Bell Cave and Cathedral Peak - A Drakensberg Adventure
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2024
- Watch in HD!
In January, myself, Gabriel and Wandile hiked the first stretch of the Bell Traverse to spend a night in Bell Cave, and then summit Cathedral Peak the next morning. The views on this hike were unlike any I had ever seen - the green rolling hills of the lower berg, the dramatic peaks through which we hiked, the Sun rising above a blanket of cloud, and Cathedral Peak itself, a lone point rising out of a sea of clouds.
The hike is tough, some sections are quite exposed, and Bugger Gulley and the final stretch up to the peak itself are fairly technical with little room for error. However, it's still very manageable for a fit group, and I strongly recommend giving it a go if you're well prepared and feel up to the challenge.
Tried speaking to the camera to give occasional context, which is terrible XD but hopefully paints a better picture of what was going on. Also, found out too late that TH-cam doesn't allow end screen cards for more widescreen videos, so apologies for the blank screen at the end.
Music by Avi Kaplan: / avikaplanmusic
Love this - great edit!
Awesome
Incredible and stunning scenery
thank you!
stunning and the playlist! *chef's kiss*
Beautiful, great quality footage - thank you for sharing ! Loved Avi Kaplan music too ! Drakensberg = Cathedral Peak is one of my sacred, favourite places. 💕
Awesome video, awesome scenery, awesome music! Well done
thank you! :)
Beautifully made!
New fan from California! Well done!! A pleasure to watch...
Thank you! Very glad you enjoyed it :)
Good one!
Great movie - thanks for sharing!
Beautiful video. The scenery is breathtaking.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)
WOW this is amazing!!!
Planning this for month end, hopefully we'll be able to summit. Our friends where not so luck because of the weather. They couldn't ascend the last 30 minute due to sudden change in weather for the worst. Great video as usual Daniel. The music is always on point in your videos. Keep up the good work man. Let us know when you're in south africa again, would love to go on a hike with you guys.
That top bit is super dicey in bad weather - even a bit of rain the day before is enough to make it really treacherous. Stay safe out there! Whereabouts in SA are you?
@@daniel_johnson_pmbpk im in Cape Town mate.
Very good video
Nice
Yes lad!
Incredible!
Amazing!
What an incredible video! Well done! Is drone flying allowed in the Cathedral Peak area? My understanding was that it is part of the Drakensberg National Park and you therefore cannot fly drones there, but I am willing to be corrected on this...
Thank you! So I had looked around online before going, and couldn't find any info, so I thought the best thing would just be to fly very cautiously, far away from any people or wildlife. You may well be right on that
I love it when you get vertigo from a video, love how green it is
Really unique mountains in that sense :) so grand and yet so green
Great . What month in the year did u hike
Awesome 👌
Thanks Osman! We did it in January, if I remember correctly :). Summer is stunning, the clouds are dramatic and everything is green, but you have to content with the thunderstorms, so careful planning is needed. Autumn or Spring are probably the safest times
Hi Daniel. I am trying to find out as much as possible about the BEll Travers. How long was the hike up to Bell Cave? And also, how hectic is that Bell Traverse section?
Hi Handre, so sorry for seeing this so late! It probably took us around 7 hours to get to Bell Cave, it depends a lot on the fitness of the group I think. Bugger Gulley is quite sketchy, the rocks are very loose, but it's certainly doable. On the Bell Traverse itself, there are some sections which are quite exposed, narrow ledges over big drops, but all in all I enjoyed it a lot, and it certainly wasn't as technical as other hikes I've done. On this trip we obviously just did Bell Cave, but in January this year I got to do the full traverse
Hi Daniel, some really great shots👌🏻 how is the cell signal up there if any at all?
Hi Jannes, thanks! I remember checking at one stage, there was vodacom signal from the top of Cathedral Peak, but it was patchy, and got less reliable coming down off the summit. You will definitely find signal at times though
cool video .. music choice too
What drone did you use ?
Mavic Pro Platinum :)
Is that rock face on the way up to Cathedral Peak as treacherous as it looks on camera?
I assume you mean the one at 5:23 - so it is quite sketchy, there are bolts in place for a rope (which officially one is advised to take) but it's certainly doable without one, just sucks when it's wet. The fall is maybe 4m onto the grass slope, so you definitely wouldn't die, but it is a good risk of a sprained ankle or broken leg if you land badly. It's definitely doable though.
@@daniel_johnson_pmbpk To me the grass slope looked quite steep as well haha but may be because of the camera angle. Nonetheless, what would an appropriate length of rope for that section? I don't wanna carry the weight of a full length rope for that.
Great video! I'm busy building a free map of SA hiking trails at trailmap.co.za, would you mind if I embed this video on there and give you credit?
Hi Willem, shucks sorry for missing this! You'd be more than welcome to do so with any of the videos on this channel, if you're still looking for things to supplement your site