I wanted to start the New Year off with some much needed stretching of the legs so Thora and I joined Dave Gay on a 're-discovery' hike to the Didima Gorge area. The big attraction was Elands Cave, a cave I last visited some 18 years ago. Wow, now that makes me feel pretty old! Elands Cave is not on the map and is the home of some amazing rock art.
14 of us met at Didima on a cloudy and somewhat humid morning. It was great to see old hiking friends again and to meet new ones. We were going to start our hike at where the Mhlwazini river crosses the road to Cathdral Peak - this meant a 4km walk on the tar from the carpark to the site of the old Brotherton Store ( which no longer exists) so this meant we were in for a total of 17km or so by the end of the day. Our hike into the valley was along various paths and tracks and it was interesting to see the ruins of the old houses of the Forestry Department at Solar Cliffs. So called because this area is bakingly hot in the Summer months, something I can attest to, having walked through here in times past. Luckily today the sun was hidden behind clouds, but this didn’t help with the humidity which was high. We crossed the river taking off boots and wading over, whilst some enjoyed a quick dip. Soon we were approaching the Didima Gorge and had to make two river crossings again at this point. Once we were all across we bashed our way through a lot of undergrowth before we were able to stop for a quick lunch break. I don’t remember it being as overgrown as this and its clear that not many people come this way anymore. We made our way into the gorge along a contour and enjoyed the views of the magnificent indigenous forests below. We saw a small shelter which had sadly been vandalised by scratchings on the rock face - a fire had done the rest of the damage and the paintings were tragically no longer visible. From here we descended further down to the river, coming across another shelter where there were again signs of vandalism. One wonders what sort of person would do this - after all these shelters require some effort to get to.
After enjoying a swim in beautiful surroundings we trudged upwards until we eventually arrived at our home for the night - a hidden cave with a beautiful outlook. Well worth the sweat and effort involved to get there! We spent a peaceful evening and awoke to misty views outside the cave. We got off to an early start with another lung busting climb to the plateau behind the cave. The mist had cleared although the clouds remained for the rest of the day, making conditions cool to walk in. We made our way over to Elands Cave and spent some time admiring the paintings. Since my last visit, it is obvious that the art is fading slowly but surely and sadly will soon be lost to future generations. From here we commenced our long walk back to the carpark, returning via the zig zags on the Junction Cave route. The rain that had been threatening started as we crossed the river for the last time and continued until we reached the road. As it was still quite warm no-one bothered with rain gear. The last 4kms on the tar road were quite a slog and we were all most relieved to reach Didima and change into dry clothes. A most enjoyable hike and a good start to 2020!
