Hiking Drakensburg with Germiston Rovers

Delville’s First Germiston Scouts leaders recently saw the world from a heightened perspective after they journeyed on a two-day overnight hike on the Northern Drakensberg mountains to the Tugela Falls from March 6 to 7.

Clayton Warren, the district commissioner of the Eland District, shared more on how the hike went.

“We started at the Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge and hiked up to the Sentinel Car Park and then on to the Chain Ladders before ascending to the Amphitheatre and crossing to the Tugela Falls.

“It was fairly windy on both days. When the sunset it got quite chilly too; hence, it’s important to be prepared for all weather conditions when hiking in the Drakensberg.”

Candice Warren from the First Germiston Scouts group was part of the hiking party.

She said hiking on the Drakensberg was on her bucket list for years.

“The Amphitheatre was far more beautiful than I could have imagined.

“This was an incredible experience and I’d recommend it to anyone.”

The hikers experienced light rain on Friday night before the hike and endured overcast conditions to start on Saturday.

“Overall, the weather was perfect for hiking, cool, clear skies, sunshine and a good breeze,” said Clayton.

He added the hike was a great way to sign off his youth scout adventures while other rovers who joined in and had never hiked in the Drakensberg would get great experience to take younger scouts hiking in the future.

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“There are four branches of scouting, each with their advancement programme and top award.

The fourth branch is called Rovers and it is for scouts aged 18 to 30.

The top award in Rovers is called the BP award and this was the final requirement for my BP Award.

He added that he chose this particular route as it was the first overnight hike he did as a scout when he was 13 years old.

“We started hiking just after 9am on Saturday and reached the edge of the Tugela Falls around 5pm.

“It was a good eight-hour walk with lots of stopping in between to soak up the beautiful views.”

Clayton explained most people drive or catch a lift up to the Sentinel Car Park; however, they chose to walk to add some distance and challenge to the route.

“The road is easy walking albeit quite steep most of the way, you ascend roughly 450m over the 6km trek from Witsieshoek to the Car Park.

The route from the Sentinel Car Park to the Chain Ladders is very well-maintained and well-marked too. There wasn’t any litter, which also makes the hike a real pleasure.”

He added most of the ascent was covered in the first 2km up to the Sentinel and mostly flat from there for the next 2km to the ladders.

“The ladders can be rather intimidating if you are afraid of heights, the first is 17m tall and the second is 13m tall.

“Once on the Amphitheatre, it is flat to the edge of the Tugela Falls.”

Justice Kgomo said it was his first time on the Drakensberg and it was amazing.

“The chain ladders were an experience of a lifetime as I’m afraid of heights.

“The route is a bit of a stretch for first-time hikers but the view it comes with gives you an incredible feeling that you want to share with others.

“Justice said it was tough but he now has memories to enjoy for life.”

Deon van den Berg from the hiking group said he was doing the hike for the fourth time.

“The weather was different every time.

“I have been through the sun, rain and even snow.

“The trail is so well-maintained and the route is so beautiful I’d do it a fifth time in a heartbeat.”

Michael Waters said the hike was an amazing experience.

“The views were spectacular and the company even better. We got to know each other as a group.

“At the end of the day, there was a real sense of pride sitting at the edge of the falls looking out over the valley below.”

The next hike for the scouting group will be a First Class hike for one of the senior scouts.

“He will be leading his patrol on a weekend adventure of his own in May.

“He still needs to nail down some details but I will make sure to pass on the information once the hike has been completed.”

Clayton added they will also be doing a junior hike for the scouts this year.

“We have not yet set a date for that, perhaps we could open it to the public to join as well.”

The scouts’ leader thanked the Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge for hosting them on Friday night and the members of the hiking party, Candice Warren, Deon van den Berg, Michael Waters, Justice Kgomo, Richard Lewarne and Megan Evans.

“You were the perfect bunch to sign off with.”

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Marietta Lombard (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za,  or (Journalists) Busi Vilakazi busiv@caxton.co.za , and Lebogang Sekgwama lebogangs@caxton.co.za.