We left a sunny and warm Himeville (10 deg) at 8:30, dressed in summer clothes. The drive through the foothills to the start of Sani Pass was absolutely beautiful. The road along this section is newly tarred and in great condition.
Sani Pass was originally developed in 1913 and climbs the face of the Drakensberg escarpment to an altitude of 2874m. Once the pass was no more than a footpath used by Bushmen. Later on Sani Pass became the main trade route for early traders, missionaries and adventurers from Natal. Today the pass climbs 900m over 8km. It is the only access point between the Mokhotlong district and KZN, it thus constitutes an economic life-line for the Basotho people.
I'm really glad we were in a 4 x 4 (with BF Goodriches) as the last 8km of the trip to the ‘Sky Kingdom’ is a harsh narrow track that meanders upwards next to the Mkomazana River. There are some pretty hectic hairpin bends, with hectic drops over cliff edges. Going over would not be conducive to one’s health.
Before the big ascent, we had to pass through the South African border post. Here we picked up a French back packer, not sure how he would have got up the pass if we hadn't come along. At the top of the pass we went through Lesotho Border Patrol and stopped at Sani Mountain Lodge for hot chocolate. The lodge boasts having the highest pub in Africa. We were also lucky enough to see the Sloggett’s ice rat.
So we left this morning in summer clothes and arrived at 2478m to the remnants of last weeks snow, with a brisk wind, we were rather chilly. From the top of Sani we headed into Lesotho and the Maluti Mountains. The road was newly built and magnificent. We stoped off at Mokhotlong to drop off Rudi, the French Backpacker, not sure what the hell he is going to do there but we were glad to be moving on. We did the Tlaeeng Pass and reached 3240m above sea level. I have never encountered so many ascents, descents and curves on a road – certainly not conducive to those suffering from motion sickness. Whenever we ascended to 2500m or higher we encountered snow, it is still really thick in places. It's hard to believe we were swimming and snorkeling 2 weeks ago, what a country of contrasts we live in.
It took us about 4 hours to do 100km this morning and the next 80km took us 2 hours, and this was on brilliant roads (except for the Sani Pass section). Plans are afoot to tar Sani, great for the infrastructure and economy of Lesotho but bad news for 4 x 4 and biking adventurers.
The mountainous scenery is stark. The grass is yellow and the soil is a dark grey. There are round stone and thatch Basotho huts littering the mountain slopes. The main form of subsistence are sheep and mealies.
We were not sure where we going to stay tonight. We popped into Afri-Ski resort and as the ski season was only starting in 2 weeks time, we were able to get accommodation. The place is totally abuzz with maintenance and cleaning going on. We walked up to the ski slope, where artificial snow is blown onto the slopes, in the absence of real snow. Whew there is a lot of work to be done here.
We had lunch and dinner at the Sky Restaurant, the highest restaurant in Africa at 3010m. While I blog, sitting next to the fire in the restaurant (we are now in winter clothes), Gray is sipping on Maluti beer and planning tomorrows route. Small world, Lauren Moir (daughter of our good friends Gill and Steve from the Greytown wedding) and her boyfriend, Pete, were in the restaurant, what are the chances.
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