The aloes were at their best, and so were the Gurney’s Sugarbirds and Greater Double-collared Sunbirds. Nearly all the latter were males. Where were the girls? Amethyst Sunbirds were notable for their absence, these are certainly altitudinal migrants here.
If there has been one thing my old-man has been nagging us to do, it has been to climb the main berg and do a short traverse. I have always resisted. Firstly, there is the dreaded chain ladder, next there is the possibility that an overnight raid may leave you without hiking boots and lastly
The Cavern management are passionate about wines. With the help of leading wine experts they have put together a selection to suite all budgets and tastes. Wine served by the glass is available. Wine List
Four years ago when Big5Hike was born we were 20 hikers and many paying guests staying at The Cavern. That year we raised R103,000 in recognition of Megan’s late grandmother Ruth’s 103rd birthday. I distinctly remember us all sitting outside the cave bar drinking Flying Fish (as this was all we could get for free)
The big game was good value. Elands in ones and twos were seen often, as were their distinctive droppings and manic damage to Buddleja bushes. Bushbuck were moving into the gardens, and a group of six mountain reedbuck posed near the stables. We also saw a small grey mongoose. The really cold weather – snow
Dear Friends Easter marks a change in the seasons and we can certainly feel a nip in the air in the evenings. We have been blessed with beautiful rain this year and the streams are still flowing strongly and the mountainside is enticing. All this nourishing rain and good sunshine means that the grasses have
Pre-breakfast walks are never the same. We may walk roughly the same short routes, but birds move around, there’s always the hope of something different. Of course, there are favourite spots never to be missed out. Number one is “Sunshine Corner”. No sign-board tells you where it is, but it’s at the top of the
The highlight of this weekend was the return of the Fiery-necked Nightjar. It’s long been on the Cavern list without a single appearance in at least 15 years. Arguably it has the finest call of any bird in the world, a clear rippled whistle that carries for miles. In mid evening it struck up, for
by Corneel Van Wijk There is something to be said for experiencing a spurt of creativity when you are removed from your everyday surroundings. The Cavern Resort in the northern Drakensberg was such a place for me during 7 days towards the end of October 2016. I was as eager and curious to discover the
It’s not always what you see that is interesting – sometimes it’s what you don’t see, or don’t hear in this case! Up at the Cavern last weekend the Red-chested Cuckoo (Piet-my-vrou) was so conspicuous by its absence (if that makes sense?); not a peep out of it, not a single glimpse of it among
