I love hiking in the Drakensberg mountains because they are unique in so many ways, they bring me alive and excite my imagination. I can’t help but imagine what a great defense against Orcs or perhaps Whitewalkers the mountains would make. It is for this reason that the remote Basotho tribes remain uncolonised to this day. 

Unlike hiking in the Rockies, the Alps or the Andies one can hike for two weeks at a very good pace while staying between 2500m and 3300m above sea level on the Drakensberg mountains.

I akin the top of the Drakensberg to stepping into an alternative reality, one where trees don’t exist, the air is always fresh and cool and there is no need for technology.

Because the Drakensberg is so unique there are particular challenges that one has to face that you will have a hard time finding anywhere else in the world. Too often have I found foreign and local hikers underestimating the Drakensberg mountains and putting themselves in unnecessary danger. 

The Three Challenges:

The three big trials of the Drakensberg mountains are remoteness, weather change, and navigation. Let’s address these aspects and how best to be ready for them.

Remoteness:

One may be tempted to think that because the mountains are (as the crow flies) not too far from civilisation, rescue is not far either. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and although we do have fantastic volunteers such as Gavin Raubenheimer who will come to rescue you if you get in contact with him, our mountain rescue teams are not going to be able to send in helicopters in at a moment's notice. The other issue is that there is only so much signal in the Drakensberg, and when the clouds form you can have zero signal for days, if not weeks on end. 

To minimise these risks we recommend:

1. Make sure that you plan your route in detail and that you stick to it.
   1. Make sure that someone who is not hiking knows exactly where you aim to be when so that if you do not arrive back on time action can be taken.
2. Get your hands on a satellite phone and only use it in the case of an emergency.
   1. There would be new things than having your satellite phone run out of battery just when you need it.
3. Plan escape routes in the case of an emergency and let others know of those routes.

Weather Change.

I have seen a sunny day turn into a storm in the space of a half-hour, a calm breeze change into a gale in an hour and a clear morning transform into thick mist in ten minutes. The Drakensberg mountains have proved the weather forecasting systems wrong almost every time I have gone hiking in them.

To minimise these risks we recommend:

1. Purchase high-quality rain gear
2. Waterproof all of your equipment
3. Pack more warm gear than you would like to.
4. Pack your bag in a way that all of your rain gear can be accessed in seconds.

​

Navigation.

The top of the Drakensberg is a maze, of sorts. I have spent many an hour trying to figure out exactly where we are. Every valley looks like the last and every rock is identical to the one you saw an hour before, or perhaps it is the same one?! One time behind Giants Castle in the mist we hiked back to where we had lunch the day before.

To minimize these risks we recommend:

1. A detailed map
2. A good quality compass 
3. A waterproof map bag that you can view the map without removing the map.
4. A GPS (not your phone) 
5. A game plan to listen to the other team member’s thoughts.

You don’t have to fly in an Aeroplane to get to one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. Get packing and driving so you can start hiking. See you out there!