Frikkie van Zyl and James Seymour, together with four potential new MCSA Amajuba Section members, namely Sean Jacklin, Shane Howard, Christel Janse van Rensberg and Tess Janse van Rensberg, embarked on the Mnweni Circuit trek on the 13th of August. The route we chose was to go up the Mnweni Pass and down the Rockeries Pass.
Day 1 involved catching a taxi from the Mnweni Cultural Centre to the start at the Mnweni River Bridge. We then trekked for just under 12km to Five Star Cave for our first overnight. The route on the first day was relatively easy with no significant challenges or obstacles.
The views of the Dassie, Outer Mnweni Needle and Fangs Pass were spectacular.
Day 2 involved ascending Mnweni Pass via Chi Chi Camp to Ledgers Cave. The first four kilometres or so were relatively straightforward, but the elevation was, however, steep. The final two kilometres of the pass were challenging due to relatively thick snow that covered part of the trail. It is recommended that members consider using short spike hiking crampons on this route when there is snow. There were sections not only with snow, but also with ice.
The views made up for this section, though :-), especially those of the Inner and Outer Mnweni Pinnacles.
We then made our way to Ledger’s Cave. The approach to this cave has severe exposure and is only recommended for those with a serious head for heights. Two members of our party opted to camp on the escarpment. I suggest that any party using this cave consider laying a vertical and horizontal temporary rope handrail to prevent potential falls of a few hundred metres. The views from this cave are exceptional, though.
Day 3 was a very leisurely one; we hiked just over two kilometres to Mponjwane Cave. We encountered thick snow, which made these two kilometres feel a lot longer than it was. It was tough going towards the end. As always, Mponjwane blessed us with magnificent scenery.
Day 4 involved the 12km down Rockeries Pass to the pick-up point at Hlongwane’s Kraal. The hike down from Mponjwane Cave to the pass again was challenging as a result of the snow. Again, hiking crampons would have made this exercise safer.
We were all relieved that there was no snow in Rockeries Pass and were astounded by the spectacular Rockeries ‘pinnacles or pipes’ . The path down to the ‘waterfall’ is obvious, with wide zig zags. It is very ‘scree’ like and thus slippery. It is best to slowly and cautiously descend here.
The path around Nguza Camp is more challenging. Two routes are traditionally used. The one encircles the base of the campsite area, and the other traverses the campsite with a cliff at the end. Both routes require significant scrambling, and ideally, the placement of temporary handrails and the dropping of packs. The circumvension route was chosen, which proved to be a regrettable mistake. A large section of this path has been eroded, and now has a steep sand embankment, which seemed easy to overcome but proved to be a dangerous challenge. This route should now be avoided, and the other route, which was always the more challenging, should be used.
The rest of the route was relatively easy going, except for the last ridge area before the Mnweni River. This section is badly eroded and ‘scree-like’ and needs to be descended very cautiously. We opted to follow the traditional river route, rather than the ridge route, which is used when the Mnweni is flowing strongly in summer.
We happily arrived at Hlongwane Kraal at 13h00, and dished out our remaining food supplies to very grateful local children: wonderful memories, stunning scenery and some hard lessons learnt.
James Seymour 18 August 2025