ANOTHER MOUNT AUX SOURCES HIKE

The story written by Frans. A wonderfull weekend came and went.
We (Horst, Tilo, Allen, Tania, Michael and myself) congregated Friday afternoon at the small parking area high up in the mountain below the Sentinel and the lesser known Witches peaks outside Puthaditjaba and excitedly viewed the path ahead in the setting sun. By 17h30 we set off, Allen as always the heavily laden mule. We managed a good distance before darkness forced us to switch on our torches. The moon wouldn't appear for another couple of hours. Horst guided us expertly past the various doglegs, a detour and dead-ends (some ending in deadly steep drops). Scrambling up rock faces, looking for the path with nothing but darkness down below made one wonder about the consequences of a misstep. Once we passed the gulley, Horst assured us, it was a mere few meters to the turn-off to the Sentinel cave somewhere in the barely visible rock wall above us. He related how in the past he and Jim battled to find the cave, passing it 2 or 3 times, but this time he was spot on.
We spread ourselves out in the spacious cave, a few candles appeared and in no time meals were finished and we dived into our sleeping bags. Still no moon.
Next morning we set off towards the chainladder which was just around the corner and we hung around a while to take pictures of the steel ladders and the deep valleys below us. One-two-three we reached the top and after more pictures we made our way to the Tugela river, frozen over, but the ice was very brittle and not even Michael could stand on it. We followed the stream for a while and then veered off onto a ridge that would lead us eventually to Mont-aux-Sources at 3282 m one of the highest peaks in SA. (Mafadi is 3446 meter high). All the while a strong wind blew and beanies and jackets came in very handy.
On the lee side of the mountain top we found a comfortable spot for lunch with superb view and after that we headed down to look for the stone hut near the waterfall. At first, it seemed it had vanished in thin air, but when we came over another rise, it stood there down below and appeared to be in good shape: a roof and a door, but no glass in the windows. Some of us braved the wind and had a wash in or next to the stream, rather chilly. Later that evening we made a small fire in the fireplace in the middle room, but the smoke was heavy and we had to open the door from time to time. Allen & Mike and Horst scanned the night sky for falling stars, quite common in August. We ran out of stories and hit the pillows early, although our old bones didn't enjoy the thin mattress on the hard floor.
On Sunday the weather was glorious and we rushed off to the fall, which was barely a trickle, and stood on the edge of the Amphitheater which made some people nervous. The climbers who were camping on top were not ready yet to start their brave abseil so we headed back to the chain ladder and down to the cars. The home journey was interrupted in Kestel for a bite and a drink at the local golf course after which we, dodging the potholes in the road to Reitz, returned home without incidents.