3 Days 2 Nights
South Africa
12
Mnweni 3 Day New Year’s Hike (31 Dec 2026 – 2 Jan 2027)
0/12
R4,350 per person*
R4,700 per person*
R5,500 per person*
*Please note that these base hike prices are subject to change; and private hike prices will differ from our scheduled hike prices. Your quote for this hike may differ, depending on equipment you may need to hire from us, or additional services you request such as accommodation before / after your hike and transport to and from the hike organised by DrakensbergHiker.
The Mnweni 3 day hike in the Drakensberg takes place in one of my favorite parts of the Drakensberg…what better place to celebrate the New Year!
My porters also live here and love showing their home to visitors. We stay at the Mnweni cultural center before the hike and having a nice braai.
Day 1 starts with a drive up a dirt road where we leave our cars at my head porters home. You will be impressed with the views from his home. From here we head out into the mountains to do one of the best hikes in South Africa!
On the way we cross a crystal clear mountain stream. Maybe a quick little dip.
Then up the valley for some lunch among the Protea trees. From here it is an uphill saunter following the stream to arrive at our campsite for the night.
My porters call this place ‘the station’. When the Basotho’s come down into South Africa loaded with dagga they swop their loads onto other donkeys. All around us are huge mountains up to 1000m above us. Just incredible. You can read some of my reviews here.
While enjoying dinner we can look up Rockeries pass where we will be walking the next day.
We started day 2 at 2200m and after 4km we arrive on top of Rockeries pass at 2950m.
Rockeries pass is one of the easier passes in the Drakensberg but we still take up to 4 hrs to get to the top. Once up there you will see the effort is certainly worth it. We are actually in Lesotho up there but don’t worry, no need for a passport.
By now everyone is starving so time for lunch. Another 40 minutes and we can also visit a huge Cape vulture colony.
Also quite amazing is we can look all the way down and see our campsite.
After all this fun we head back down Rockeries pass in time for afternoon tea at our campsite. Luckily there is a lovely stream nearby so good for a swim. Then another dinner while looking up at where we just were during the day. Helps with the feeling of accomplishment.
Day 3 is waking up with the sun and having breakfast. Then a 3 hr walk back down the valley to our cars waiting at Sdudla’s home. This Mnweni 3 day hike is not only great for stunning mountain scenery but also plenty of bird life and of course my Zulu porters culture. We can see their homes and if you are lucky they will sing a few tunes.
Mnweni 3 Day Hike Difficulty: Intermediate.
