Due to this weekend being a long weekend in SA (and also to celebrate our birthdays), Pete & I along with British expats Gareth & Sophie decided a weekend getaway trip was required and the Central Drakensberg Ranges was chosen as the destination.
We camped at Monks Cowl which is nestled in the picturesque Champagne Valley at the base of the Central Drakensberg Ranges in Kwazulu-Natal. In training for the Mt Kilimanjaro hike that we all hope to hike whilst we are based in Africa, we ventured off on Sunday for a long and hilly hike. We first headed to Blindman's Corner, an 11km return route from the camp. This route takes you steeply up a berg to The Sphinx and then along a flat and meandering grassy plateau to the base of the summits. However, upon arriving there we felt like a further challenge so subsequently climbed 1/3 of the way up Sterkhorn Mt. And up we climbed... at times the hill we were climbing had a gradient of >55 degrees!
We rested for lunch perched precariously on the side of the Mountain taking in the stunning views and watching an enormous eagle fly amoungst the peaks. In the distance the mountain tops had a thin blanket of snow- our first siting of snow in Africa. Stupidly, we thought it would be fun to make a challenge of the return time to camp, so walked/jogged all the way from the summit back to camp. Consequently we feel like cripples today, especially after the 4 hour return drive to Johannesburg.
Thankfully we decided that it was time to upgrade our tent (from a 2 man to an enormous 6 man with outdoor dining/storage area!) so upon returning to the camp there was plently of room to rest & relax in our new tent.
Next time we plan to hike and camp overnight at Blindman's Corner and then hike to the summit.
Monks Cowl campsite
Pete on top of The Sphinx (1,700m)
View from The Sphinx to The Sterkhorn (2,973m)
Plentiful wildflowers on the grassy plateau
Our achievement!
Soph, Ga, Pete & Jen resting for lunch
View from lunchstop... our campsite is ~1000m below in the valley on the right!
Lunch amongst the peaks & soaring eagles
The at-times ridiculously steep hike down the summit. We were reduced to slipping & sliding on our bums on numerous occasions.
Our new camping Taj Mahal!!