Kolby Kirk linked to this bit of wisdom:
“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.”
~ Anatoli Boukreev
Thukela Gorge, South Africa
I hiked to the top of Thukela Falls, one of the highest in the world. There’s another terrific trek in the National Park to the base of the Falls.
Trip report from the Cooking in Tongues blog:
Royal Natal National Park, Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa, September 26, 2011
I’m up early hoping to catch the first rays of light on the Amphitheater. The cliff face glows in the early morning light just before 6. …
… about nine miles round trip up the gorge with great views of the Amphitheater. …
We follow the river upstream until we come to the confluence of two rivers. Here you have the option of taking the “tunnel” along the river through the gorge or climbing the chain ladder up about 50 feet to a path that bypasses the “tunnel”. …
Amphitheater trek, South Africa
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.
Within 36hrs of landing in JoBurg I found myself atop the Amphitheater cliffs looking down at one of the highest waterfalls in the world.
How did I get here?
It’s easy.
Catch the Baz Bus to Amphitheater backpackers in the northern Drakensberg.
While checking into the hostel, sign up for their most popular guided hike. It’s offered about every 2nd day for about $50 all inclusive.
7:30am departure.
Here’s our guide “Sim” parking one of the hiker shuttle vans at Sentinel car park 2,500m (8,200 ft). This is the only official day hiking trail leading to the top of the Drakensberg escarpment.
Yep. That’s the Sentinel. You cannot climb it without ropes. We’ll skirt the base.
The trail zigzags up towards the big peak. Then traverses right.
Entirely above the treeline, we did not see much in the way of wildlife. Aside from lizards, of course.
It was an easy start with perfect weather.
One short ladder on the ascent.
The crux of the hike is up this gorge.
It’s a 300m scramble. Not too difficult overall.
Atop the Amphitheater cliffs, we stopped for lunch. Our guides were disappointed that clouds obscured the fantastic views.
Note the big birds that stopped for lunch with us.
20min further is the top of Tugela Falls.
The water is quite warm. … I’m told.
Our guide told us that one hiker fell from here on a winter trek. Slipped on the ice.
Finally I called on the old Gods and new to dissipate the clouds.
Everything opened up. And we were shocked to see where we’d been standing so casually.
It’s about 1km down.
The Amphitheatre is widely regarded as one of the most impressive cliff faces on earth, over 5km (3.1mi) in length.
Surprisingly, these cliffs are not much used for BASE jumping and the ilk. Apparently winds are not favourable here.
One girl from Finland had been to Roraima via Venezuela. She said there were definitely similarities with the top of the Tupuis there …
… But many differences too.
The standard route is a Lollypop loop. Rather than backtracking we descended via long ladders.
From the bottom, it was another cliff traverse to regain our original trail.
The vegetation in South Africa is different than what I’m used to. The most interesting plant is this … Pineapple something.
One intensely scenic day. We all left happy.
This New Yorker was on the last 4 days of 2 years of traveling.
Back at the car park we enjoyed a gymnastics performance.
And saw one sleepy snake close to where we parked the vans.
more pics from this trek
I didn’t delete many photos as most up there in the Bergs were cool. 🙂
related – Controversy Between Tugela Falls and Angel Falls as World’s Tallest Waterfall
arrived Drakensberg
Just checked in at Amphitheatre Backpackers in the northern Drakensberg. Superb location. Weather is great for January.
South Africa is incredibly easy to travel staying in hostels like these. Getting around by Baz Bus.
I’m already booked for the essential Amphitheatre trek tomorrow, guided. That takes us to the top of Tugela Falls (Thukela Falls), a total drop of 947 metres.
The day after we’ll take a cultural hike in Lesotho. Or climb Cathedral peak — if enough people sign up. 🙂
• Thukela Gorge Walk trip report (Sept)
related – India hates tourists
Annapurna Base Camp
Adventure Blog:
The trek to Annapurna Base Camp has long been seen as one of the best hikes in the world. Wandering through the Himalaya in Nepal, the trail takes backpackers through remote mountain villages, over high passes, and through scenic valleys, before eventually arriving at the base of the 8091 meter (26,545 ft) peak. …
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Epic Treks
I’ve just subscribed to a site new to me. It lists hundreds of great treks around the world — though I was dubious after seeing the Inca Trail ranked #1. 😦
It’s not even one of the best hikes to Machu Picchu.
Here’s their top 10:
1 Inca Trail
2 Mt. Kilimanjaro
3 Tour du Mont Blanc
4 Torres del Paine Trek
5 Everest Base Camp
6 Annapurna Circuit
7 Routeburn Track
8 West Coast Trail
9 John Muir Trail
10 Tongariro Northern Circuitfull list – epictreks.com
Up front on the site is this truth:
The idea of ranking a trek is ridiculous. To claim that one trek is superior to another is complete conjecture. But everyone loves a good ranking. …
Check it out.
The now defunct Get Outdoors blog called rankings like this “meaningless lists“. 🙂
researching the Drakensberg
I’m off to South Africa. By the weekend you’ll find me at Amphitheatre Backpackers in the northern ‘berg.
My only guidebook, so far, is Cicerone Walking in the Drakensberg by Jeff Williams.
That hostel provides a hiker’s shuttle to Royal Natal National Park.
Leave a comment if you have advice on best hikes in the Drakensberg.
my next sleeping bag – Backcountry Bed
Sean McCoy:
… Why it took a company so long to figure out this simple design I will never know, but the to-be-released Backcountry Bed from Sierra Designs (which we awarded a Best In Show at the 2013 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market) is a somewhat revolutionary way to sleep outside.
The Backcountry Bed design is so simple it’s silly. Basically a sleeping bag with a large hole cut out of the middle section, the “bed” uses an attached blanket to close the hole instead of a zipper. The blanket can be pulled up around the user to seal the opening.
The Backcountry Bed will hit the market in early 2014. …
Gear Junkie – Not A Mummy: Zipper-less Design Offers New Sleeping Bag Experience
Mike Howarth – Manaslu Circuit
I spent over 2wks with Mike in Nepal, 10 days on the Manaslu Circuit. Along with:
Brion & Betsy – the not so newly weds.
Tasha & Ivan – the Alaskan powerhouses
A few of his photos:
Mike’s a true photographer. I’m more of a fauxtographer. 🙂
Here’s Mike’s trip report on our adventure.
see all of Mike’s Manaslu photos on flickr
Mike’s now down in Patagonia, trekking and cycling north towards the equator.
Glacier National Park
One of our favourite hiking destinations in the world is Montana.
Check this nice introduction video from Finley Holiday.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
