Safety and Accessibility of Tugela Falls

Hi everyone, I am planning on doing the Tugela Falls hike from the Sentinel car park in the middle of Jan and I last hiked the area back in 2021.

  1. Last I went up there were some safety concerns but we were in a group of 15 so we didn’t stress too much. This time we are a group of 5 (with 2 people being their first multi day hike) so I wanted to find out if the safety in the area is still an issue and if so what are some things to avoid trouble?
  2. The road was pretty bad last I went but we got up in 2 4x4’s and a 2x4 (all early 2000’s hilux’s) but we are only taking a 2008 Toyota Fortuner (2x4) with a raised body and I wanted to find out if the road is okay for that or if we should just park at Witsieshoek and get the shuttle. I have a bit of off roading experience but am in no way a 4x4 guy so some advice would be good.
  3. And lastly I have never hiked the berg in mid summer but have heard from many people that the storms get quite intense. I know weather is always a moving target but any advice on what some general expectations should be would be great too.

Just trying my best to make it a safe and enjoyable hike for our little crew and get the 2 new guys keen for more multiday expeditions.
Thanks