Drenched in the Drakensberg

Christiaan and I don’t have much on our hiking CVs except for a day hike or two, but we wanted an adventure. The obvious choice for two fearless men was to summit the highest mountain in South Africa: Mafadi in the Central Drakensberg (3 450 m).

We begged, borrowed and bought all the necessary gear; we’d have to carry everything we’d need, including a tent and mattresses. We read as much as we could about the trail online, and we pored over the map. We felt as if we were well prepared.

The plan was to hike from Injisuthi rest camp up the escarpment over two days, climb Injisuthi Peak and Mafadi on the third day, and hike back over two days – about 50km in total. Easy-peasy.

Or so we thought… of the Easter weekend, I set