The Mt Aux Sources - Amphitheatre - Tugela thread

AdrianT wrote: In less than 2 weeks time I am hiking from the Sentinel car park to Cathedral Peak. What is the safety situation at the moment, or in recent times? I know there were issues in the past, so am not sure what is happening these days as I live in Cape Town and now go there very rarely, unfortunately.

Thanks,
Adrian

Hi Adrian, refer to the Berg Alert thread, the comments in the first post are still valid

Ranger wrote: We are considering closing the Amphitheatre area as an official entry point to the Berg until something substantial and permanent is done to address the security issues there. We know this is not a popular option and we would encourage your comments. Perhaps it should be moved to the amphitheatre issues discussion thread though.

Moved

Do you know how close these guys live to the Amphitheatre?

The problem with closing it is that there are a lot of day visitors & quite a few going further south for GTs & Northern Traverses etc.

Guards are normally posted up over Easter & other popular periods aren't they?
Maybe that can be done for a longer period, and also a way to educate all hikers going up there

Closing the Amphitheatre, at least for a time, may well be what is needed - if the perpetrators are not apprehended it could be a strong encouragement for them to do it again, and even to become more brazen in doing it. I recall hearing that the Giants Castle escarpment was closed for a period after the Easter 2005 incident. The big question for me is how long it would be closed for, and if there are any clear strategies and courses of action in place to address the situation - because without that, the decision would become more unpopular as people get impatient. Another option would be to close it for a month or so until the winter has set in and the kraals higher up the valleys are vacated. This would buy some time without closing the access for a longer period. Obviously there is still a risk in the winter, though much reduced.

Yes we could pay for more armed guards up there, but then I would say certain areas should still be clearly out of bounds, and camping would basically need to be confined to wherever the guards are camping - the area around the Falls being the most natural choice. Perhaps access should be limited to day visits only for that matter, as yet another option. Years ago there used to be guards permanently in the hut (these were from QwaQwa, not EKZNW, if I am not mistaken) - this didn't fully solve the problem either. Extra fees also raises the issue of how the payment would be handled, since the money isn't paid directly to EKZNW, and implies that the Batlokoa tribal authority would need to be on board with it?

Talking of the tribal authority, if the Amphitheatre access were to be closed, I am guessing they would still keep Sentinel Car Park and the trails on their side open? This then would still give determined hikers physical access to the Amphitheatre, but naturally they would be knowingly and willingly ignoring the risk, in addition to using an unsanctioned access point.

Closing the Amphitheatre for a longer period, if that were to happen, would also not address the scenario of people hiking the Mnweni escarpment, having ascended one of those passes, and getting close to the Khubedu in the Ifidi, Icidi areas (and even around Fangs). The same bad apples are likely the ones causing problems there too. This is not the direct the responsibility of EKZNW however, and the numbers of hikers getting close to the Khubedu in this scenario would be far less.

Given the popularity and strategic position of the Amphitheatre, closing it is definitely not an easy decision to make, but if thats what needs to be done right now to to prevent another attack then I would support it. And if this is done with the intention of getting a permanent solution to a long-standing problem I think many regular Berg hikers would be inclined to support the decision.