Drakensberg Times Summer 2024/2025

Hikers on this path pass through diverse landscapes, including montane forests, waterfalls, and dramatic ridges. Notable experiences include views of Cathedral Peak, Champagne Castle, and Giant's Castle. The trail crosses various rivers and streams, providing opportunities to replenish water supplies. While not technically challenging, the trail's length and varied terrain require good fitness and navigation skills.

The trail has multiple entry points, making it suitable for everything from short day hikes to more extended expeditions. Popular routes connect with Organ Pipes, Gray's Pass, and Bannerman's Pass. For a more immersive experience, the path can be combined with ascents to higher altitudes or overnight stays in caves or tents.

Wildlife along the trail includes various bird species, such as the endangered Bearded vultures and antelope, like eland and chacma baboons. Due to the region's unpredictable weather, sudden storms and temperature drops, hikers should be well-prepared for changing conditions.

The Drakensberg Contour Path offers natural beauty, adventure, and peace, making it a must-visit destination for nature lovers and hiking enthusiasts.

Some of the key visionaries who helped to establish this trail were Bill Barnes and J. van Heynigen. J. van Heynigen was the Monk's Cowl Forester in the 1930's. He was responsible for developing the contour trail between Cathedral Peak and Monks Cowl. Van Heynigen's Pass near Injisuthi was named after him due to his important conservation role in the Monks Cowl area.

Bill Barnes was the highly respected Chief Conservator or Officer in Charge of the Giants Castle section of the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage site from 1956 - 1972. He established the contour path between Giant's Castle and Injisuthi. Additionally, Giant's Hut, Bannerman Hut and Centenary Hut are along this trail. He was ably assisted by the Mountain Club of South Africa, who provided much of the resources to establish Centenary Hut. The Mountain Club of South Africa also recently replaced the roof on Bannerman's Hut.

Other key personalities who helped establish and maintain the Contour Path were Bill Small, Bill Bainbridge and Charl Brummer.

The Contour Path has the potential to rival South Africa's most popular and most challenging multi-day hikes, which include the Grand Traverse, the Otter Trail, the Tsitsikamma Trail and the Giants Cup Trail. The core challenges are marketing and maintenance. Significant sections, such as the section along Eastman's Ridge, Phillip's Folly and the base of Ship's Prow's Pass, have not been maintained for twenty years. Huts such as Centenary Hut have also been allowed to become dilapidated due to vandalism. This also applies to the numerous pass trails connecting to the contour path. These trails are significantly eroded and, in some cases, hazardous for hiking due to insufficient path management. Additionally, no significant marketing effort has been mobilised to promote the apparent potential of this route.

KZN Wildlife faces resource constraints that limit its ability to maintain the Contour Path. The upkeep of the path demands significant resources, and with the ongoing government budget reductions, this has become an increasingly challenging task. This matter has been raised with associations, such as the Mountain Club of South Africa and organisations, such as the UThukela District Municipality. These bodies have taken note of this situation and indicated that they may be willing to take up the challenge to restore this critical piece of South African Heritage.

There are existing initiatives, such as the 'Trail Blazers' fund in the Monks Cowl area which help to maintain hiking trails. These are a welcome effort to help maintain the short-day walking trails around KZN Wildlife Camps. However, these initiatives are insufficient to fund the maintenance of multi-day trails in the Drakensberg, such as the Contour Path. It would be wonderful if an initiative such as the 'Friends of Table Mountain' could be mobilised. The Cape Town Community and corporates such as Rand Merchant Bank sponsor the maintenance of hiking/ trail running trails in the Table Mountain area. Major trail run events in this reserve also raise funds for trail maintenance and conservation initiatives. Please see the excellent video clip that provides an overview of this project.

Another excellent example of how events and corporates make a difference with the maintenance of hiking trails is the Chain Ladder, in Chain Ladder Pass, in the Northern Drakensberg. The Mont Aux Sources Challenge and Witsieshoek Lodge provided the funds for a team led by Neil Margetts of SA Outdoor Academy to repair the ladders. Without this effort, the chain ladders would still be closed, and the significant number of foreign tourists using this trail would have dwindled.