The Amphitheatre is arguably the Drakensberg’s most famous landmark, and also home to the Tugela Falls which is 983m high. It has long been believed to be the second-highest terrestrial waterfall in the world but has recently unofficially overtaken the Angel Falls ( Venezuela) for the contested title of highest waterfall in the world, according to the World Waterfall Database.
I have visited it many times throughout the years both on day hikes and also passing by en route on multi day hikes. However the highest point in the area is Mont Aux Sources at 3282 metres and in twenty years of hiking, I have never been there. A group of 14 hikers met at the Witsieshoek resort on Saturday, some of whom had never been up the Amphitheatre or faced the chain ladders, including yours truly who finally hoped to summit this peak.
Sunday dawned cool and clear and the first challenge of the day was negotiating the section of road between Witsieshoek and Sentinel carpark – definitely not for the faint hearted and a high clearance vehicle is essential. The section of road that is not paved is in shocking condition in places and has deteriorated significantly in the three years since I was last here. I was also keen to see the ‘progress’ on the new accommodation block and was disappointed to find that although it appeared complete, there was no running water in the ablution block and strangely enough, the floor in the dormitory block appears to run at quite a slope! We were told that this would only open once the road was completed and that COVID had delayed matters. Always a good excuse!
Being a long weekend there were scores of people on the mountain and we heard that there was also a party of some 60 schoolchildren that were tenting up there. Fortunately they had gone up the day before, but there was still a bottleneck at the chain ladders as there is only one functioning chain ladder at the bottom half as the second one is still out of commission. Congratulations to those brave enough to conquer their fears and the ladder for the first time! Once we were all up we made our way to the Falls. As we are at the height of the dry season there was very little water in the river and only ice encrusted pools were to be seen. There was barely a trickle going over the falls so sadly it was not much of a spectacle for those who were viewing it for the first time. However, the sheer majesty of the awe inspiring views of the escarpment and down into KZN never fail to impress. However on a more disappointing note I was disheartened to see lots of toilet paper, wet wipes (and worse!) at the viewing point and surrounds – this seems to be occurring more and more in wilderness areas and is of huge concern.
After lunch we split into two groups : those that wanted to explore along the escarpment edge and a group of us that wanted to climb Mont Aux Sources. We took the route directly up from behind the Mountain Club Hut and made a short stop there. This hut was built in 1930 and is still standing despite the severe weather conditions it endures at times. The fact that the roof corners are weighted down with huge rocks says it all! It has lost a lot of its former glory however and there is a huge pile of rubbish in the main room and rocks have been piled into the window frames to stop the wind. The door is no more either. Its still a good place to shelter though in inclement weather.
We continued upwards and saw Crows Nest Cave – aptly named as there are superb views of the Amphitheatre from there. This cave can sleep 4 comfortably with 6 at a squeeze. Onwards and upwards we trudged with the air becoming thinner and our breathing more laboured. The last 100 metres is quite steep and we could see many people on the summit. It turned out to be the party of school children and they started descending as we climbed the last rocky steps to the summit. Victory was sweet for all of us and we rested a while enjoying the fruit of our labours and the views before heading down towards the chainladders. We had arranged to meet the others back at the carpark and by the time we descended the chainladders it was already going on for 4.30pm. We made good time and arrived at the carpark in fading light. A wonderful day out and well done to everybody!
