We decided to revisit the beautiful Mnweni area, and the plan was to do the classic route – up Mnweni Pass and down Rockeries with an overnight in Ledges Cave. This is an escarpment cave that is literally situated on a ‘ledge’ hence the name with a rather precipitous drop off in front of it. No sleepwalking allowed here! I have been there many times but never slept there.
We set off from the Cultural Centre and elected to walk the first4km instead of getting a lift to where we usually start hiking. We thought we would save the taxi fare for a pickup on Sunday instead when we would be sure to appreciate it after the long descent down Rockeries. Although it was a lovely sunny winters day, we had to walk against a strong headwind the entire way. At one stage we had to crouch down and hold on to nearby branches as the gusts threatened to blow us over! Upon reaching the Mnweni river, we
were astounded to see that the river course has changed considerably. It is now
a massive boulder bed due to the heavy rains the Berg has experienced earlier this Summer. We had to negotiate a new path off the heavily eroded banks to enter the boulder bed and then pick our way across to the other side. We reached the Rwanqa side valley and here the scene was the same – a huge mass of boulders across the riverbed. After 16km we called it a day and put up our tent near the ruin of the old stone wall kraal and this proved to be a good decision as we were well sheltered from the wind that continued to gust throughout the night.
Once the sun rose the following morning, the wind, thankfully lost most of its ferocity and we enjoyed an uneventful walk up to the base of Mnweni Pass, noting that the previous tenting spots at Chi Chi Bush camp have all but disappeared under the boulder strewn riverbed. We made good time up Mnweni Pass despite the heavy erosion and topped out at lunchtime. We made our way towards Ledges Cave and noticed the clouds coming in. It’s a steep descent down an almost vertical gully into the cave but it’s a case of it looking much worse than it is. At first the clouds obscured our views, but it cleared up later, affording us the magnificent views that this cave is well known for. Dusk fell and it was a magical sight looking out on the horizon that had turned a burnished orange. What spoilt it a little for me though were the myriad lights that sprung up in the valleys below – one loses that ‘remote wilderness’ feeling. The wind picked up and seemed to whirl in different directions, making for an unsettled night.
We got up at leisure, enjoying the warmth of the sun that came directly into the cave. We took a walk along the escarpment edge, taking in the views of the cutback and then heading for Mponjwane Cave. Another night on the escarpment is always good after having worked so hard to get there! From the cave one has the very imposing view of Mponjwane tower directly in front and this area is very sheltered from the weather. We were quite surprised at the mild weather which must have been in the region of 4 or 5 degrees the following morning.
On our way down Rockeries the next day we encountered a large group of guided hikers who had tented at the top of the pass. To my disgust I came across toilet paper and worse right on the path! I made mention of this to the leader without sounding accusatory, but it was obvious that the culprit had been one of the group. We arrived at Hlongwane's Kraal at lunchtime and as predicted, were more than happy to get our lift back to the Cultural Centre and avoid that last 5kms on the road.
Mwneni – we will be back!
