donated some skin.  Once down everyone agreed that it was a mind over matter thing – it seemed quite possible when you’re at the bottom but half way up you get a closer look and it is quite freaky!  

We all made it!

And that was the Sibebe challenge. 

We packed and headed for Malelotja but we missed the turn-off and spend the night camping outside Piggs Peak. It started raining but we were getting very good at pitching the tents in the rain.

The next morning I got the distinct feeling that some senses of humour were a bit lost but we headed for Bulwer in any case (it was only drizzling). What a nice surprise. We were able to get hold of a guide and the hike up to Emlembe (The highest peak in Swaziland) was - although a bit rushed - great.

The start of our hike to the top of the mountain

On the way to Malelotja, some people got into a better mood after being fed but I got a bit grumpy because no one wanted to stop to do some bird watching. Malelotja is a beautiful place, the campsites are awesome and we had a great time around the fire.

Monday morning Frans and myself followed Bernelle to the Malelotja falls where she discovered the adventurous mushroom route.  Another challenging hike back to the campsite followed with heavy lightning striking, just to discover that our dry clothes and hot food were locked in my car and that the keys were somewhere on a game drive.  Eventually, everyone calmed down after 2 hours when Andre and Lorna arrived back and we enjoyed a hot shower/something hot to eat/the birds and a final whisky in our coffee before we headed back to the rat race.

On top of Swaziland's highest peak