Your choice of hiking gear can make or break your Drakensberg experience.
For the most part, you don’t have well-established, marked hiking trails in the Drakensberg, so being able to use a map and compass is essential for a multi-day trip. I used a Slingsby 1:50 000 Drakensberg South map and a Coghlan’s orienteering compass available from Mountain Mail Order and found navigation to be very straightforward. A feature I found very useful on these maps is that the caves are marked with the number of people they can sleep, giving you an idea of the size and relative comfort level you’ll be able to achieve in the cave. We found the bigger caves to be a bit drafty when windy, but usually flatter and more comfortable than the small caves.
For our sleep setup, we both used First Ascent Amplify 900 sleeping bags which proved to be fantastic for spring in the Drakensberg when used with a First Ascent Thermolite liner. Lauren was in a world of luxury on her Sea to Summit Comfort Light Mat, which comes with a handy pump sack, so you don’t have to hyperventilate yourself trying to inflate your mat. It inflates in just two full bags of air, taking some 30 seconds to set up. These mats also have an egg carton-like structure, ensuring you don’t slide off in the night like some of the lower tier air mats.
I opted for the utilitarian Therm-A-Rest Z-lite mat, which I find to be more than comfortable enough on its own, while not as comfortable as an air mattress. It is much lighter than an air mat and minimizes faff when setting up. I also don’t ever have to worry about it getting punctured and find myself sleeping on hard ground in the middle of the night. It is also great for throwing down for a comfortable place to sit, even on wet ground.
For pillows we did the old classic ‘stuff your clothes into the sleeping bag stuff sack trick’, but the stuff sack is made from a slippery nylon material, and it irritatingly wouldn’t stop slipping out from under my head. The Sea to Summit Aeros inflatable pillow solves this problem – if you have a Sea to Summit mat to pair it with, you can lock your pillow onto the mat so that it doesn’t slide around during the night. An absolute gamechanger.
Our Jetboil Stash was a brilliant solution for cooking in the Drakensberg. I had a rectangular aluminium ‘dixie’ tin to compare it to, and in some cases, it just could not reach a boil because of the wind or cold. The Jetboil ‘flux ring’ as they call it makes a massive difference in protecting the flame of the stove, and it was always efficient and reliable in getting a boil no matter the conditions the Drakensberg threw at us, and very quickly too!
Our trusty 1l Nalgene bottles were another invaluable bit of kit, their wide opening allows easy water collection from drips and streams, which is a staple in the Drakensberg. They can also handle hot liquids, meaning you can make yourself a lovely hot water bottle when sleeping in the cold. I use mine as my coffee mug as well, one less thing to bring is a big plus when trying to keep things light on the trail. They are also insanely tough, strong, and reliable bottles that will never leak into your bag. You can literally stand on the 1l version, and it won’t break. I don’t leave the house without mine.
Lauren loved her Black Diamond Trail Back Trekking Poles, which she has also just used to summit Kilimanjaro about a month ago ! These are very solid and lightweight poles; they are a must have for hiking in the Drakensberg as you are often hiking on little to no paths across uneven ground for many kilometres. I went without poles, but on the extremely windy days I was wishing I had a pair, as the wind blows your upper body in all sorts of weird directions. A knee and ankle saver for sure !
My Black Diamond Cosmo Dual Fuel headlamp made life much easier. Not having to faff with an extra set of batteries anymore is amazing. I was able to recharge the battery during the day using a small lightweight solar panel. Not that it was necessary, as the Dual fuel battery seems to last so well it probably would’ve lasted the full length of the trip – without a single charge!
All of the gear described above is available from Mountain Mail Order – online or in store , at any of the 3 CityROCK’s in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Pretoria. If they don’t have what you’re looking for in stock, they’ll be able to get it for you without too much hassle. The right gear doesn’t just make a trip easier. It lets you focus on the auspicious experience of being in a wild, unspoiled place.
