Drakensberg South Africa - Day 8
South of Nquaza Pass to Cathedral Peak Hotel
Distance 18km
Thursday 17th May 2012
It was
another cold morning start and again we waited for the sun to come out and dry
the tents. We did not have to wait too long. As we were getting ready to move off, the
other group came up to our camp site. We
finished sorting our kit then moved off after a quick chat.
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| Woody, Fatha and Lyle |
 |
| What a view |
Another climb up onto the top ridge, Woody and Tim navigating. We traveled further South, moving to high
ground. It was quite a steep climb
before we dropped
into another valley.
 |
| Woody, Fatha, Steely and Tim |
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| Itchy, Fatha, Steely and Tim |
 |
| Itchy admiring the view |
 |
| Steely viewing |
 |
| What a view |
 |
| One of a number of eagles we saw in the area |
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| Woody pointing the way, Lyle and Fatha looking the other way |
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| Fatha sorting his bag, Itchy covering his eyes |
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| Fatha looking down on the path far, far, far below |
We then
climbed to the next ridge before we hit the path that took us down to the
hotel. The path down was very steep and
crossed back and forth across the stream a great many number of times. It also climbed and dropped many times
before finally rising up onto open ground. It took us a good few hours hard walking before the route twisted around the valley
sides then started dropping back again to the stream.
The path then became more cultivated and had signs of a running route, a
short climb up and a drop to the football field before leading us into the
Cathedral Peak hotel. Very tired and weary with what had been a hard walk down hill.
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| Down, down, deeper and down |
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| Nearly there or are we? No the hotel was still deeper down the valley. |
As we sat and
ordered some food we had a couple of drinks to celebrate. Eventually the other group came in and
ordered some food as well as a couple of rooms between them. After our drinks we moved back up the hill a little, back to the
football field to pitch our tents and spend the night.
 |
| Campsite on the football field |
Moving from a campsite 1km South of Nquaza Pass 3061m to Cathedral Peak Hotel 1500m. Approx 1600m descent, what had been a steep descent in places, with approx 18km walking.
More to follow
Boz North
Details correct at time of walking.
If you have enjoyed reading my walk or found it useful you may also like to read other walks I have done in South Africa or other areas. Please check out the links on the right hand side.
Follow previous - Day 7 West of Rwanga Pass to South of Nquaza Pass
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