We have decided to extend Lesotho Adventures to take advantage of the recent demand to do corporate events in the Mountain Kingdom. Lesotho lends itself well to adventure activities and team building that is usually a part of these events. The remoteness and untamed wilderness of the Highlands allows for the perfect setting to host corporates who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It is here in the vast wilderness of the Maluti Mountains where one truely learns about themselves and those they work with. Maluti Expeditions is being setup to facilitate this and I expect some exciting developments in the next weeks ahead. Next month I’ll cover a full article on this and the products we’ll offer. So keep posted!

It may be really cold in the mountains at this time of year, making it seem like a less attractive destination to head off to, but it does still have one really good advantage to it…snow! It’s been interesting to see how many people have been inquiring about the snow and where one can see it or experience playing in it. I find it exciting to see how enthusiastic us South Africans get when it comes to snow…much like the excitement experienced by the Europeans when it comes to sunshine I suppose! None the less, playing in the snow can be really great fun and I have been fortunate enough to have been on many such trips which have left me with some fond memories.

A recent trip included a drive along the highest road in Southern Africa which also incidently includes the highest road pass and the historical Basotho cave houses. It was along with my girlfriend, Kerry that we tackled this and were rewarded with some deep snow along the high mountains near Oxbow and on the deeply rutted and potholed road to the large town of Mokhotlong. Its quite amusing to realise that this road is actually the A1 and one of the few tar roads in the region, even though we often only averaged about 20km/h, fortunately it is such a scenic drive. On arriving at this thick white snow we spent a good deal of time playing in it and looking at the views across the mountains. After some good fun we decided it was time to head back to KZN and the mountain roads to Sani Pass. It was along one of these many steep mountain passes that we began to slowly inch our way down a very narrow and slippery stretch of this high ice road when we came across a large truck stuck in the snow and blocking the road. In true African fashion another old truck had arrived and was trying to pull it out with a host of rural Basotho’s close on hand to watch the progress and provide various angles of conflicting advice. We soon noticed that with each attempted pull both trucks revved their engines and spun their wheels but their only movement was to slide closer to the edge and the ever approaching drop down the mountain side. Unfortunately there was no way of helping the situation and with no space to pass we were forced to sit in the Landy and watch this dramatic event unfold. Fortunately just when things began to look really desperate the ‘rescue’ truck suddenly bellowed out a puff of smoke and the engine ceased to run. So now the two trucks were stuck and our only way out was to plough our way up the steep snow bank and around the convoy. A tricky manoeuvre but as time was pressing on it became more necessary as we had to make the border post at Sani Pass.

It is never quite certain what type of experience one will have when arriving in Lesotho. It is a very rural destination and things progress at a slow pace. So it is best to always be prepared for an adventure when travelling through the Mountain Kingdom.

Recently we’ve been looking at taking on the challenge of organising a trail run in the rural mountains of Lesotho. It’ll be pretty extreme as takes places through the mountains and little villages in rural Lesotho. This run will give one the opportunity of experiencing mountain life first hand. It will certainly be a tough endurance race as it takes part at high altitude and in an untamed part of Africa. Since this will be the inaugral run the idea would be to keep the participants limited to a smaller group. It will start with an overnight camp along side the river near the village of Matebeng, with the adventure run starting the next morning. From this remote place the run will wind itself along the rugged tracks, paths and roads towards the high Maluti Mountain range. It will be an adventure run format so in other words one will have to make their way towards certain checkpoints and collect markers. Due to the rural terrain one will have to atleast run with a partner. This ‘Roof of Africa’ run will certainly be a true experience of untamed Africa and I think will make for a once in a life time experience.

Chief David and myself

Apart from challenging a person’s mental and physical abilities the  trail run is primarily aimed at being a charity event to help our village at Matebeng improve their school and ability to educate their youth. It will form part of our Reach One, Teach One campaign in which I am constantly trying to collect stationery for the village school; be it books, pens, teaching aids or putting money together to improve the classrooms. I keep regular updates about its progress on my blog and I am hoping to hand over some school teaching aids to the village at the end of this run. So it’ll be really good to see people getting involved in it and making a positive change.

I’m definitely going to keep working on organising this trail run as I know it’s generating quite a bit of interest. It gives one the chance to run along some rural roads and trails whilst being surrounded by the rugged mountains and rural African settings. Quite a beautiful place to go for a run.

I have been getting a lot of inquiries lately from people wishing to take their own four-wheel drive vehicles on a conducted self-drive adventure through the Lesotho Highlands. These tours are becoming rather popular in other areas but for some reason have not become such a hit in Lesotho, especially in the rugged highlands. I have wondered why this is the case as many people have shown a lot of interest. The Lesotho Highlands offer some of the most fantastic off road driving I have encountered. It is full of beautiful mountain passes and deep river valleys with tremendous scenery in all directions. The roads themself offer varying challenges and can test driver and vehicle alike. One can organise to camp in certain areas along the route or stay in some really quaint mountain lodges. So why is it that these trips are not more popular? They are close to Johannesburg, Durban and the Eastern Cape; the people are friendly and hospitable with the untamed charm of Africa and they offer beautiful scenery and adventure. But one thing I have found is that the remoteness of the area puts people off. It is the lack of technical support, knowledge and experience of the place that hinders people from taking on the true Lesotho experience. It is also a good idea to travel in convoy and be accompanied by people who have experience of the area. So that’s why we launching the conducted self-drive option to our usual tour programme. I will accompany a trip and provide technical assistance, knowledge of the area but also show you some of the fantastic routes and places that are available and lesser known in the Mountain Kingdom. Each trip will be treated as a separate expedition; people and vehicles will be equipped for the unique challenge of tackling the Lesotho Highlands and enjoying the ‘country with no fences’.

Our latest and certainly one of our boldest new adventures is to paddle down the Senqu River in the heart of the Lesotho Highlands. In South Africa it is known as the Orange River and at some 2,200 km it is the country’s longest. Starting at 3000m above sea level on the Lesotho side of the Northern Drakensberg Mountain range it flows westwards until eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Cape. Flowing through six dams and along three international borders this magnificent river is certainly the life blood of both South Africa and the Mountain Kingdom. It is up in the Lesotho Highlands where the river is fast flowing as it builds up its strength and volume. Here it is filled with tremendous scenery and wild landscapes making for a beautiful retreat for anyone wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. It is old style Africa and we challenge to paddle a good part of it as we look into the idea of establishing it as part of my regular tour series.

Our plan is to drive up the Sani Pass and spend the night in Lesotho at Mulamong lodge (about 60km into Lesotho from Sani). Setting out early that first morning we will drive down to the Senqu River just outside the town of Mokhotlong where we’ll launch the boats and start the adventure. That day ahead will be spent negotiating the river and enjoying life in these mountain valleys. The fully equipped Land Rovers will follow the river along the mountain tracks and dirt roads keeping abreast with the boats as best they can. They will meet up with the paddlers along the river banks for lunch and once again in the evening where camp will be setup for the night. Camping along this river and interacting with the local villagers should be a really fantastic experience. On day three we will set off for another great day of paddling. The river widens here and begins to flow more lazily along, as we continue our journey down it towards the tiny village of Matebeng. It is there that we will spend our final night camping and enjoying the pleasant setting and hospitality of the village in this remote corner of Lesotho. On the final day we will drive the rough track along the breathtaking mountain passes over Matebeng pass and back to KwaZulu-Natal via the Eastern Cape town of Matatiale. On all accounts I anticipate this to be an awesome adventure with some exciting possibilities. It is however still in the early stages of planning but I hope it will evolve into an awesome tour thereafter. I’m sure that exploring the possibility of it will make for a true adventure. I welcome any feed back and thoughts that you may have about this thrilling topic.

In the late 1820s, a group of Kora (a group of Khoikhoi settlers also known as the Korana) and Dutch speaking people of mixed descent arrived in the vicinity of Moshoeshoe’s kingdom. As they were mounted on horseback and armed with guns, the Basotho retreated. After this Moshoeshoe deciding to arm his people and give them horses but conflict between these groups continued.

So with the arrival of White settlers in the area, due to the Great Trek, was initially useful to Moshoeshoe, as they created a buffer between the Basotho and the Kora people. But as increasing numbers of these settlers (known as Boers) crossed the Orange River they began to settle on this land, which eventually became known as the Orange Free State.

In 1845 a treaty was signed, which recognised White settlement in the area; however no boundaries were drawn between the area of White settlement and Moshoeshoe’s kingdom. This dispute led to inevitable border clashes and a discernible boundary became necessary.

The British, who then controlled the area between the Orange and Vaal Rivers (the Orange River Sovereignty) eventually proclaimed the Warden line (after Major Warden) as the border. This line divided territory between the British and the Basotho.

The Warden line caused much resentment, as the fertile Caledon River Valley which served as a vital area in terms of agriculture for both the British and the Basotho. This border line was therefore not acceptable to Moshoeshoe, and hostility followed, which led to conflict between the Basotho and a mixed force of  British and settlers, who were defeated by Moshoeshoe at the battle of Viervoet in 1851.

Such an incident was unacceptable to the British and it was decided that king Moshoeshoe should be punished. Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart assembled a force of 2 000 troops and in December 1852 they camped along the Caledon River opposite the present site of Maseru. The British ordered the Basotho to pay a fine of 10 000 cattle and 1000 horses. Moshoeshoe was unable to meet these demands and Cathcart attacked the Basotho. His force was split into three columns, one of which mounted the Berea Plateau to round up the required cattle. Whilst the 12th Royal Lancers were driving the cattle down the Plateau on the north side, a force under Moshoeshoe’s son,

attacked from the rear, and the British troops suffered heavy losses. That evening the Basotho further harassed Cathcart’s men and caused some of the captured animals to stampede and break away. To avoid further conflict against the British king Moshoeshoe sent Cathcart a letter which enabled him to withdraw his forces without further unnessary conflict.

Please note that the above information was taken from the SA military history website and was accessed 18/08/09.

Snow near Sani Pass

I was up in the mountains at the beginning of the month and there had been some great snow falls. It was good fun to challenge the Landy up the steep passes and through the thick white snow. I enjoyed it when we stopped on Black Mountain to check my buddies climb out to play in the snow. There was a lot of throwing snow balls at each other or diving and sliding around in it. Seeing them messing around like that made it hard to imagine what age they were…acting like real children! Seems like snow is fun for everyone! This time of year can be fantastic to explore the mountains and experience some snow-its especially fun for us South Africans who aren’t used the snowy winter wonderland that many of my European guests are. Looking at the weather of late I’m pretty sure we’ll get some cold fronts pushing through and that definitely means snow in Lesotho. So come along and experience the magic…I can’t wait.

Send me some of your stories or any info you may need and definately consider booking a trip to the snow!

Do you have a four wheel drive vehicle and keen to embark on an rugged overland adventure?

We offer the experience and the know how to guide you along some of Lesotho’s most beautiful and rural routes. Have the chance to experience this in your own four wheel drive vehicle and test your skills in this scenic part of Africa.

A view towards Sani Pass

A new addition to our tour series which go via Sani Pass and Black Mountain is this two/three day tour to Molumong Lodge and surrounds. It has many variations to it and one can make it longer and include activities such as fishing, pony rides, hiking, cycling etc. One can also add on days to go to Katse dam or Oxbow etc. Have a look at this post which provides one with a bit more info into this exciting area.

In the past our tours up to Mulamong lodge have been popular. It is situated about 80km from the top of Sani Pass towards the town of Mokhotlong. It is generally done over two days. It allows the traveler to see some of the real beauty of the Lesotho highlands as one experiences not only Sani Pass but Black Mountain too. At the lodge I generally take tourists for sundowners on top of a mountain ridge. It gives you clear, rap around views of Lesotho for as far as one can see. There is also Basotho Pony rides if one so wishes to explore a bit more of Lesotho in this traditional manner. One can also extend/vary this tour to include the Katse dam area as well and make it into a three day trip. This will then include parts of the ‘Roof of Africa’ circuit. Or one could rather enjoy some flyfishing around the lodge. I feel this trip has many exciting options and it is not a very long or tiring one in terms of driving time. I am certainly going to post more about this.