Its not often that I am out in the Berg two weeks in a row, and in the same area, but so it turned out to be when Thora and I joined Dave Gay on his hike to Gxalingwenya Cave. The big attraction for me was the opportunity to hike Ndlovini. This is a huge massive that stretches from the Giants Cup Trail before it tails off just before the plateau where Pinnacle Rock is situated.
A small group of five were on this hike and we were all glad to escape the Corona Virus situation into the peace and quiet of the mountains for a day or so.
We left Cobham on a blue bird day with beautiful cloud formations to delight the eye and made our way up the picturesque valley that forms day one of the Giants Cup Trail. We turned off a little early for the path that leads up to the Ndlovini Ridge, but after a little bundu bashing, found it and followed the steady but steep incline upwards, enjoying the views all round. We reached a saddle and had a break before descending and contouring around through bushy grass towards Pinnacle Rock. I would really like to hike along the top of the entire ridge sometime and have put this on my to do list. Lunch break was at Pinnacle Rock which is a massive triangular shaped rock that has somehow ended up in this spot. One wonders at the forces that caused it to end up here all those thousands of years ago. We continued on to Gxalingwenya Cave and were safe and sound in the cave when an impressive hail storm descended in the late afternoon.
The next day we returned via a different route, the Ngwenya Pools which are always lovely to see. While we were there we saw some trail runners approaching along with their dog. We were impressed with their energy! We arrived back at camp towards midday, and I’m sure I speak for the others when I say we were reluctant to return to civilisation. The Berg is always balm for the soul and you tend not to think about the worlds problems whilst there. Thanks Dave and my fellow hikers for an enjoyable weekend!
