GRADE: D+
TIME: 4½ hours.
DISTANCE: 7 km round trip.
TERRAIN: Undulating path with a few steepish sections. The short-cut route has some scrambles.
The aptly named Camel’s Hump is the corner-post of The Cavern property. Top Gate is the starting point for the walk. Proceed as for Surprise Ridge. At the top of the ridge turn left, and follow the contour all the way to Camel’s Hump. Mountain reedbuck are often seen around here. So too is the jackal buzzard, soaring on the updraughts. It has an anusual breeding system, where one female sometimes has two mates simultaneously, both of which support the family nest. Work that one out.
At the hump summit nearly all the Berg features can be seen – Amphitheatre, Sentinel, Eastern Buttress, Sleeping Beauty, Frog, Tortoise, Mpongwane, Rockeries, Saddle, Bell, Cathedral and Cathkin. Nearer to home are The Cavern’s own attractions – Cold Hill, Sugar Loaf, Hlolela, Sungubala, and Bababona Ridges. For serious Berg enthusiasts a very early morning start is recommended in order to see the amazing pink first light on the Amphitheatre wall.
Return home the same way, or do what everyone else does and scramble down the short cut, by following the fence line downhill to the hotel.