Location:
Cathedral Peak Wilderness Area, northern Dakensberg escarpment.
WARNING! This cave is unsuitable for young or poorly supervised children. There is a vertical drop of over 100 metres in front of it. Getting in and out of it requires a head for heights and a steady nerve. Take great care, especially in wet or windy conditions. Do not enter or leave the cave in snow or ice!
GPS Coordinates: WGS 84
S29 00.843 E29 11.309 at 3099 metres (Landlubbers)
Description:
The cave can accommodate 5 people comfortably, but up to 8 can be squeezed in since the floor is almost perfectly level.
Comfort: 5/5
The sleeping area is almost perfectly level, with good headroom at the front end but angling down towards the back. There are lots of nooks and crannies in the walls and roof for storing food and equipment.
Water: 1/5
The nearest running water is about 500 metres from the cave in summer, and even further in winter, in the valley behind the top of Organ Pipes Pass. It is not too strenuous a walk, but it could prove tricky in mist.
Pools: 0/5
There are no good pools within easy walking distance of the cave.
Shelter: 5/5
Because it is a true cave, Roland’s Cave provides excellent shelter except in the very worst conditions, when it would be unwise to risk the walk into the cave anyway. For a small group it is a good alternative to tenting at the top of Organ Pipes Pass and a far better alternative to the Upper and Lower Ndumeni Caves – provided everyone in the group has a head for heights!
Outlook: 5/5
The cave provides excellent vistas of the Cathedral Peak range to the north and the Organ Pipes below.
Overall Rating: 16/25
History:
The cave is named after Roland Smith, a member of the Mountain Club of South Africa. A plaque mounted on the wall of the cave in his honour bears the inscription “A man of the mountains and a mountain of a man”.