Lesotho: The Mountain Kingdom
Greetings from Durban, South Africa!
Fully encased by South Africa lies the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. There are three ways to get into Lesotho. One can fly in on the nation's sole daily flight from Johannesburg; drive the flat, paved road from Johannesburg to the capital of Maseru via Bloemfontein; or enter the southeast of the mountain nation via a dirt road at Sani Pass.
This journey up the mountain and into Lesotho is one of the overland journeys I have been most looking forward to, even though it is much shorter than the Tran Siberian railroad or the Pamir Highway.
A friend of mine was spending a month in South Africa, so we decided to meet in Durban, South Africa, and go into Lesotho from there.
While I had initially considered doing this drive myself, it was difficult to find a 4x4 capable of driving it well— I didn't want to drive an Audi SUV or Toyota Rav4— and drivers are not particularly expensive here. So, I hired someone to take us from Durban up the Sani Pass, show us a village in Lesotho, and then bring us back to Durban.
We met our driver at 6 am. Right when we got in the car, he told us it would take too much time to eat at Africa's highest pub, located right over the border in Lesotho. I explained the website indicated we would have time to eat there, that my friend and I were not in a rush to make it back to Durban, and that we expected to go to the pub to have a meal. Eventually, he obliged.
From Durban to the border is an approximately three hour drive passing idyllic farmland and game parks. Making a couple of pit stops along the way, we hit the South African border, stamped out of the country, and began the real adventure.
Over the next 30 minutes, we headed up the mountain through a winding dirt and rock road. There were a few excellent vantage points along the way where we got out of the car.
When we got to the top of the mountain, at the Lesotho border crossing building, our driver took our passports, and we walked around the shops in the area. When we got our passports, we noticed we had both entry and exit stamps in there, meaning we didn't have to stop at the border crossing again when leaving. Very impressive!
Our guide purchased a few snacks for the border officials (both South African and Lesotho-an) at a grocery store along the way, so he explained this is why we were able to get such excellent service at the border.
We headed straight for a few kilometers to the highest point on the road— the Sani Pass Point. I should note that the road once in Lesotho is excellent— smooth, paved, and well marked. I could definitely see myself doing a road trip through Lesotho, starting in Bloemfontein or the capital of Maseru sometime in the future.
Afterward, we headed to a village that opens for tourist visits. Here, we gave them a sack of cornmeal our guide recommended we buy, and we got a small lesson on the history of Lesotho and what life is like in such a village. We learned that the people here are often referred to as "blanket people" because of how many people wear blankets when going about their everyday business. I got to try the outfit out for myself, and I must admit it was quite comfortable.
Because of the elevation, Lesotho can get quite cold, and since many people herd livestock for a living, they use blankets to keep warm. Depending on the side of the blanket (tag or not) and the folding of the blanket, you can see whether someone is married or on the market.
Before leaving the village, we had some warm local bread and saw some donkeys.
We then returned to the border, where we stopped at Africa's highest pub. This place has some great food (I had the sausages and my friend the lamb stew), and the views cannot be beaten.
Soon enough, we headed back down the Sani Pass, into South Africa, and then back to Durban.
We made it to Durban around 5 pm when it was still light outside, so we had a very pleasant walk by the beach and got a buffet dinner of Indian food and seafood.
Tomorrow it's off to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe!
Lesotho is UN Country 71/193 and TCC Region 88/330 for me.