Mnweni Reservation

The Mnweni Reservation is the only section of the lower Natal Drakensberg that does not fall under the jurisdiction of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. The best place to start and end a hike here is at the Mnweni Cultural and Hiking Centre, which can be accessed from the N3 national route via Bergville.

For those who would like to include a cultural experience in their lower Berg hike, the Mnweni Reservation offers a unique one. Expect to meet many of the friendly residents, their dogs and their livestock. You may even have to share “your” cave with a shepherd and his herd, and do not be surprised or alarmed if you come across dagga plantations, especially now that its non-commercial cultivation has been legalised. Rockeries Pass and Ntonjelana Pass are highways for donkeys carrying goods to and from Lesotho (some of it legal and some of it perhaps not so much). Never forget that experiencing a culture or trying to change it are not the same, so let things be!

While interested parties work hard to preserve the wilderness area in this section of the Drakensberg and educate the local residents about its value, there is no constraint except perhaps by your own conscience to the making of campfires in its lower Berg caves.

To the backpacker, the real attraction of this area of the Drakensberg is its many passes, its high Berg (escarpment) caves, and its spectacular scenery which is dominated by the Mnweni Cutback, the Mnweni Needles, Mponjwane and the North and South peaks of the Saddle. This very large area is bordered by the Eastern Buttress and Devil’s Tooth to the north and the very prominent Cathedral Range to the south.

The mighty Orange River (the longest in Lesotho and South Africa) starts as a tiny trickle behind Ledges Cave and eventually flows into the Atlantic Ocean at the diamond-rich, private town of Oranjemund in south-western Namibia after a 2 200 km journey from its source. The peace of the escarpment is occasionally shattered by the sound of blasting, because this part of Lesotho is also rich in diamonds. On a clear, still night you can see the lights of some of the mines and hear machinery in the distance. Vultures flourish in this area because of the ready availability of dead livestock. You can easily spend hours watching them soar on the thermals and fly in close to inspect you.

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