Location:
Garden Castle Wilderness Area, lower southern Drakensberg. The cave is close to Painter’s Cave, White Horse Cave and Whyte’s Cave.
WARNING! This cave is unsuitable for young or poorly supervised children. There is a vertical drop in front of the cave, varying from a few metres to several metres in height. Access to the cave is via a short, narrow ledge which requires careful negotiation in the wet or when iced up.
GPS Coordinates: WGS 84
S29 47.817 E29 11.430 at 2416 metres (Landlubbers)
Description:
Sherry Cave is a deep overhang which could accommodate a full group of 12 except for the fact that it has several puddles and damp spots in it during summer, and most of the floor is covered with scrub bush and weeds. The small, dry areas can accommodate 4 people comfortably in summer and 8 or more in winter.
Comfort: 3/5
The cave is quite muddy in places, and most of the floor is covered in weeds and scrub bushes. However, there is plenty of room to move around in under cover.
Water: 1/5
There is a small trickle of water on the approach to the cave in summer. In winter the area is bone dry. Getting to the nearest alternative water source involves a stiff 1 km walk over a steep hill in either direction from the cave, to either Painter’s Cave or White Horse Cave.
Pools: 0/5
There are no pools near the cave.
Shelter: 3/5
The cave may be quite damp, with numerous drips in summer. However, the overhang is deep and will protect its occupants from the worst weather, although it may be a little exposed to wind.
Outlook: 3/5
The cave offers a limited but interesting view over the Underberg area. A walk to the top of the hill behind the cave offers much wider views of the spectacular rock formations in the area.
Overall Rating: 10/25
History:
The story goes that the cave was named by a group of hikers who got lost in the mist and used it as shelter. The bottle of sherry they had with them probably made up for the lack of water and raised their spirits at the same time!