As the crow flies the distance between the two dam walls is 40km, but we are not crows, so by road it was 140km and it took us 4 hours. The first 60km was along a potholed gravel road. The next 80km was on good tarred roads. However both sections, like the rest of the trip were full of ups and downs, curves and sharp corners along the mountain edge with heart stopping drops into the valleys below. The scenery was spectacular.
The area we travelled through was very rural and we encountered far more donkeys, sheep, goats and cows than cars. Some of the little herdsmen tend to the livestock high on the mountains look as young as 5. A far cry from our Saints 5 year olds who have everything done for them.
We are staying at Mohale Lodge tonight. Like at Katse, workers accommodation has been transformed into a hotel. It is clean and comfortable and boasts 3 stars.
This afternoon we went on a tour of the Mohale Dam Wall. This is phase 1B of the Lesotho Highlands Project. The two dams are linked through 32km of underground tunnels. This dam was constructed very differently to Katse in that it is a concrete faced rockfall embankment. Blasting took place in the valley and 7,2 million cubic metres of rock was then used to construct the 145m high wall. It is 600m thick at the base and 10m thick at the crest. This is all so interesting but I guess you have to visit the dams to appreciate the magnitude and scale of them.
As part of the tour we were fortunate to be granted access to cross the wall and drive down the rock filled face to the base of the wall. Besides the tour guides on both tours we were accompanied by security at all times. Security is everywhere, there are soldiers, police and a private security company present. I still can't believe that we only have to pay R10 for this experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment