This cave is situated in a beautiful little valley below the Umzimkhulu pass at Garden Castle, and features striking sandstone formations as well as the well-known Umzimkhulu Pipeline. This is where the river of the same name makes its way through and next to a curved rock face and you boulder hop up this section through the river. I was last in this area over 10 years ago and was keen to get reacquainted. Hilton very kindly gave us a lift but wasn’t feeling up to the hike once we arrived and stayed at the hotel whilst Dave, Richard and myself set off. In the past we had an arrangement with the owner of a farm that borders the area that enabled us to walk directly up the valley to the cave. This is no longer the case however, so this meant a longer and harder route to get there. Once over the first ridge and past Dinosaur Rock, we angled to the right and made our way up towards a saddle on a high ridge. I made rather heavy weather of this and can only put it down towards the ‘first day blues’ – something that happens from time to time. By the time we topped out I was feeling low in energy and in need of a break. We stopped for lunch further along but I never regained any energy and the remainder of the hike up the valley was a real effort! The weather behaved and although at times it looked as if we would get some rain, we remained dry. There was quite a bit of water in the river which was surprising so early in the season, but there have been one or two good rains, so perhaps not so surprising! The Pipeline was everything I had remembered, and we also came across a group of 8 or so dagga smugglers who were taking a break there. They seemed unconcerned at our presence and we greeted them before moving on. The valley narrows from this point on and the massive sandstone cliffs became even more impressive. I was just placing one foot in front of the other at this stage and not concentrating as I should have – my foot caught underneath the edge of a rock in the path and before I knew it I was literally nose deep in a sandy bank! Luckily nothing broken aside from a few grazes. I was very glad to arrive at the cave and after sitting down and enjoying a drink, I felt revived enough to have a wash in the pools below. This is an idyllic setting and although the cave faces on to the opposite bank, the river tumbling through the pools below are beautiful. We noticed a few Basothos making their way up the pass, so clearly this is a well travelled route for them.
After a long day I was in my sleeping bag early, and not awake long enough to enjoy the sound of the water below – always my favourite when sleeping in a cave.
We were up early the following morning and on our way by 6.30am. We had a big climb out to get to the top of the ridge and from here it was a lot of traversing in and out the valleys and gullies, all off path. It was very scenic walking directly under the Little Rhino and we eventually found a route down a long grassy gully. We could not see the bottom so there was some doubt as to whether we could find a way through, but Dave went down first and then indicated that it was a ‘go’. We arrived back at the campsite at 2.00pm to enjoy a welcome shower and then the drive back home.
A tough hike but nonetheless an enjoyable one!
