Mnweni/Rockeries Pass Easter Hike

Mnweni/Rockeries Easter Trip Report

(Compiled by Elaine and taken off Vertical Endeavor)


Our plan had been to meet up with the MCSA Joburg group Andrew Porter was leading at the Hanging Valleys in the Mnweni. The guys were going to be climbing the Mnweni Pinnacles while Tony Marshall was going to tackle some passes in the Mnweni Cutback. Our group was going to head up Rockeries Pass and tent on top, and then make our way to the Hanging Valleys the next day and we were looking forward to watching the climbers and taking some photographs. The weather forecast was not looking promising but we were hoping that conditions would improve. Unfortunately mother nature had other ideas and all the plans changed…..
We set off from the drop off point at the Rockeries with the skies over the Mnweni looking cloudy and a little threatening, and made steady progress up the pass, reaching the top in the mid afternoon. By now there was a strong wind blowing and the mist was coming in. It had been a long day and it was good to get inside our tents and settle down. It rained heavily during the night for quite some time and we woke to a thick mist and a light drizzle. We hoped it would burn off, but apart from a few occasions when the mist lifted momentarily, it remained the same for the entire day. We made our way north to the cutback taking the path that overlooks Eeny Meeny Miny Mo and the Twelve Apostles (not that we saw anything!) and then, as the mist and drizzle continued, decided to tent in the small valley to the South of the Hanging Valleys. We found a beautiful site right at the edge of the escarpment close to the source of the Mnweni river which plunges over the escarpment ( this is what it appears from the map - please correct me if I am wrong!). Richard was very excited as he could only imagine what sights would unfold when the mist lifted. As we were putting up our tents, the mist did indeed lift for a few minutes and I managed to capture this photo.

It closed in again and we were engulfed in thick mist the entire afternoon and everything became rather wet - its amazing how the mist manages to get in to everything. We spent a peaceful night with the sound of the rushing river and it rained heavily at times. In anticipation we opened our tent flaps the next morning only to discover yet more thick mist and drizzle. To say we were disappointed is an understatement! We have vowed to return to this spot sometime soon. As we were pretty sure that the climbers would have abandoned their plans, we decided to return south and spend the morning walking along the escarpment edge past Ledgers Cave and then on to Mponjwane Cave where we would spend the night. By now our tents were sodden and we were hoping for some sun at some point to dry out our gear. We came across the MCSA camp close to the top of Mnweni Pass - they had left on a day hike so were sorry to miss them. The ground was extremely wet, little rivers and pools everywhere, I have never seen the Mnweni with so much water. We collected water on our way to Mponjwane Cave but as we discovered later, could have got water a lot closer to the cave. By now the sun was making more of a show and we could see clearer skies to the south. The mist persisted though, along the escarpment until dusk. The path down to Mponjwane Cave is very eroded and some care is needed to negotiate it. On arrival we all spread out our tents and wet gear on the grass in front of the cave and happily it all got dry as the sun vied for attention with the sporadic mist. It was interesting to see where we had climbed up the Rockeries Tower on an epic trip a while back when we climbed up Mponjwane Gully. See ....    https://www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/11-drakensberg-passes/56169-mponjwane-pass.html#70406

 Monday morning dawned clear and bright - celebrations! But as is often the case, it was the day we were going back down the escarpment via Rockeries Pass. We thought we would stretch our stay in the mountains and overnight at Sunshine Cave. However the rain had swelled the river in front of the cave and it looked very dodgy - we decided against it, and walked out to the road. We encountered a few other hiking groups, amongst them some of the MCSA group and we all gathered at the pick up point, hoping to organise a lift. There was no cell phone signal so we resigned ourselves to the 5km trudge back to the Mnweni Cultural Centre. We understand that Andrew Tony and Roger (Diamond) had stayed back to do a descent of the gully at the back of the cutback which involved several abseils . One of them will be doing a write up soon so we can look forward to an epic read!
The day which had started out with beautiful blue skies had changed and become cloudy and threatening and there were distinct rumbles of thunder. On cue the rain started falling as we started our walk and there were quite a few hikers on the road, one guy with an umbrella ( did he really carry that all the way up to the escarpment and back??). We met a local woman on her way back to her hut, and after exchanging greetings and Two Minute Noodles and energy bars, she insisted that she would arrange a lift for us. She instructed us to wait at the “Taxi pick up” which is near the bridge. Sure enough our lift arrived within 15 minutes. - the driver a lovely elderly traditional Zulu with a beautiful smile. It was an interesting trip. Richard sat in the front and observed our driver pumping the brakes on steep declines as they didn’t work all the time and told us afterwards that it was only the rut in the road which ensured our safe trajectory! In the meantime we enjoyed a very erratic and bumpy ride in the back complete with water streaming in all the various openings accompanied by a dubious smell……….. all part of the fun!

So, the weather didn’t play ball, but we still enjoyed a memorable hike. Thats the Mnweni for you.

See more photos at this link......  
http://richardhuntphotographer.blogspot.co.za/p/rockeries-pass.html