Terms & Conditions of booking a hike or trip with us
Medical / Travel Insurance
All clients booking a hike or trip with us must have comprehensive travel / medical insurance.
Mountain Rescue
When we sign the mountain register and pay for the hiking permit, mountain rescue is included.
We always do everything possible to ensure the safety of people hiking and traveling with us and will sometimes change the planned route at our discretion if we need to do so to keep everyone safe.
However, when enjoying an outdoor adventure, unforeseen things can sometimes happen. If you need rescue we will call the mountain rescue team, who are well trained and will get you off the mountain. In some cases, an air-force helicopter will be sent to take you to safety at the nearest Drakensberg hotel or hospital, depending on what is needed.
However, once this is done, you are responsible for your medical expenses, which is why we require comprehensive medical insurance, and medical aid is strongly recommended.
However, the mountain rescue / air-force helicopter scenario will only apply if they are required for medical reasons, so if you are just tired or don’t like the weather you will have to pay for a helicopter 🙂
Pricing
All pricing on Drakensberg Hiker is in South African Rand (ZAR).
Currency conversion rates are available on XE Convertor here.
Deposit & Payment for your Hike or Trip
We require a 50% deposit to confirm your hike or trip booking. This 50% deposit is non-refundable.
The balance of the payment is due 1 week (7 days) before the hike or trip is scheduled to start, this is also non-refundable.
Starting the Hike or Trip
It is your responsibility to arrive for the hike or trip at the agreed upon time and date, delays in your arrival which necessitate a change in the starting date of the hike or trip, and therefore its itinerary will not be compensated.
It is your responsibility to inform us of any medical and fitness issues you have so that we can make recommendations and advise you accordingly.
However, it remains your responsibility to ensure that you are sufficiently fit for the level of hike you have booked (our hikes are all graded from Easy to Extreme, and this information is available on all hike description pages).
Refund Policy on Cancellations of Hikes or Trips by you
Once you have booked your trip by paying your 50% deposit, it is non-refundable; but you can elect to put the deposit towards another hike or trip scheduled for up to 1 year from the date the hike was scheduled for, or ask someone else to take your place.
If you cancel the hike less than 7 days before the start of the trip; we are unable to refund the deposit, or the balance of your payment.
If your hike or trip has already started, and you elect to change your itinerary for any reason; we are unable to refund the deposit, or the balance of your payment to compensate for the change in itinerary.
If your hike or trip has already started, and you elect to cut it short for whatever reason; we are unable to refund the deposit, or the balance of your payment.
It is strongly recommended that trip cancellation insurance is obtained from your travel agency.
Weather Dependencies
If the weather looks bad 1 day before the start of the hike, and either you or the guide cancel the hike; you have the option to reschedule your hike up to 1 year ahead of the start date of the hike; or to do another activity that we offer at our discretion which is not affected by the prevailing weather condtions, for example a 4×4 trip up Sani Pass into Lesotho.
Refund Policy on Cancellations of Hikes or Trips by us
If we (Drakensberg Hiker) need to cancel your hike or trip for any reason, a full refund of any monies paid as a deposit or payment for the hike or trip will be reimbursed to you.
Terms & Conditions of the use of the our Website
Use of the DrakensbergHiker Website and its material
The use of this site is personal use only.
You may not use the site for any commercial purposes without our express permission, please contact us here to obtain permission.
Acceptance of these Terms – By browsing on the website you are deemed to have accepted these terms.
Our Privacy Policy
Drakensberg Hiker is the sole owner of information collected on this site.
We will not sell, share, or rent this information to any outside parties.
We collect information from our customers to create the best trip for your requirements and better serve you.
Information collected via our forms includes your name, contact numbers and e-mail address.
We do not allow third parties to collect information on our users.
For statistical purposes, some non-personal information regarding site usage and browsing may be used by us for analysis.
This information is only used to track broad patterns and effectiveness of the site, and does not include contact or payment information, nor does it include any personal information of the people browsing the site.
Company Registration & Domicillium
Our domicilium citandi et executandi, for all legal purposes, is 37 Firtree Avenue, Cleland, Pietermaritzburg, 3201
References – All references to ‘The Website’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘we’ and ‘DrakensbergHiker’ are references to Drakensberg Hiker (Pty) Ltd, registration no. 2013/034873/07.
We are a company registered in the Republic of South Africa.
Our registered address is 37 Firtree Avenue, Cleland, Pietermaritzburg, 3201.