Story Time: The Giant’s Castle in The Land of Dragons

I’ve been struggling to articulate my thoughts on the next concept following the Wards of Sadness. It revolves around having an aim in life and how my aim of climbing changed mine. So to fill the space whilst i’m chewing on that I thought Id try something different and recount one of my past adventures. Something I would like to begin doing for future adventures as well.

Once upon an Easter in 2017, a group of four of us embarked on a four day hike around the Giants Castle in the Drakensberg. A stunning feast of pure awe awaited us.

This was roughly our route.

The Giants Castle is a section of rock that juts out from the more distinct line of the escarpment forming a small peak on a spine whose tail is a prominent feature in the valleys below. The area to the north of this point forms a bowl of large cliffs and converging valleys. The aim of this hike was to summit the giants castle point and the hike back along the edge of the escarment over a large ridge called Mt Durnford and come down Langalibalele Pass. It would give us views of the point and of the bowl of valleys below from two different sides.

We camped in a campsite close to the hotel from which we would start our first day. We were all quite fit and covered the hilly sections of the lower escarpment quickly.

It’s in these early slopes below the towering edges of the plateau where the Drakensberg really starts to come alive. The rolling green grass and magical slopes of the barrier of a thousand spear as it is known in its local Language name. The Giants Castle itself was veiled in cloud that first day but the views were no less impressive.

As we came closer to the mountains the clouds lifted briefly showing the cliffs of the Castle in their full splendor as we hiked passed them on the way to Giants Pass.

The pass was grueling and I was apparently the slowest of our group at ascents. But slow persistence paid off and the views from close to the cave where we would sleep our first night were worth the effort.

In the morning the clouds had closed in thicker, covering the valleys below. We were in our own mountain world now. We had breakfast in the cold and with the mountain air filling our lungs we were ready to explore this dream like world.

Further up the pass we saw just how cold the night had been with these impressive plant freezes a common sight.

We crossed over the bulk of the Giants Castle which was a longer hike than anticipated. The back side of the Castle slopes away from the valleys and we were walking in the pathless and more barren terrain of the plateaux. When we came up the last slope up to the point it seemed that we suddenly stepped out of an elevator and onto a viewing platform.

To our left were the cliffs we had walked passed the day before and the bowl of valleys covered in a magnificent white blanket.

To our right was the rock spine which stretched out into the ocean of cloud which mesmerised us as it rose and fell. Sometimes covering the spine and sometimes revealing it.

Lourens had brought with him the remainder of our friend Schalk’s ashes and we made a cairn of rocks to place them in. A fitting resting place for a dearly loved friend and adventurer. Despite him taking his own life, I will love him until I die. I miss you Bro.

We hiked back off the point and got some good distance in before rounding a ridge which ran along the edge of the plateaux. We camped on its slopes facing the escarpment eager to be shielded from the eyes of the local herders. We had had an encounter that day which left us feeling less than comfortable with their interactions

On day three we would conquer this ridge, Mt Durnford. It was a much bigger slog than I thought it would be. I was constantly lagging behind and need more than a couple of breaks. There was a specific spot we had to crest the ridge at so that we could find the only gap in the mini cliff on the other side. The path down was treacherous but we got right spot in the end.

Whilst crossing through the various valleys of the plateaux that day we had another encounter with the local herders which was tense to say the least, they are pertty pushy and just say ‘give give’ the whole time. All the while covered in ponchos which gave me the impression they were armed and hiding it.

We had planned to camp at Bannerman Cave above Langalibalele Pass but were put off buy the increased density of local herders in this part of the plateaux. We decided instead to push on and come down the pass a bit to camp. For views this was a fantastic decision. The lower slopes of the Drakensberg are truly magical and we all sat and watched them talking of the hike as the shadows lengthened and called us to a deserved sleep.

We had only a small distance to cover back to the hotel and we took our time walking slowly on our tired legs. Savouring the clearer view of the Castle and the escarpment we had hiked through.

There are few times in my life when I’ve felt more connected to the mountains than the hikes in the Drakensberg. They are epic arduous adventures but each time I went I was reminded anew of the awe that I feel when hiking through them. I wish one day to experience that awe again, for I cannot recall the feeling and there are not the words to describe it. I recount this adventure here to remind myself of what I seek. To light a flame of hope in the amidst the chaos. Hope that I may one day be able to do these things again, however daunting the dragons may be.

Thank you for indulging me and I hope that you too experience this awe one day, in whichever form it calls to you in.

10,196 thoughts on “Story Time: The Giant’s Castle in The Land of Dragons”

  1. Emre Kozan Bilgisayar internet yazılım sistemleri ve modern bir sistemin en iyileri bilgisayar ve japonca arasında bir metin tercih edebilirsiniz.

  2. I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this blog. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?

  3. I enjoy you because of your entire efforts on this web site. My mum take interest in getting into investigations and it is easy to see why. A lot of people notice all of the compelling way you convey invaluable information via the web site and as well as attract contribution from others on that situation so my girl is in fact discovering a lot of things. Have fun with the remaining portion of the new year. You’re performing a splendid job.

  4. Hello, you used to write fantastic, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!

  5. I was recommended this website by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my problem. You’re amazing! Thanks!

  6. I simply had to say thanks once more. I’m not certain the things that I might have followed without these creative concepts shown by you relating to that concern. It had become a very daunting dilemma in my circumstances, however , being able to view the specialized mode you dealt with that took me to jump with delight. I will be thankful for this help as well as expect you recognize what a great job you’re carrying out training many people by way of your websites. I’m certain you have never got to know all of us.

  7. Perfectly composed subject material, thanks for selective information. “The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.” by Corra Harris.

  8. It’s really a great and helpful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

  9. Akınsoft, Türkiye merkezli bir yazılım şirketidir ve birçok farklı sektörde kullanılan çeşitli programlar sunmaktadır. İşletmelerin operasyonlarını daha verimli hale getirmek ve rekabet avantajı sağlamak için geliştirilen bu programlar, kullanıcı dostu arayüzleri ve kapsamlı özellikleriyle öne çıkmaktadır.

  10. Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Website Giriş için Tıklayin. onwin

  11. You are my breathing in, I possess few blogs and infrequently run out from post :). “To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely.” by Jorge Luis Borges.

  12. Hi, Neat post. There’s an issue together with your web site in web explorer, would test this… IE nonetheless is the marketplace chief and a big component of other people will omit your wonderful writing because of this problem.

  13. I like what you guys are up too. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site :).

  14. My brother suggested I might like this web site. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  15. Mutlu Bir Kadın, içeriklerinizi renklendiren ve pozitif enerji veren bir web sayfası. Kadının güçlü, özgür ve mutlu olduğunu vurgulayan bir anlayışa sahipsiniz. İçeriklerinizdeki derinlik ve samimiyet, ziyaretçileri etkilemeye devam ediyor. Yaratıcı ve ilham verici bir siteye sahip olmanız, insanları olumlu duygularla dolu bir dünyaya taşıyor. İçeriklerinizdeki mutluluk, okuyucuları motive edip hayatlarına olumlu bir etki bırakıyor. Başarılarınızın devamını dilerim! https://google.com.tr/webmasters/sitemaps/ping?sitemap=https://www.mutlubirkadin.com/sitemap_index.xml

  16. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

  17. I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.

  18. Very interesting info !Perfect just what I was searching for! “Love endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other.” by Walter Lippmann.

  19. I like this post, enjoyed this one regards for posting. “The goal of revival is conformity to the image of Christ, not imitation of animals.” by Richard F. Lovelace.

  20. Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but Iwas wondering which
    blog platform are you usikng for thus website? I’m getting
    tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hacxkers aand I’m looking at alternatives for another platform.

    I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    Feel free to visit my webpage web page

  21. Pingback: child porn
  22. Keep up the superb piece of work, I read few articles on this web site and I conceive that your website is really interesting and has circles of great information.

  23. Your style is really unique compared to other folks I have read
    stuff from. Thank you for posting when you’ve ggot the opportunity,Guess I will just bookmark thiis
    page.

    Feel free to surf to my webb blog :: Sg escort

  24. I have not checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

  25. Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched all over the place and simply could not come across. What a great website.

  26. I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  27. Hey, you used to write fantastic, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!

  28. Generally I do not read article on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to check out and do so! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, very great article.

  29. Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a completely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!

  30. I wish to get across my passion for your kindness supporting those individuals that have the need for help on this area. Your very own dedication to passing the message all through was amazingly interesting and have consistently allowed guys and women just like me to reach their aims. Your own warm and helpful facts implies so much a person like me and further more to my fellow workers. Thank you; from all of us.

  31. Pingback: meritking
  32. I do believe all of the concepts you’ve offered on your post. They’re really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too brief for newbies. Could you please lengthen them a bit from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.