Injisuthi, Drakensberg
Easter 9 to 13 April 2009
by Johnny Holtzhausen
Hikers: Derek (leader) & Gretta Jones, John Meyer, Sally Jones, Elaine Deyzel, Irene Fuchs, Johnny & Betty Holtzhausen, Sarah Cook, Kayley & Hugh Golden.
The spelling of Injisuthi is very confusing – is it Injisuthi, Injesuthi or Injasuti? These three signs are all within 10 metres of each other and each one is spelt differently!
 Whichever way, the Zulu name eNjesuthi, means a well-fed dog. This refers to the multitude of game that was found in this fertile valley by early Nguni hunters, whose dogs never went hungry for want of left-overs.
This area along the High ‘Berg starts at the northern boundary of Giant’s Castle Game Reserve on the slopes of “The Old Woman Grinding Corn”. Between the spectacular Trojan Wall and Red Wall tower are the three free-standing Injisuthi Triplets. One of the first areas of the Drakensberg to be visited by whites, the lower reaches of the Injisuthi valley around the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife camp was also a long-time favourite hunting ground of Nguni tribesmen, while Bushmen had used it as a refuge for much longer.
On Thursday we all pitched up between 3 pm and 7 pm at our destination, Injisuthi, for 3 days of anticipated beauty in the ‘Berg. Getting to the camp one detour section was a bit rock and rollish, but manageable.
The insistent rolling green mountains and different colours of rock faces left another indelible memory in my mind. This is another hike that should be on the bucket list of all hikers! On arrival Derek scouted to pick a spot where we could form a laager, but due to the terrain we ended up in one straight stripe!
First night, no braai – only pie and slaai. The other nights were all perfect for a braai, a dop, a chat, stories and even a song or two.
On Friday it was decided to split the group into 2. The other group walked the Yellowwood Forest route via the Old Kraal and Dipping Tank, a total of about 6 kms. Our group’s hike of approx 12 km in total, took us up about 500m for a view from the top of van Heyningen’s Pass – a view that cannot be captured on camera. We had crossed the Delmhlwazine River via the foot bridge, where the path continued upstream and our uphill climb started, passing through small patches of forest. From the top of the pass we could admire the view with Monk’s Cowl as well as Giant’s Castle in the distance.
 On Saturday we hiked to Grindstone Caves, approx 10km return, which is perfect, should one choose to overnight in the cave. This walk takes you
through the magnificent Yellowwood Forest with its lush trees, vegetation and small waterfall. Once we had reached the caves, we had our lunch, left our packs and did some exploring higher up. Well, what goes up must go down, so it was down, down until we reached the camp once again. The view of Injisuthi Camp is stunning from the last descent.
Marble Baths on Sunday, approx 18km in total, was an absolute treat. The beauty of those clear and smooth rocks were something that I haven’t seen before. From far it looked like the Wild Waters (East Rand). The narrow channels of smooth rock filled with water took John, Derek and me down this super tube for a foefie slide next to none! The actual length of the “tube” was much longer, but the section that we did was approx 8m long of pure woepeeeeeeee…..
 On the walks we saw (not in abundance) grey reebok, bobbejaan and even a dark green snake of about 800mm long. We must have had a premonition, because Elaine, Betty and I were speaking about snakes, and there it was in the path having a nap! Unfortunately no vultures were spotted and the only raptors were a pair of Jackal Buzzards. The yellowwood forests were so enjoyable, it was sad when we were forced to exit them, back into the sunshine. At the Injisuthi River that we crossed a few times, the following words were repeated: boots-off-boots-on.
John Meyer (thanks for helping the tail-enders) and I were often referred to as John van Dyk and Johnny Loop en Val. I wonder why?
Around our braai fires the vocal chords of the following fellow hikers were heard: Derek, our leader (his knowledge of the wild is not easily matched), Gretta, Irene, Elaine, John, Sally, Sarah, Hugh, Kaylie, Betty and myself.
 Speaking of chords, my guitar (it’s always with me amongst my golf clubs, squash racket etc) was hauled out on request, which helped us in doing some sing-alongs. Some ‘x-rated’ (in the Freestate) song was requested, which has a four letter word in it – luis. Seems that the ERHC has adopted this Bosluis song as their theme song (thanks to Brian Harvey). Waar was jy, Piet?? Neil Diamond and John Denver were also requested. Irene helped us out with the words of “You are my Sunshine”. Gretta’s rusks were flippin lekker at breakfast and Sarah and Betty didn’t see pink elephants on the second night – no, they actually saw (wait for it) a horse and a reindeer walking past us as we sat by the fire! Gretta’s sea cruise to visit Derek in P.E. back in the 60’s was hilarious to hear. About the traffic: maybe next time we will take an extra day’s leave to avoid the mad rush back home.
Remember the 3 R’s in our lives: respect for yourself, respect for others and responsibility for your sayings and doings.
ERHC Buddies are special buddies. Thanks everyone for a lovely weekend.
See you all at the 25th Anniversary Ball. God willing.
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