Sterkhorn 2026
I think I might not be a fan of heights 😅. Climbing Sterkhorn in the Drakensburg felt a little uneasy for me. But WOW it was beautiful and the day we picked was absolutely perfect (the Drakensburg can be unpredictable).
I guess you could say I’ve been hanging around the right people. I managed to get an invite to the Drakensburg to “hike up Sterkhorn and whatever else we can”. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but with some experienced hikers I knew it would be good. And it was!
This was a basecamp hike. So we didn’t take tents and full packs up the mountain. We stayed at the bottom near the Monks Cowl campsite and did day hikes.
Sterkhorn was about a 19km (1500m) out and back route, so we started early around 6:30 at the Monks Cowl campsite. They close the gates at 6pm, so we had to make sure we got back before that. Otherwise we’d be joining the camping guys without a tent 😛.
With absolutely perfect conditions we hiked up to Crystal Falls and then the Sphinx. Tried to throw a rock in a pit near the Sphinx for good luck. I think we all managed but maybe not on the first go 😂.
A stop at the breakfast stream for a snack and the last water stop (we thought - but there was some more later). Then up towards Blindmans corner where the full extent of Sterkhorn came into view, looking steep and pretty serious.
Once past a campsite next to Blindmans corner we went up, up and up. Because it was so clear the views were spectacular. However this also meant the sheer steep drops on the way up freaked me out a bit. But hiking with the other guys, I was able to keep my cool and carry on. There was a sighting of a Berg Adder but otherwise it was just us hanging on tufts of grass to keep us from falling off the mountain.
Looking out for the smallest arrow to show you the way up. We made it to a sort of flat bit for some more rest and some epic views. Next was the Chimney a small tight hole in the wall to get us up to the top of Sterkhorn at 2973m.
At the top there was ample space to relax and take in the 360 degree views of the Drakensburg. Here we found the MOTH memory cross (one of the reasons this peak is also called Mount Memory). On one side we had a good view of Grey’s pass. Flip I’m not sure I want to do that one day - it looks quite scary. We were so high, we had clouds below us and then just beautiful green mountains into the distance.
After having our lunch and about 4000 photos we were ready to go down. But a plane came past almost our level (the pilot in the group said it was a motorised glider). We waved and mostly agreed that our method of coming up here was more fun (some of us 😅).
Back down we went as some clouds started to come in a bit. This was actually good for me as it hid away some of the sheer drops of the mountain we were descending. Your brain can be funny sometimes 🙃.
With luckily no rain we made it down past all the places we saw on the way up. We even bumped into the JHB hiking club also heading up - a bit late though (but they did make it).
We stopped at Crystal Falls for a quick dip in the water and made it back around 17:30 so we didn’t get locked out. Unfortunately the store was closed, so no ice-cream and we even tried Champagne Castle Hotel for a victory beer (they we “full” so no guests 🫠). But no worries we went back to the place we stayed for some cheap beer and a well deserved braai!
Sterkhorn (3 April 2026) strava route https://www.strava.com/activities/17963799806
The long weekend was not over as we managed to take the next day “off”. We did the Winterton parkrun, sampled some Drakensburg beer and had another braai. You can’t have too many 😛.
Last day of the long weekend we went back up into the mountains. This time doing a 21km hike along some contour paths and taking a different route down skipping the Sphinx and back down to Monks Cowl campsite. Also beautiful and we had a little rain to keep us on our toes.
Another braai and then the next day back home. What a great short trip out the Berg! I will be doing this more often I think.