Location:
Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho, just south of the Bushman’s Nek Wilderness Area. This cave is situated about 2 km from Tarn Cave, across the border in Lesotho and less than 1 km from the old Sehlabathebe Lodge. The border can be crossed from Tarn Cave over a flattened, rusty old fence, but since doing so would place you in Lesotho – and a national park at that – you should have your passports stamped at the Bushman’s Nek Police Post and get the necessary permission from the Lesotho authorities to enter their park – if you can find anyone to ask. The best way to see Irish Cave is to stay two nights at nearby Tarn Cave and spend a day exploring Sehlabathebe National Park (SNP). The rock art, tarns, Tsoelikane Falls, mothibos and rock arches make for a fascinating adventure.
GPS Coordinates: WGS 84
S29 51.832 E29 07.319 at 2430 metres (Landlubbers)
Description:
Irish Cave is unusual in that it has been hollowed out from sandstone bedrock which projects above the grassland and has a gaping big hole where one would expect to see a roof. The edges of the hole are undercut and it is this overhang which can provide adequate shelter for about 8 people.
Comfort: 3/5
The sleeping areas are level and smooth, but may be muddy in high summer.
Water: 5/5
In summer the dam outside the cave may be so full that you will have to make use of the purpose-built elevated stone walkway to gain entry to the cave. There are several other large tarns within a few hundred metres of the cave as well. Some of these tarns seldom dry up completely, even in winter, although it would be wise to boil the stagnant water before drinking it. There is also a small stream in the little valley on the escarpment side of the cave which can normally provide drinking water even in winter. There is another stream in a valley further to the east.
Pools: 4/5
In summer there are plenty of shallow tarns with nice rock beaches to provide sun-worshippers (and frogs) with all their needs. Take care, however, not to damage the delicate water plants with their little white flowers which, though endemic to the area, are found nowhere else on the planet!
Shelter: 3/5
The entrance to the cave is recessed behind some large mounds of bedrock, and also faces away from the weather side. This would make any other cave very sheltered, but remember that this one has a hole in its roof!
Outlook: 5/5
The view from the cave is nothing spectacular, except that on a cloudless night you can look up at the stars through the hole in the roof! However, if you clamber onto one of the many outcrops of rough bedrock that surround the cave, you will have a spectacular view of the Devil’s Knuckles and much of the southern Drakensberg escarpment on a clear day. The rock formations in the vicinity of the cave have been shaped into weird and wonderful sculptures by the passage of time, and you can indulge yourself in a short excursion from the cave, over mostly flat ground, to explore some of them. There are also many early Basotho kraals in the area, with their little stone huts (mothibos) nestled into the overhangs which provided both protection and one wall of the livestock pen that each one adjoins. This area of Lesotho’s Sehlabathebe National Park is truly breathtaking and well worth a visit.
Overall Rating: 20/25
History:
A cave with a large hole in its roof has to be named after the Irish who – as jokers would have it – are not renowned for their intelligence! A more respectful version of how the cave got its name is that the patch of soil directly beneath the hole is covered in soft, velvety, emerald green grass which would make any true Irishman homesick!