The Citadel is situated on a long ridge underneath the third Devils Knuckle at Sehlabathebe. I had previously visited it in 2021 and been very impressed with the amazing rock formations and beauty of the area.
From Tarn Cave you have a good view of the ridges under the Knuckles and on a recent hike there with Dave Gay and Geoff Tennant, a debate grew over the location of the correct Citadel. Apparently there are two! Dave and Geoff felt that ‘their’ Citadel was on the first ridge north of Tarn cave whereas I said that it was the one I had gone to previously which was a few ridges further north. After checking with fellow hikers, it appeared that both are considered to be the Citadel! To make it even more interesting both have rock arches - this was intriguing and I simply had to visit the other one to see for myself. (For our own ease of reference Richard named Dave’s Citadel ‘Frikkadel’ and the more northern one as Citadel)
The weather forecast for the weekend was not looking good and had not improved by the day before the hike. Nevertheless Richard and I decided to take a chance and drove up on the Friday morning. As we approached Bushmans Nek, there were very black ominous clouds over the Knuckles and it was not looking good. On a brighter note the rivers had subsided substantially thus making our crossings easy without us having to take boots off. As we progressed up the valley towards Bushmans Cave the sun made an appearance, and clouds started to disburse. Things were looking promising! We arrived at the cave at midday and made ourselves comfortable. During the afternoon we went for a walk up the steep incline on top of the cave and found the Tarn – well worth the effort!
The next morning we took the ridge that runs just north of Ngwangwane Pass and were soon at the top with Thaba Ngwangwe towering above us. The morning was cool with lots of clouds about, and it seemed as if the rain was holding off. We walked down the valley with the Senotlolong Shelter visible on our left. I had not realised that this was a working kraal and evidence of its use were the dogs that barked as soon as they saw us. The shepherd also made an appearance and this elicited a rather brisk walk up the valley which was a pity as it would have been pleasant to enjoy this lovely valley at a more leisurely pace. We soon reached the saddle and then descended to the contour path below the Knuckles. The path came and went and it was rough going in places. Soon we could see the first Citadel which we descended to. Richard had not seen this and he was impressed with the size and shape of the rock formations. After a stiff climb up again we continued on the contour path, and stopped for lunch in the cutback directly under the first Knuckle. Soon we were descending to the ‘Frikkadel’ and I could see that this place was very different to the Citadel. It has a lot more tarns and although the formations are not as large, it has a completely different feel to it, with little maze like passages between the rocks , tarns and Proteas. It really felt like a magical little garden kingdom and I loved it! The mist was starting to come down from the Knuckles and we hastened to put up the tent and take a photograph of the main tarn before there was a complete white out.
Later that afternoon we heard voices and saw locals further up the ridge cutting down Proteas for firewood. We had noticed well worn paths all around us, evidence that this activity has been occurring for a while. We did report it on our return, but sadly I think this is a lost cause. It won’t be long before all the Protea have been taken out.
We awoke to thick mist and decided to pack up and walk out towards Tarn Cave. As we descended the ridge the mist started clearing and we had wonderful photographic opportunities. The clouds and mist certainly put on a wonderful display for us!
We visited Gargoyle Cave which I had seen many years before, and then took the usual route down past Tarn Cave, arriving back at the car at midday. It was while we were here and looking back at the 'Frikkadel' that we noticed the rock arch - see some reason we had not noticed it whilst we were there. There was mist behind it, so this made it easy to see, otherwise it is not very visible. Mystery solved! If you double click on the 4th photo from the end you will see it.
So......... ‘Frikkadel’ really impressed me and shall now perhaps be called ‘Citadel 1’ as in my opinion, it wins hands down over ‘Citadel 2’ – Both are certainly worth a visit though....
