The uKhahlamba Valleys unfold like a scene from The Land Before Time; the prehistoric plains of Universal Studios’ dinosaur animation actualised in the vistas from the Dragon’s Tail ridge of Sentinel Peak. The goal was to take in this view from Tugela Falls, the highest waterfall in Africa. Clad in ropes and carabiners, our expedition team was set to summit the Sentinel and reach the falls by scaling the slopes.
The hike would mark the end of my time spent on the 44th Kingsley Holgate geographic and humanitarian Defender expedition, “Following the Dragon”, tracing the full spine of the Drakensberg from Iron Crown in Limpopo to Rhodes in the Eastern Cape Highlands. Travelling in Defender 130s, the team links remote valleys, high passes and communities along the escarpment, combining adventure with malaria prevention, Rite to Sight spectacle distribution, early childhood development support and conservation education for schoolchildren. The Foundation also celebrates its 25th year in partnership with Land Rover and Defender, who have helped the Holgate team drive change since the turn of the century.
I spent my first two days in camp with the team at the Golden Gate National Park, where 200-million-year-old Massospondylus eggs, holding the world’s oldest known dinosaur embryos, were pulled from the same sandstone cliffs above our camp. The Park is also home to the R120 million Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre, opened in June 2025, which concentrates the palaeontological history of the region into a centre filled with full-scale models and interactive exhibits. The name is borrowed from a giant beast of Basotho legend, a fitting neighbour for the Dragon itself. Over two days we were schooled on the magic and the history of the area by Park manager Paddy Gordon.
From Golden Gate, the convoy climbed its way to the border of Lesotho, where, at the crest, we had the perfect view of the peak we would be tackling the following day, and the expansive amphitheatre below. On the morning of the hike, the guides suggested we wait for the mist to clear, but to bring a rain jacket. As the sun broke through the fog of the Dragon’s Breath, we set off like hobbits on the seven-hour hike, the altitude pressing down on our chests as we trekked the switchbacks of the foothills in search of Sentinel, 3165 meters above sea level.
ALSO READ: Driving change with Defender and the Kingsley Holgate Foundation
There are three ways to reach the top of Tugela Falls: the two near-vertical chain ladders bolted to the cliff face, a steep scramble up the Beacon Buttress Gully, or the “Iron Way” – The only Via Ferrata in Africa.
“Via” (Way) Ferrata (Iron) owes its existence, explained expedition member Mike Nixon, to one of the stranger bargains of the First World War. In 1915 Italy was effectively bribed into joining the Allies, promised a sizeable slice of Austro-Hungarian territory under the secret Treaty of London, and promptly found itself fighting a mountain war along a front that ran through the Dolomites. Moving troops and supplies across vertical limestone was impossible by conventional means, so both sides hammered iron rungs, ladders and fixed cables into the rock, letting ordinary soldiers climb terrain previously reserved for alpinists. When the war ended, the hardware stayed.
Unfortunately, I received the history lesson as the group picked its way down the gulley, via the escape route. After feeling the thrill of being coupled with the mountain only by a cable and two carabiners, scaling slopes at close to 3000 meters altitude, above sheer drops into the valleys below, the ambiguous weather trumped us. The morning sun had made way for thick clouds and a thunderous sky, as lightning began to move in quickly across the landscape. After the first section of the Via Ferrata, there is no room to turn back. The guides made the call to take the escape route, for the sake of the safety of the group. It was disappointing not being able to complete the route, but it was incredible to feel the charge of the elements and immense heights on the first section of the climb.
ALSO READ: Celebrating Kingsley Holgate at 80 – A lifetime of journeys that changed lives across Africa
While most of us feel like there is unfinished business and will be trying to return to scale the Sentinel again one day, the hike was still incredible. The weather eased out as we reached the bottom of the gulley, and while some returned to Witsieshoek, a few of us hung around, making our way through a new route to the Chain Ladders, to climb the two ribbons of steel stitched to the side of the mountain.
Some members of the team had set off for Tugela Falls via the Chain Ladders, and although we were unsuccessful in our summit, they completed the most important mission of the day: reaching Tugela Falls to fill the expedition calabash. Previously filled in the trickle of water over a dinosaur footprint in the highlands of the Golden Gate National Park, the calabash has travelled with every Holgate expedition since 1993, collecting symbolic water from the journey’s start and from iconic rivers and lakes along the route. The calabash will be emptied in ceremony when the trip draws to an end in November.
On our first night in Golden Gate National Park, Paddy spoke of the spirit of the mountains, the intangible character that seeps through the sand and mudstone slopes. Wrapped in the Dragon’s Breath, at the whim of the elements, one truly understands the soul of these ancient escarpments.
Witsieshoek
Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, perched below Sentinel Peak, is the gateway to the Dragon’s Tale Via Ferrata. Helmets, harnesses and lanyards are available for hire at the lodge, day visitors are welcome, and the 4×4 transfer to Sentinel car park is worth booking to save your legs for the climb.
Follow Oliver’s adventures on Instagram.
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
