Day 115: We had to get up at a quarter to five this morning! We met Shelldon again down in front of our building sharply at 6:00 am. It was a fast 2.5 hour drive to Underberg, at the edge of the southern Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal. The area was agricultural and dairy farms.
We said goodbye to Shelldon and met up with our 4-wheel driver, Mo in Underberg, South Africa. He'd be bringing us up Sani Pass and staying with us tonight in Mokhotlong.
The trip to the lower South African border post was paved and pleasant. We had our passports stamped as exiting the country at the bottom of Sani Pass. There was eight kilometers of rough, rocky trail up the pass. It was a beautiful day and this was a gift because it can be completely fogged in with mist and rain at this time of year.
It took us nearly an hour and a half to ascend because we stopped to take photos, have a snack and coffee, and enjoy the scenery. There were others taking the trek today, a few in tourist vans, some on motorcycles, and a group of three was hiking up!
After checking in at the Lesotho border at the top of the pass, we headed to eat. The time was 12:30 pm and I was ready to have a beer in the 'HIGHEST PUB IN AFRICA'.
Lunch was pre-arranged right at the top Sani Pass.
After eating, we continued towards the village of Mokhotlong. The roads were good but fairly empty as we passed small villages and herds of sheep and goats. The amazing vistas just never stopped.
After an hour or so, our guide took us into a traditional Besotho village. Some ladies met us and showed us some music and items from their culture. We helped make a donation by buying two small woven baskets. The kids had just finished their school and walked a long ways back to their houses.
It was a pleasure to have had some contact with the people. Lesotho is among the poorest countries we have visited. Life is hard for them but they had smiles and were very keen to share their culture with us.
We continued until we arrived at our accommodation for the night at around 4:00 pm. We are just outside Mokhotlong. We rested a bit and walked around the neighbourhood. We have a nice bungalow along the slopes of the rolling grassy hills. Our tourist place has a dining room in which we later had fish, potatoes, salad, lasagna, and a piece of chocolate cake.
It gets dark around 7:00 pm and we are tired and feeling a bit shaken up by the ride up the pass. We are going to sleep under heavy blankets as it much cooler at this elevation! We don't have to get up too early tomorrow and will go in for breakfast with Mo at 7:30 am tomorrow.