For some, waking up in a warm bed is not so much a luxury but the norm. But that’s not what life was all about for a young group of adventure hungry friends. This past weekend created some of the most unforgettable memories that any of the 14 hikers have ever experienced.
The adventure began its story in the Mnweni Cultural Village. This small, quiet dimple of the Drakensberg mountain range served as our base camp for the start and finish point of the imminent 45km journey.
From the early hours of Saturday morning, we spent some time doing the final sorting of needed/unnecessary gear, moved the cars, filled up on water and caked ourselves in sunblock. Crucial little factors that need to be taken into consideration.
We left the base camp and set off onto the dirt road that eventually broke off onto a single track trail. Alongside the trail were scattered clusters of huts, the homes of the villagers that inhabit the Mnweni valley. Echoing from both sides of the trail were the excited chants of the villagers children dashing through the grass to get to us… “Sweets! Sweets!” became the general sound for the next few kilometres until we were out of the village.
The valley is engrossed with twisted trails that glance over the mountains. Eventually, our path lead us to our first sleep spot just off the Mnweni River. Camp set up and boots kicked off, a comforting evening was spent with laughs and a joke shared amongst us and a satisfying day of hiking was drawing to a close.
Sunday, on the other hand, was much more unforgiving… we woke up to gushing winds and dropping temperatures that were becoming dangerously piercing on any exposed bare skin. We grabbed buffs, beanies, gloves, thermals and anything else that could shield us from the frosty wind.
Regardless of the bitter conditions, the hike went on and soon enough after all the shivering hands had packed away tents, we were back on the trails making our way up to our biggest challenge of the hike… the Mnweni Pass.
The Pass a small slice of the Drakensberg belt that bears a 6/10 difficulty rating presenting itself as a 1.5 km climb with an altitude gain of 900m. We began the ascent and conditions took a turn for the worst. The early morning wind gushes soon grew to gayle force. Nevertheless, we pushed on. The constant fear of being snatched off the mountains edge by the taunting winds pelting you from above was probably the scariest factor. The occasional drop to the ground and head tuck was pretty much the only skill you needed on the way up. Eventually after a gruelling 4hr climb, we summited.
