TRAIL | SOUTHERN DRAKENSBERG
TRULY MAGNIFICENT
Hilton Menne loves taking on a favourite hiking trail as part of a fully supported long-weekend event. s an avid hiker and trail runner, I didn’ t think twice about signing up for the Giant’ s Cup Trail Run in May. I love the Southern Drakensberg and the 62km Giant’ s Cup is one of my favourite trails. I first hiked a section of it 20 years ago, and I’ ve kept coming back to explore more. Many things have come and gone in my life, but the Drakensberg has always stood firm, its magnificent beauty etched deeply in my soul since my childhood.
In recent years, I’ ve been on a mission to do as many hikes and trail runs as possible as I try to keep fit in my fifties. For me, it’ s about having incredible experiences in wild and beautiful spaces – and my home on the KZN South Coast means I’ m lucky to be close to many such places.
The Giants Cup Trail Run, created by Spurgeon Flemington, the Underberg farmer who has founded such iconic events as UTD and the Rhino Peak Challenge, ticks all the right boxes for me. It’ s a chance to explore this muchloved trail as part of a fully supported event, with well-supplied aid stations along the route and comfortable overnight accommodation at Premier Resort Sani Pass. This year’ s event was my third, and it delivered the usual world-class organisation( and brilliant goodie bag).
The beauty of the 62km Giant’ s Cup hiking trail is that it’ s nowhere near as formidable as some Drakensberg trails. It begins on Sani Pass and meanders along remote paths, streams and valleys in the southern part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park to a finish at Bushmen’ s Nek. It was originally designed to be walked over five days( with overnight accommodation in rustic huts) as part of the National Hiking Way System( envisaged as a continuous footpath stretching
For Hilton( top), the two-day event delivers an incredible experience in a wild and beautiful space. along the whole length of the South African escarpment – something to rival the great Appalachian Trail of North America). It was conceptualised and built by Bill Small, a forester and then conservator with the then Natal Parks Board, who first moved to Cobham in 1976. He passed away this year at almost 101 years of age. I was lucky enough to get to know Bill and, at a small gathering for his 100th birthday, I asked him how he had decided on the route for the Giant’ s Cup Trail. He instantly replied,“ all credit goes to the eland”. He’ d taken note of where the eland walked, and where they crossed the rivers, and this formed the blueprint of the trail that so many have come to love.
For the May event, Spurgeon has negotiated with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife( EKZNW) to allow brush cutters to trim the grass around the trail, and with that the 62km becomes a runnable dream. The Giant’ s Cup Trail Run tackles it from south to north, starting near Bushmen’ s Nek and finishing at the Premier Resort Sani Pass. You can do the full route( 30km + 32km) or take on a shorter version( 15km + 12km), and opt to run or hike it.
SILVERSTREAMS TO CASTLEBURN This year I took on the full hiking version. Hikers get a head start on the runners, so we were shuttled to the day 1 start early, when there was still frost on the ground. You start at the old Silverstreams Trading Store and follow a short section of district road over the Ngwangwane River before entering the Giant’ s Cup Trail proper just past the EKZNW office.
You then face a long climb up to the highest point of the day, in the saddle below Langalibalele Peak at 2 158m. I always enjoy this section as it takes you along a good path with incredible views right into the mountains. On a previous visit, I saw a couple of wildebeest and a massive heard of eland. It is the toughest part of day 1 but you’ re on fresh legs.
32 | RUN FOR YOUR LIFE