Location:
Garden Castle Wilderness Area, lower southern Drakensberg. This cave is conveniently located near the bottom of the Mzimkhulu Passes and Verkyker Pass, and can be reached via either of these routes or by following the Mzimkhulu River up from Castle View Farm. The latter route is an interesting one and takes one through the Mzimkhulu Pipeline and past some magnificent stretches of indigenous forest. There are also many fine pools along the route. The cave is located at the top end of a narrow gorge which, unusually, opens out again towards the bottom of the passes. Directly across the stream from Verkyker Cave but slightly lower than it is Fun Cave.
Please note that it is common courtesy to obtain permission from the owner of Castle View Farm before crossing his property. Ask the booking office at Garden Castle how to contact the owner.
GPS Coordinates: WGS 84
S29 41.547 E29 11.671 at 2151 metres (Landlubbers)
Description:
Verkyker Cave is a deep overhang carved in solid rock. Since much of the rock floor has numerous small steps in it, the remaining flat areas can accommodate only 4 people.
Comfort: 3/5
The sleeping areas are fairly level but rocky.
Water: 5/5
The cave is situated above scalloped bedrock over which the Verkykerstroom flows. The stream is less than 25 metres from the cave and is fairly easily accessible. In high summer a very large quantity of water can flow through this narrow gully, but it is well below the cave which is therefore safe from flooding.
Pools: 5/5
There are numerous pools in the river both upstream and downstream from the cave, with plenty of bedrock on which to sunbathe where there are no shadows.
Shelter: 2/5
In summer the cave may become quite wet as drips and trickles have no sandy floor to absorb them. The narrow gorge funnels wind through the cave with tremendous force. The cave faces west and only receives sunshine for a short period during the afternoon.
Outlook: 4/5
Its location at the top end of the gorge affords a limited but interesting view of the escarpment towards he Mzimkhulu Passes.
Overall Rating: 19/25
History:
The name “Verkyker” is Afrikaans and literally translated means “far looker”. A derivative of the word means “binoculars”. The cave is named after the very prominent Verkyker Peak on the escarpment above it, from the top of which one can see very far in every direction. The name is equally appropriate for the cave because you can see all the way to the escarpment from it.