Naming Cathkin Peak
Royal Natal National Park in the KwaZulu-Natal province forms part of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. The park boasts with incredible mountain scenery, infinite hiking trails and natural wonders such as the renowned Drakensberg Amphitheatre.
No matter where you stand on the Escarpment between the Amphitheatre's Eastern Buttress and Giant's Castle, Cathkin Peak always seems to push its way out and demand attention. When the Voortrekkers moved out of the area following annexation of Natal by the British, Scottish settler David Gray moved in and established the first permanent farm which he called Cathkin, after his home town of Cathkin Braes.
And from there the peak was named. However, the Zulu name for Cathkin Peak, Mdedelelo, is far more appropriate, as it means 'make room for him' or, more specifically, 'the bully' because it's a big chunky mountain that stands proud of the main escarpment and therefore is seen to be boastful, or a 'bully', standing over everyone else.
In the days before uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park was established, Mdedelelo was also the name of the forest reserve and wilderness area that stretched from the northern border of Injisuthi Reserve to the southern bank of Didima "Ndedema" Gorge.
By David Bristow