Armed bandits are attacking visitors in the Drakensberg World Heritage Site and cash-strapped authorities are powerless to stop them - a situation that could result in the closure of one of South Africa's most popular hiking trails.Recent attacks - including an incident on April 24 in which three friends were stoned, beaten with knobkerries and set upon by hunting dogs - have highlighted safety concerns in the Amphitheatre region of the KwaZulu-Natal section of the Drakensberg, near the Lesotho border.Officials have deemed the incidents frequent and severe enough to warn that the area could be closed "to all persons" from May 20 unless remedies are found.Provincial wildlife authority Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has been scrambling to avoid closing an area visited by thousands of tourists in peak season. Although this would be a "last resort", Ezemvelo spokesman Musa Mntambo said, it was a distinct possibility."We are concerned for the safety of hikers, especially overnight hikers. We are currently engaging various stakeholders on the issue to see if they can come up with alternative options to closure," he said.David Moldenhauer, Jody Main-Baillie and Cameron McLean were assaulted two weeks ago. The friends had set up camp on the first day of a 13-day hike known as the "Great Traverse". At about 11pm, while they were sleeping, they were attacked."I woke up to the sound of dogs," Moldenhauer said this week. "And then the first stone came through the side of the tent. It was loud. I thought they were shooting."They fled their tents only to be confronted by two men who demanded money. Another man set about looting the camp.The men ran away when Moldenhauer sprayed his attacker, who hit him on the head with a knobkerrie, with pepper spray.Moldenhauer suffered a broken hand and a skull fracture. He has had a titanium plate fitted to his skull.In an alert published on hiking websites, Stephen Richert, conservation manager at the Royal Natal National Park, said many local residents had taken to "aggressively begging" and stoning hikers who did not yield to their demands.Mntambo said a lack of money hampered efforts to keep the area safe. Ezemvelo's budget has been cut by R145-million.KwaZulu-Natal tourism MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu has commissioned a report on incidents in the area because the "abhorrent" attacks threaten the reputation of the province."Hikers should be protected because that part of our province is valuable for ecotourism activities," he said.Hiking guide Justin Lawson, who writes for the Climb SA website, said the crime and the possible closure of the area "would affect the reputation of our country"."It's a sad moment when we lose access to the mountains for any reason," he said...