Weather:

The Giant’s Cup Trail is open all year round. Expect extreme heat and heavy afternoon thunderstorms in summer. Autumn (April-May) is an ideal time to do the trail because it is cooler and the weather is usually more settled then.

Daytime temperatures in winter are usually very pleasant but nights are very cold with frost. Snowfalls are not unusual at this time of the year. The windy season runs through August and September and you can expect unpleasant, gale-force winds. It is very dry and you may struggle to find running water en route

Water:

It is safe to drink water from the streams and rivers provided you are above any human habitation. Tap water at the huts comes from these sources anyway. If in doubt at the height of the dry season, boil your drinking water.

Mattresses:

Mzimkhulwana Hut does not have mattresses, so you will need to carry your own hiking mattress the entire route. Basotho dagga smugglers sometimes pass nearby the hut, and when mattresses were left there, even under combination padlock, they used to help themselves to a mattress or two on their way back to Lesotho. At one stage a game guard was permanently posted at the hut but this proved impractical. In the end, the mattresses were removed so that hikers did not arrive at the hut with the expectation that they would all still be there.

Ablutions:

There are toilets at all the huts, but should you need to go en route, do your business well away from the path and streams, and bury everything properly, including the toilet paper. Do not count on there being toilet paper at the huts – if there is, it was probably left there by other hikers.

Rubbish:

It is best to take your litter with you and dispose of it at the end of the trail or back at home. Although there are bins at some of the huts, the baboons know how to open even the baboon-proof ones and can make a dreadful mess of the surrounding countryside.

Security:

No incidents have ever been reported, but take the usual care with your equipment and don’t leave it outside when you retire for the night. Wind may blow some of it away anyway, and food may be eaten by mice, genets, jackals and other critters. The smugglers that usually bypass Mzimkhulwana Hut are unlikely to come anywhere near if they know the hut is occupied, but use the door bolts anyway.

Vehicles left at Pholela Hut and Bushman’s Nek are quite safe except from hail. Although vehicles could be left at Swiman Hut, this is not advisable because there is usually no one around to chase baboons away. Juvenile baboons (badboons?) from the local troop love to play with windscreen wipers and swing on mirrors, and they are very destructive. Vehicles can be left in the hikers’ car park adjacent to the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife office less than 1 km away.

Money:

Surprisingly, this is one trail where carrying money is a must! You can buy firewood and refreshments at Cobham, the location of Pholela Hut. You can dare to venture down to the Gooderson Drakensberg Gardens Golf & Spa Resort from Swiman Hut and visit the pub there or perhaps play a round of mini-golf. If you have to wait any length of time at the end of the trail to ferry cars, you can buy some refreshments at the Silver Streams Trading Store.