After two days of intermittent rain in the Bergs Joan and I woke up to clear skies above. And that’s where I’d be headed for my scheduled overnight Drakensberg hike lead by John (son of Jo from memorable meanders).
A good sign. About 8.5 miles (14 km) to Brian Bush Camp. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about the distance. It felt like that far.)
We initially walked up through a short stretch of indigenous forest, and then continued into bushveld, thick scrubby trees and bush in dense thickets, and eventually grassland.
I took a fall at Crystal Falls stepping onto a slippery rock to take a photo but was OK and saved the new camera from a soaking. Actually drank the stream water, delicious and no problems.
Champagne Castle 3377m, Cathkin Peak 3148m & the Sterkhorn 2973m
A little further past the Sphinx the path winds steeply up the rest of the Little Berg and onto the plateau.
Once on the plateau we stopped at Breakfast Stream for a snack and were entertained by a couple of sun lizards (top right).
The eye of the needle
The path lead us slightly uphill and down following the gentle contour of this lush plateau.
Even during fall there were a few flowers and we grazed along the way on wild berries.
The mountains are capped by a layer of basalt approximately 1,400 meters thick, with sandstone lower down, resulting in a combination of steep-sided blocks and pinnacles.
Many of the primary minerals within the basalts have been altered to form zeolites, found in cavities in basalt. Looked like pale blue banded agate to me.
Day hiking is not recommended beyond Blinds man corner…
…a great place to stop for lunch and enjoy the views.
As we continued towards the Dragons Teeth it seemed the breath of the dragon began to roll in.
Suddenly a monster storm rolled over us with loud and energetic thunder and lightning dropping buckets of water until we were soaked.
Just as quickly, the storm moved on and the earth smelled freshly washed.
Soon after the squall passed we turned a corner and saw Monks Cowl towering above Brian Bush Camp.
And in only a bit farther–seemed like forever at that point–John had camp set up and hot water on for tea and cocoa. He’s a great guy and guide. We basically dried fast after our drenching yet as the sun disappeared I was glad for dry poly and warm supper. John walked down to the stream and took a dip before retiring but not me. I like hot water down my back, which would happen the next day after our hike back.
(Update: my apologies, as the name of the camp is actually Keith Bush camp.)
I am in awe….with my mouth wide open. Feed me more Scenic Wonders.
Nice post – Would love to get there some day. My Bucket List includes east African early man sites… there are so many to visit now I nearly don't know where to start!
Great photos of a terrific hike. Boom & Gary of The Vermilon River, Canada.
Thanks for the memories. So glad you saved your camera when you fell or we may not have seen all these fantastic photos. Diane
So green there, Gaelyn, and you captured the magnitude well! I'm always a bit frightened when a storm blows in while i'm up high.
I am so glad you shared this magnificent country with us. A wonderful hike and I'm sure the shower refreshed you as well as the countryside. What an experience!
looks like and sounds like an amazing adventure. So happy for you to do these things. Much happiness to you as we roll into the winter solstice.
It's nice to see some green, and these photos are soooo tempting. Currently our ground is white….no flowers….and no lizards.
You were brave to drink the stream water. I almost drank the perfectly clear water around Bishop in the Sierras, but was warned by my friend not to.
Thanks for sharing those phortos!!
They are all amazing!!
And thanks so much for your wonderful comments!
B
What an adventure! I'm jealous. lol!
B
In two weeks time we hit the Berg. My only concern are those little thunderstorms that tend to hit it in the afternoon.
Hi Gaelyn. I’m way back in my comments! I was so excited to see your first photo o the EXACT sight I see every day when I come to work! The Dragon’s Back and our magnificent peaks.: Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak. Your distances to the camp are correct but it’s not Brian Bush camp but Keith Bush Camp. It was lovely to see John on your post. What a lovely young man he is. I was at a birthday party ;last week and a friend told me how John had guided her nephew and his wife successfully up Sterkhorn, aalso in this area. I’m off to read your post for today which is 27 January 2019!
Thank you for the correction, I added an update to the post. That was a most marvelous hike into your beautiful mountains. John is a great guide.