Rhino peak

 

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// Nikon D7200 |-29.7457 : 29.20678 | alt. 1855m

Back into South Africa for some serious hiking !
Probably the most beautiful mountain range in the area, the Drakensberg are these steep mountains (nearly vertical cliffs !) between South Africa and the high plateau of Lesotho. The whole place is a national park, with hundreds of trails and campgrounds.
I’m starting with the southern section called Garden castle. The highlight is the rhino peak, but before trying to make this peak, I will need to train a bit on a shorter trail going to a few small caves. A nice 4hrs hike in this beautiful valley.
Next day was the big one, Rhino peak, a 7hrs hike. You have to check in at the park ranger office, good to know they run this system, to make sure no one gets lost over there 😀 It’s up to you to rely or not on this, in my case, I don’t, and I took my gps beacon for extra safety. According to the book, 2 groups of 2 people are already on the way.
The main problem with most of South Africans is there are not really into hiking, and they are not fast walkers.
Long story short, I went way faster than these 2 groups, and they actually gave up on the way, so I ended up being the only one making it to the top ! It’s a fairly steep ascend in the main fault, illegally crossing into Lesotho to reach the plateau and gain access to the peak. And what a view from the top !
On the way down, I met again the other 2 groups, so slow !!!!!

Resting day to recover from the hike, this is where I met Allan and Vicky, hiking in the area. It was very nice to chat with them that day, too bad they had to get back to work next day (almost forgot what it is to work 5days a week :p)

Next part is obviously the central section of the Drakensberg crowned with Champagne castle peak, my next target.

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