Arrive in Johannesburg from your International Flight. Make your way to the complimentary shuttle that will take you to Safari Club Lodge. Arrive at the lodge, check in and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
You will be collected at the lodge and transferred to the northern Drakensberg, check in at Cavern Berg Resort (approx. 4 hours drive).
Goodoo Falls Hike – 8 hrs / 18 km
Grade: C+: Trekking might be strenuous, offering excitement and challenges, with up to 7 – 8 hours walking and occasional scrambling. Walking boots with good ankle support, moulded soles and waterproof, breathable uppers are mandatory for safety and insurance reasons. Chain ladders may be encountered on some routes.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide as the paths are not well marked on the escarpment.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel, hike from the Top Gate up through Sugar Loaf Gap. Part way up the Sugar Loaf itself, take a right-hand track that goes behind the peak. This leads to Cold Hill, ascending about 500 m. Follow the line of the fence and around Broome Hill. Cross the fence, and proceed down the slope of Plowman’s Kop for about 2 km, where the stream is seen on the right, nestling in the valley. Towards the end of Plowman’s Kop slopes, ease right, dropping gently into the valley, picking up the path to the lip of Goodoo Falls. Swim in the pools and have lunch at the top of the falls.
Hike back to The Cavern by climbing out of the valley. Follow along the contour path around Castle Rocks, around The Diamond and over Surprise Ridge, back to The Cavern. In winter take torch, in case darkness falls before arrival home.
“Cavern Big 5” Hike 8 hrs/18 km
Grade: B: Hard walking and scrambling, up to an average of eight hours per day. Please note from trekking descriptions the altitudes that are likely to be reached. We advise that previous experience of hard mountain walking is essential. Walking boots with good ankle support, moulded soles and waterproof, breathable uppers are mandatory for safety and insurance reasons. Chain ladders may be encountered, so a good head for heights is also necessary. Some routes pass through snow.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide. Need a head for heights as there are short climbs over boulders and the descent to Cannibal Cave is very steep.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel: This hike takes you up Hlolela (500 m and an approximately two-hour climb to 2127 m) via Scilla Gully, and then on to the Bridge of the Battleship. From Battleship hike down towards Venus’ Bath for tea, and then on to the top of Sugar Loaf. Then hike to the top of Cold Hill. Descend from Cold Hill via the Devil's Staircase and Cavern Gap to Cannibal Cavern for lunch. After lunch, hike along Surprise Ridge to Camel’s Hump and then home. There are escape routes back home at several points along the route. This hike, because of the range of habitats it traverses, and the ever-changing view, offers the best chance to see eland. It is the biggest antelope found on earth. Imposing and elegant, its great dewlap is impressive. Both sexes bear tightly spiralled horns, those of the males being heavier.
Sugarloaf to Witsieshoek Rest Camp - 7 hrs / 14 km
Grade D+: Moderate terrain. Undulating path with a few steep slopes and fairly easy scrambles. Expect energetic hikes among hills and relatively easy mountain walking.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel: Head for Sugar Loaf Gap. The path takes you behind Broome Hill. There are various paths and routes and the guide will decide on the path to follow. The path to the Witsieshoek Rest Camp is undulating and rises slowly as one ascends towards the camp. Water may be difficult to locate, so make sure to carry some. Vultures often soar over Sugar Loaf. Two species occur here. The Cape vulture is endemic – found only in southern Africa, with its main stronghold in the Berg. It is gregarious, so although foraging birds are widely spread, to survey the most ground, each can see the next, and all will arrive at a carcass within a few minutes. The bearded vulture (lammergeyer) is solitary, preferring old kills, even dry bones that other scavengers cannot manage. If the bone is too big to swallow, the lammergeyer carries it high in the air and drops it on a big rock to crack the bone open. Its rusty colour is a form of make-up, derived from iron-rich rocks, and must be renewed after every moult to impress the opposite sex.
Amphitheatre ascent – 8 hrs
Grade: C+: Trekking might be strenuous, offering excitement and challenges, with up to 7 – 8 hours walking and occasional scrambling. Chain ladders are encountered.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide as the paths are not well marked on the escarpment.
Breakfast at the lodge, vehicle transfer to Sentinel carpark. Depart with packed lunches and qualified guide: After filling in the mountain register, you start your hike along a well maintained path which ascends gradually towards the Witches and the Zig-Zags, taking you to the base of the Sentinel massif. From here, you swing right and follow the contour path below the Western buttresses with the land sloping steeply to the north and east giving you wonderful views of the Malutis and the Witsieshoek plateau. The chain ladders are reached after about 3 kilometres, and after negotiating the two sections of rock wall it is only a short scramble up from there to the escarpment where you can spend the better part of the day in exploration. Walk to the edge of the Amphitheatre, where the Tugela Falls (second highest waterfall in the world) cascades over the cliff-face. Return either via the Gulley of the Chain Ladders. This is usually at least a 6 hour hike and the whole day is set aside for this. Vehicle transfer back to your lodge.
Descent from Witsieshoek to Mahai Camp – 4 hrs
Grade D: A reasonably energetic walks downhill rather than mountains, not too strenuous although some paths may be rough.
Terrain: Downhill on reasonably good paths
Breakfast and depart with packed lunches via Mahai Waterfall to Mahai campsite. The hike will take approximately 3-4 hours and is very scenic with waterfalls, paths below sandstone cliffs and yellowwood forest crossing the Mahai river.
Your transfer vehicle will meet you once you reach the Visitor’s Centre at the end of the hike. Drive to The Cavern Hotel to collect your luggage (which was left in safekeeping there) and transfer to Johannesburg. (Dinner for own account).
Tour ends after breakfast. Complimentary shuttle to Johannesburg International Airport.
