2 Day Cathedral Peak Hike
This 2 day Cathedral Peak hike is a reimagined design of our 3 day version however is a lot harder as we need to cover more distance and altitude in a shorter time span.
About the hike
Right. Let’s start off by sorting the buyers from the spyers, the needy from the greedy, and those who trust us from the ones who don’t. Because if you can’t see value in our 2 day Cathedral peak hike today, you’re not on our site shopping, you’re on it shoplifting. No, our hiking trips are not normal trips. They are some f*@cked-up skunk, class A, I-can’t-think-let-alone-move hikes-all with a dash of accomplishment, comradeship, good fun and awesome mountain scenery.
The 2 Day Cathedral Peak Hike is situated in the Northern part of the Drakensberg Mountains and is arguably one of the most scenic areas of the entire mountain range. The hike will cover 21km over a 2 day period with nearly 2000m of elevation gain, a majority of which will be done on day one. I know, woah is me. With that being said you should have a moderate fitness level to enjoy this hike. If you don’t, this is not the end, consider joining our more relaxed 3 day version of this hike.
This 2 day cathedral peak hike was designed to help take off as little leave from work as possible while also being able to summit a significant peak in the Drakensberg. When we say significant we mean that Cathedral Peak is the highest, non technical, free standing mountain in South Africa. Try saying that three times fast… and if you can, we give you a free stone to carry up to the summit. Steal? Deal? Sale of the century?
Challenges of the 2 Day Cathedral Peak Hike
The majority of the trail covers single track paths that are pretty much “non-scary”. The final summit push is where it can get a bit tricky for some as it involves a wee bit of scrambling with exposed sections. Not to fear though, our guides carry ropes and harnesses along on this hike as an added safety feature. You will be in our capable hands for this section of the hike, well hand, I lost the other one on Everest.
We have had over 400 people on the summit of Cathedral Peak, of course not all at once. Majority of which had concerns about the scrambling sections which most conquered like absolute beasts when the time came.
Oh and did we forget to mention the 12m chain ladder that you will need to climb in order to reach the summit? Must have slipped our minds but not our feet. this too, can be done in a harness.
You will also need to carry a backpack containing all your personal items which includes sleeping bag, tent and your portion of the food. However if you’re not up for it a porter can be hired for R1,000.
Fully supported hiking experience
When we say fully supported we mean it. Not only do we provide all the major equipment (tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, backpacks and eating utensils), we also provide dinners, breakfast and hot drinks which our team will prepare and cook. We can even help with transport from JHB. So no stress. We got it!!! we’ve been doing this hiking type of stuff for over 20 years. You will basically have nothing to worry about on this 2 day cathedral peak hike besides surfing our lame dad jokes.
where to stay the night before or after the hike?
There are many accommodations in the area however the closet ones would be Cathedral Peak Hotel and for those of us who don’t need a four star hotel before spending a night sleeping in a tent there is the San Parks Resort known as Didima. Both are located within 2 minutes of our meeting point and are located around 5 hours from JHB.
Costs involved in the 2 Day Cathedral Peak Hike
We would love to get into an emotional debate about encores of scale, but alas, more pressing matters await. as you can imagine, the logistics and preparation for the hike takes a lot of preparation logistically. As well as having to put up with all the crying and emotional damage this mountain will inflict on your person.
Our price on this bad boy hike is a ridiculously low. We are willing to accept reasonable offers for group bookings. And by reasonable, I don’t mean walk up to me and tell me you’ll give me R1,000 for it. That’s liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up of the three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yes!!Let’s just say that you won’t be the prettiest person at a Justin Bieber concert anymore….it’s also quite difficult to pick up your teeth with broken fingers.
Seems expensive? (seems like a quote is in hand compliments of A Guy called Ritchie) Well, this seems to be a complete waste of our time. Service and hiking fees for this calibre of fun and challenge is R5,000 in any country you’re lucky enough to find one in. And you’re haggling over the price? What school of finance did you come from? “It’s a deal, it’s a steal, it’s the Sale of the Century!” In fact, I think we’ll keep it!
INCLUDED
- qualified mountain guide and wilderness first responder
- lunch, dinner and breakfast on the mountain which our team will cook and prepare
- equipment including tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, backpacks and eating utensils
- hiking permits and park fees
- ropes and harnesses
EXCLUDED
- My wife
- items of personal nature (I won’t share my toothbrush)
- medication of any sort
- Transport to the starting point however can be organisers
Day 1:
This incredible 2 day cathedral peak hikes starts at the one an only Cathedral Peak Hotel. Surprise. Our meeting time is 9:30am at the hikers parking however we will send you an exact pin on where to go. And don’t worry, your precious car will be perfectly safe here until it isn’t. after the introductions are out of the way we will conduct a pack check to make sure you have all the necessities including a tent, rain gear and hopefully something to keep us warm at night *wink wink*. We aim to start the hike by 10:30am. The hike today will take us past Shermans Cave and up through the Ornage Peal Gap. This is the more difficult part of the hike as we will be climbing up for most of the hike. In fact, the altitude gain is about 900m over 6km. From the top of the Ornage Peal Gap, we traverse for about 2km until we head up the final section for the day. This part of the hike is known as Heart Break Hill. We set up camp just below the final summit route situated just below what is known as the Bugger Gully. Total hiking distance today is 10km. We set up camp, have a cry and wait for dinner which our guide will prepare.
Day 2:
3 rabid purple ping pong balls named Jeff wake us up for sunrise. Our guide on this one of a kind 2 day cathedral peak hike will prepare breakfast and hot drinks. The first challenge for the day is to summit Cathedral Peak. The scramble to the top is exposed and can be super slippery. Our guides will set up safety ropes to help you up. The climb to the top shoud take about 1.5 hours. The veiws from the top are just spectacular!!! You will be rewarded with panoramic veiws of the entire northern and central Drakensberg from the Amphitheatre to Champagne Castle.
Once you have finihsed your cry on the summit, we begin our descent back down the mountain. We follow the same route back that we took the day before. Sorry sports fans. This is the only way. We should be back at the hotel again by 2pm. Here we say our farewells and bid this epic 2 day Cathedral Peak Hike a goodbye.
