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© Jeff Williams 2017

Second edition 2017

ISBN 978 1 85284 881 5

First edition 2010

Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All photographs are by Maryann and Jeff Williams with the exception of the following: pp29 (middle), 97, 120, 141, 147, 155, 165 – Patricia Goodwin; p21 (lower) – Stuart McLean; p98 – Jason Stanley and p114 – Angus MacLaren (www.traverseline.co.uk).

Dedication

This book is for my grandchildren Joshua, Sam, Carys, Thomas, Oliver, Rosie and George. I hope that mountains, the outdoors and nature generally give them as much pleasure as it has given me and that they will, sometime in the future, get to experience the wonders of Southern Africa and the warmth of its people.

Updates to this guide

While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/881/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to info@cicerone.co.uk or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.

Warning

Mountaineering and wilderness trekking can be dangerous activities carrying a risk of personal injury or death. It should be undertaken only by those with a full understanding of the risks and with the training and/or experience to evaluate them. Mountaineers and trekkers should be appropriately equipped for the routes undertaken. Every care and effort has been taken in the preparation of this book, but the user should be aware that conditions can be highly variable and can change quickly, thus materially affecting the seriousness of a climb, tour or expedition.

Therefore, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law, neither Cicerone nor the authors accept liability for damage of any nature (including damage to property, personal injury or death) arising directly or indirectly from the information in this book.

Acknowledgements

It is customary to say that thanking each person by name who contributed to a publication is infeasible because of constraints of space. Sadly, this is true here too. I trust that those whose names are not included will forgive the omission.

Books only get into print because of publishers. Jonathan Williams has assembled a helpful and friendly team at Cicerone and I am pleased to acknowledge their huge expertise. Particular thanks are due to my editor Clare Shaw who, in her painstaking review of the maps and manuscript, was a model of tact when suggesting sensible and necessary adjustments.

A big thank you is due to all those people who I encountered on the survey trips at bush camps, in hotels, even airports, but especially on the trail for their friendship, comments and encouragement.

Errol Cunnama, the then Entertainments Manager at Cathedral Peak Hotel, gave me great assistance in organisational terms as did Megan Bedingham at The Cavern Drakensberg Resort and Spa. Also, Stephen Richert, conservation manager in The Royal Natal National Park, gave generously of his time to talk through a number of issues with me.

I was fortunate in having a great bunch of companions on some of the walks. The guides Moses (Cathedral Peak Hotel) and Cedric and Wonder Boy (at Monk’s Cowl) provided great support on challenging journeys in the high mountains. The days I spent exploring the Cobham area with guides Stuart McLean, Paul Roth and the late Ian Foster, all of Himeville, were amusing as well as instructive and the folk of the Sani Hiking Club delightful to walk with as well as being veritable mines of information on all things Drakensberg-related. Stuart and his wife Helga were very helpful in suggesting amendments to the manuscript where I had erred in nomenclature or spelling. Ron Tavener-Smith (lately Professor of Geology in Durban) was my adviser on the geology section and gave permission for the use of his original diagram.

My good friend Patricia Goodwin gave up four weeks of her time to accompany me on two survey visits which were tough but exhilarating and enormous fun. A number of the photographs are hers.

Finally, but most importantly, I come to my wife Maryann. She, with the forbearance that you need after many years of marriage to an obsessional eccentric, spent six arduous weeks on the trail including a 4-week incident-rich stint during which we covered 300km with over 13000m height gain and only two days’ respite but still finished enthusiastic and smiling. Apart from tolerating my absences from home and ‘book focus time’ she took nearly all the photographs and did the time-consuming and painstaking job of preparing them for publication. Great job!

Front cover: The Amphitheatre in the Royal Natal National Park seen from Thendele camp (Walks 7 and 8)