Winterton Things to Do

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The Zulu name for Cathkin Peak is Mdedelelo or ‘the Bully’ which Cathkin resembles, a big huge free-standing peak rising above all else. The peak was first climbed in 1912 along a route that is still the only semi-easy way up (‘E’ climb by South African standard; 5.0 by US). Along with the three heads of the Sterkhorn on one side and the incisor-shaped Monk’s Cowl on the other, the Cathkin free-standing (so-called as the peaks stand separately off of the main Escarpment rim) range make up one of the more memorable set of peaks in the entire range. To hike up here, you take the same path that goes up to the Sphinx and continue to the top of the Little Berg and then push higher to meet the Contour Trail at the base of the Sterkhorn. From here, you can turn left and there is a small campsite as you cross a little creek. From here a climbers footpath winds upward across the lower grassy slopes of the Sterkhorn. It is possible to ascend the lower northern summit via this path, but the true summit is actually the south peak, a climb which is considerably more challenging.

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A few miles south of the Cathedral Peak Hotel is the Champagne Valley, the most developed entry point into the Drakensberg. On the way in you pass retirement communities - complete with the requisite golf courses - and all sorts of hotels and guesthouses and assorted tourist ‘stops’. The road is good until you pass all of the hotels and come into the Drakensberg Park itself where potholes rule the road. From the road’s end in the Monk’s Cowl section of the Park - accommodations and campground both available - several take off to various and sundry destinations. One of the easier upward destinations is the rock formation known as the Sphinx - only a 6 kilometer round trip. En route you pass the pretty Crystal Falls where you can wash some of the sweat off. The Sphinx is only another half kilometer farther from atop which the views back down the Champagne Valley are grand, but it is the views west towards Cathkin Peak that might draw you on further. Another steep one kilometer climb takes you to the top of the Little Berg at the Breakfast Stream. Cathkin Peak and the Sterkhorn beckon nearby.