Report be Kevin Eikenaar
Day One
This Easter Weekend the club did a trip to Lesotho. Gary and Ronnie had big plans and many routes, this resulted in the trip being extended from 4 to 5 days. I will do separate posts for each day to make it easier to follow. The original plan was to go in at Ongeluksnek, however due to the excessive amount of rain we had been having, we were advised against this as access to the pass was a big problem. This saw us re-route through Qacha's Nek. The plan was to meet up at The Rotunda in Hilton and then leave by (In Gary's words) no later than 7am. The notice for this trip had said that we had to be flexible as the plan could be fluid. Well our fist moment of fluidity happened right then. There was some form of major traffic snarl up on Town Hill. This caused some folk to arrive late and some to take a different rout and meetup in Matatiele. It also meant that we left a lot later than intended. The traffic going to Underberg was crazy busy as the Splashy Fen music festival was happening the same weekend. We eventually met up in Matatiele and topped up the tanks and tummies and then headed for the hills. The border staff on both sides were absolutely fantastic and we got through with almost no trouble....except Chris and Kyle. They wanted extra documentation because of his age (even though he's taller than most of us). There was panic but then they handled it, got the required docs, and then entered Lesotho. We then traveled some tar road next to a very swollen Senqu river and then headed into the mountains on some rather rough, rocky and muddy roads to get to our 1st camp site of the trip. We were told it was next to an alpine lake / dam, but as it was dark we had to take the word of those that said it was there. What we did find, was that the ground was very soggy, so we parked on the road in a straight stripe. Some setup tents in the dark, some opted for sleeping in their cars. There was no braai that night, just vienna hot dogs or noodles as it was 8pm by the time everyone was settled. It turns out we caused some entertainment for the shepherds that were in their kraals on the hill tops around us, as they were making all sorts of funny noises until they became bored with that, then we all turned in for the night.
Day Two
As the sun rose on day 2 we realized something. It was COLD! The thermometer in the Pajero registered -1 and the ice on all the vehicles and tents needed no explanation. The sun rise also revealed that we were indeed next to the Alpine Lake (it was a dam, but Alpine Lake sounds much better). This was, in my opinion, the morning with the most glorious sunrise. Coffee was brewed and some of us enjoyed the sun rise while some of the more energetic went off to see if there were any fish in the dam. The dam was really full and overflowing with intent because of all the rain. It turns out that if you come up Ongeluks Nek you have drive directly along the base of the wall to continue on into Lesotho. There was quite the sense of relief that we didn't have to drive that. Once we had all packed up, we headed off with the goal of getting to Malealea Lodge. This day would take us through what must be one of the most scenic parts of Lesotho as there are a lot of trees and red walled canyons, quite different from a lot of the higher areas of the country. After descending into one of these picture book valleys we came apon a low level bridge that was under water. This produced a series of conflicted minds. Ronnie was keen to cross as he was comparing it to his bridge back home but others were thinking of the various videos they had seen of cars being washed off these types of bridges. It was decided to consult the residents in the nearby homes and they strongly advised against crossing. So it was decided to turn around and make the long trek back to another route. As U-Turns were being executed, a group of younger guys came along with their horse and said it would be fine to cross, and to prove a point, they sent their horse on over. Ronnie was like, "You see, I told you", and so He and Gary drove across. When the rest of us saw that they did not get washed down the river, we all followed and made to the other side. The rest of the day was spent driving and at one point we got close enough to the SA border to get cell phone signal. The plan was to camp at Malealea, but when we got there we found they had empty backpacker huts (Built in traditional Lesotho fashion). So most upgraded and had a good night on a bed. The evening was rounded off with a braai in the communal area, followed by a hot, or not so hot, shower and a good nights rest.
Day Three
I didn't forget, it's just been a busy weekend
. Here is day 3 of our long weekend in Lesotho.
Those of us that had opted for a hut, woke up with the wonderful realisation that we did not have to pack up tents. This would also be a day with a fairly long drive. One needs to remember that in Lesotho, the map distance can not be used to calculate time as you would back home. These non tar routes extend your travel time exponentially.
It was decided that Malealea lodge was a great place and we can recommend it. The route planners also had a chat with Jackie (the proprietor of Malealea Lodge) and bounced our route idea for the day off her. She is very knowledgeable on the area around there and was able to direct us away from areas that are no longer passable and give direction on how we should proceed. With maps updated and breakfast sorted, we headed out. Today would see us chasing waterfalls.
Our 1st waterfall was Botsoela Falls. This was not too far from Malealea and worth the visit. We had to walk down to the base and whilst not too long it was fairly steep in places. It is 40m high with a splash pool at the base, and with all the rains it sported 2 falls. When we stopped we were approached by volunteer guides, that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The rate was fair, we were asked for what ever we could give. Whilst one can find the waterfall your own there is not much out there so it helps the guides earn something.
Once we had had enjoyed the falls we saddled up and headed off. The destination was Maletsunyane Falls. Again we traveled the high road and the low road, but mainly the high one. The scenery was breathtaking. When we got to Maletsunyane Falls we discovered there was now an entrance fee of R130 p/person. Due to the size of our group, we managed to get a discount. They did say we could camp anywhere within the area, which we ultimately did. We drove in and came to a Visitors Comfort Center and this was a surprise to some of the group that had been there previously when there was nothing. The center has a restaurant and a quad bike hire shop, but otherwise seems rather empty. There is however a lovely viewing deck from where you have an uninterrupted view of the falls. Maletsunyane Falls are 192m high and quite a site to behold.
Once the view had been savored and toilets used, we went and found a place to setup camp and make fire. It was a great spot, although we did have to encourage a young guy and his horse to move along. A fun evening was enjoyed around the fire and Gary even broke out his "anti-freeze" which was well received, before everyone turned in for the night.
Day Four
Day 4 dawned apon us, I can't remember the temperature, (maybe Chris Can) but it was not too cold and must have been warm enough for the easter Bunny to get up early and leave an Easter egg by each tent. We looked forward to what the day held for us as Ronnie and Gary had been talking about a road less travelled, and none of us could imagine, at that time, just how exactly less travelled it would be. The plan was to head out from Semonkong to a camp site on the other side of Thaba-Tseka, This would prove to be a bridge too far, but I digress.
We started off by going through some villages and even these would become fewer in frequency as we approached the "middle".
It was at one such village that Gary and Derrick decided that the road wasn't enough of a challenge and took a detour, which which took a turn up a slippery incline, which was fine for the Fortuna's but caught out Elizabeth's longer Hilux. This resulted in Caroline giving her a gentle tug to get her onto the road more travelled. I think it also was the most outside entertainment the people living there had had in ages and I'm sure they are still talking about it today.
The views, once again, were stunning but the drivers needed to keep at least one eye on the road because we were often riding along the edge of nothingness. Armco seems to be a foreign concept in most of these places. As the road seemed to start petering out, we stopped for a roadside picnic lunch. The intel we had said we had to push on and eventually the road would become more road. It was evident by the piles of stone next to the "road" and the steel culverts lying around, that there had at some point been intent to improve the road, but this had come to nothing. Some sections of the "road" were totally grassed over, like a sports field, and other sections were rocky and rough and yet other parts were just a twee spoor track through long grass. Oh yes, and mud, nice mushy mud in random places that would catch you out if you were not careful. But it all made for a great day out driving.
We eventually made it on to a more normal dirt road and it didn't take us too much longer to realise that we didn't have any chance of reaching our intended camp site until way after dark. It was then, alongside a lovely little stream with trees, that Gary and Ronnie decided to go have a chat to the folk at a nearby homestead to see if we could overnight there. They came back with the great news that as we had offered to pay, they would open up 2 classrooms for us to sleep in. This was fantastic, especially as this was the only night we had rain. The classrooms also had these small steel fireplaces that worked like a bomb. So after a good meal, coffee and "anti-freeze", everyone had a good warm night.
Day Five
Day 5 had us rising early, due to the fact that we had not reached our intended camp site the previous day. We now needed to cover the remaining distance from day 4, plus all of the distance for day 5. So after wake up, eat up and pack up, we left at around 7am. Our group had briefly grown by 1 as a lady from the place we stayed at had hitched a lift with Caroline into a town we were passing through.
We had to cover a fair amount of dirt road before we hit a really good tar road. Both roads took us through some really scenic places again as we made our way to Thaba-Tseka. Here some of us topped up tanks before journeying on. It was after Thaba-Tseka that we hit a really rough dirt road, the likes of which rattled your eyeballs and loosened your fillings.
We pulled over next to a river at lunch time for a snack, stretch and line cast. This spot was almost at the intended camp site we were supposed to have used on day 4. There was no way we would have gotten this far until around after 10:30pm the night before. This gave us a newfound appreciation for the place we stayed the night before.
We then set out again for Sani top.
It was around this time that the question was asked, what time do the border posts close. The 1st suggestion was 4pm. Well there was no way we were going to make that and people were already coming up with what we were going to say to our bosses. Bianca then managed to make contact with the outside world. The outside world then in turn managed to get hold of some resorts, who advised that both top and bottom border posts closed at 6pm. This was still going to be a little tight so we pressed on. The top border post was reached just after 5pm, passports were stamped, and we zooted off down Sani Pass (well as much as one can zoot down Sani). The mist then also rolled in just to spice things up again, but I am pleased to say that we all made it through on time and back into the good old RS of A.
The next stop was home......not really, it was KFC in Underberg. It turns out people needed fast food (although this KFC was not particularly fast). Once everyone a filled up it was time for the homeward journey. This was fortunately uneventful and we mostly got home just after 9pm.
Thanks again to Ronnie and Gary for taking the time to plan such an excellent weekend for the rest of us
