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Home > Trail tales > 2006 > Cathedral Peak

Such a beautiful and unexpected weekend ...
Cathedral Peak, June 2006

Super photos of Drakensberg weekend, 16-18 June 2006.

 

The weekend in the Drakensberg planned by Neil turned out unexpected. After the group rushed off on the path Cécile and myself were left far behind as we could not keep up the pace. Bryan was our backup for a while but just before lunch time we were battling on the very steep ascent and soon I heard Cécile’s voice “I give up, I don’t enjoy it and my hips are very sore”, followed by Ross “I’ve a running stomach and I’m not feeling well”. On this statement I then realised that we couldn’t be on time to cross over Xeni before dark. So, we decided to backtrack and camp at the Cathedral Peak camping site instead and organise from there our own hike. It was actually the right decision and we –as a trio- had a lovely and relaxing time. Although Cécile and myself didn’t know Ross at all, he seemed very friendly and became soon our “Chaperon”.  We spent the evening at Didima Lodge near the fire place, watching soccer and having a drink. We also had a thought of compassion for those whose spent the night on the top of the berg…

 

The following day, the Ribbon Falls hiking trail led us to the magnificent Doreen Falls, up to the contour path towards the Camel and back via Mushroom Rock.  During this 5 hour round trip we discovered gorgeous landscapes and strange rock formation like “Mushroom Rock”.  While we were having our lunch on the contour path, out of the blue, Neil and his fellow fast hikers appeared!  They were heading back to the hotel as they didn’t want to spend another night in the cold and frozen peak. Only Jill and George stayed in the berg but at a lower level.

 

To complete our discovery in “trio” and before driving back to Joburg, we organised a half day hike on Sunday to the Rainbow Gorge. We walked along the other side of the valley, passing through the indigenous and shady forest, and finally having a break seated on a rock in the river.  We finished off our wonderful weekend with a delicious meal taken at Didima and of course a glass of beer in the hand to celebrate !

 

Nathalie Berquet