FOUR Hillcrest High School’s young adventurers and David Gay (master in charge of adventure sports) spent a long weekend in the Sani Pass area of the southern Drakensberg, staying three nights at the Sani Mountain Lodge Backpackers’ during the school holidays.
They arrived in Lesotho via Phinong Pass, a hiking route just north of Sani Pass. On the second day, as part of their acclimatisation, they climbed both of Hodgson’s peaks. These peaks form the Giant’s Cup, a prominent feature of the escarpment in the Underberg area. They braved the sub-zero temperatures brought on by strong winds, to climb Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in southern Africa at 3 482 metres above sea level, on the Saturday.
The pace was brisk in both directions, but there was still time to engage in friendly snow fights. The final day they returned to the warmer weather of South Africa by walking down Sani Pass, clocking up a total distance of 50 km.
