Hi.

We were just a two weeks ago at the top of the Tugela Falls for a hike and I saw an abseil anchor (two bolts, one equiped with an abseil ring) drilled into a rock some 10m from the edge.

Do you know for what purpose it is there? For abseiling naturally, but to where? To the bottom of the Tugela Falls?

Hahahaha. Will teach you to just go hiking when there's epic climbing all around you. I heard that it leads to a very secretive tribe consisting of only the hottest girls handing out candy. Pity you didn't. Have a rope man. You got so close to discovering something really awesome. I think you should drop Nic the 1armbandit a pm and he might tell you what it really is for.

Good work on spotting it though man.

Disgusting! I think they should get chopped!

What is disgusting oom oubaas is sleeping at the top clenching to your 9mm in fear of Lesotho Shepards. I'd much rather sleep in a cave on the cliff face, getting candy from pretty girls and knowing nothing is going to happen to me or my gear.

A secret babe cave it is then. Unless I have the trouble of asking the 1armbandit.

The bolts didn't need much of spotting as they were so new and shiny and with closer inspection I could hardly see any sign of usage on them. That was the thing that caught my eye and thought if there is more to it. Also thought of mentioning if nobody else new about them yet as they looked like they were drilled in a day before.

Sadly I did not have the rope with me then and missed the babes.

Oh flip no man. The ones I thought you meant are definitely not new and shiny, they have been around for some time now and very inconspicuous under some brush. But hey, maybe the babes have moved man. I think oom oubaas might have chased them leaving them to find a new cave. Go an abseil down them and let us now. I'll sure miss those babes if they're gone.

No worries. It could be that the babes have just moved.

Anyway, if someone wants to go and have a look the bolts are pretty much here (the green arrow)

https://maps.google.fi/maps?q=-28.752427,28.894182&num=1&t=h&z=19

Sadly I didn't take a picture of them, but they are pretty expoced on top of a small boulder about 10m from the edge. I'd still like to know what for they are, just out of curiosity. The location of them seemd to be such odd. I'd personally place the abseil bolts much closer to the rim if I would like to got down. My first thought was that somebody has wanted to take some pictures from curious angles, but even then it would seem pretty odd.

i have never seen those bolts my best guess would be its for climbing the amphitheatre wall but not a very popular berg climb, but from what i have heard from only guy i know who did it was that the climb tops out very close to the falls, so it would make sense that, that would be a belay spot for last pitch.

Also many tourists people have fallen off the edge there and maybe it has happened so often that the mountain rescue have seen the need to bolt the top?

There was talk of the Eco-challenge coming to South Africa a few years back, and one of the proposed challenges was an abseil off Tugela Falls... I think there was a test abseil done there but I'm not certain.

We visited Witsieshoek this weekend and saw the bolts at the top of the Tugela falls. It looks like the bolts were placed where they are because the rock gets poorer closer to the edge. They are brand new and can hardly be missed by anyone in the vicinity of the waterfall. I took two pictures and will try to upload them.

I put the question about the bolts out to the Vertical Endeavour forum and got the following reply:

"These were apparently part of an illegal abseiling exercise and plans are already in place to remove them".

Now we know.

Name and Shame! Off with their heads!

The bolts were apparently placed by some european group, who came over and abseiled all the way down the falls.

But then the hot ladies with the sweeties will be stuck in their new cave forever, with no-one being able to go and comfort them!
I'm against random bolting, but in this case, please consider the benefits of not chopping. Have a heart man.

If you chop I will never be able to visit them in their new babe cave

Am not sure if Helga Hjelland, Norwegian adventurer found the "Babe Cave", he did however say "Never again" after abseiling about 1050 metres, cutting the 1200m rope and work his way down through the lower gulleys. His documentary is called "The Impossible River Journey", Part 1 starts with the Tugela abseil.

Permission was granted by the Qua Qua administrators.

The first few pics in this album show the background.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1107504979 ... ourceToSea

Edit: PS. His anchors are not the ones shown next to the falls.

Thanks for posting.
Well... at least he hand drilled his bolts (so that makes it a little better
Pity there are no real abseil shots!

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