Lesotho Trip Report

[waynza]

Trip Report
We traveled in convoy with a Hilux 4x4 and a Defender 110.
We also never had a single stone throwing problem


We traveled from Johannesburg on the 27th April 2012 down to the Underberg.
The town is small and quaint, has a few eating establishments and a Spar.
We ate lunch at the Lemon tree, which was affordable and good.
We stayed at Coleford lodge – http://www.colefordlodge.co.za" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, Its is about 30km from Underberg. Small stone Chalets were really nice and highly recommended.
We left early on the 28th April 2012 to tackle Sani pass and hopefully get to St James before sun set.
Sani pass was very busy as it being a long weekend. It was a nice drive, took about 2 hours. We enjoyed the scenery, had lunch at the pub and conditions were pretty good.
Some parts of the pass were rougher than expected but no issues.
Some folk were saying the pass has deteriorated a fair amount.
We left Sani top with the wind howling to travel to St James lodge in Mokhotlong region. We only arrived at about 6pm as the distance was short but the road conditions were pretty bad. We did not enjoy St James lodge – its not really a lodge, very dirty, shower was blocked, just not what we expected.
(It’s sad that there are no better places in this region, well at least we could not find. It’s a very long drive.)
There were lots of different people pulling in to St James that had not booked accommodation. We had some Bikers; a couple in a Jeep and 2 retired couples we assume, who were in Beach buggies.
So we left St James at 7am on the 29th, we were concerned about how long this trip will take to Katse. The road was also rough and challenging. We got to Katse at about 2:30pm and we stayed at http://www.oriongroup.co.za/katse-overview.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. We are convinced it used to be a hospital. It was a good place to stay. There are lots of accommodation options. The food was good and had a Buffet dinner. We also had the buffet breakfast, which was nice. Over all it was a great lodge/ hotel. We would have liked to do a tour of the Dam wall and maybe sunset cruise. That is all for next time.
Our next stop was at Chalet in the Sky. It was near Letseng mine. We were told that the road to the chalet was at the mine. The mine has expanded and you need to follow the directions clearly or you can get lost. It’s a very scenic and rocky road. You have to have a 4x4 with low range and difflock. Some of the rock is very slippery. It took us over an hour to get to the chalet from the turn off.
http://www.chaletsinthesky.co.ls/home" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The chalets are awesome, they only have gas, with gas stoves, gas geyser and lights. Very clean and neat. Highly recommended.
We left the Chalet bright and early to the border in Butha-Butha.
We didn’t have any issues at either borders. They only requested our passports.
At the Lesotho border, there was no one to stamp passports and the boom was open. Some people just drove through. We stopped off in Clarens for lunch, then fought traffic back to Jozi.

I is an amazing country. all the vehicles that passed by were unsure about how long the travel takes form one point to the other.
People also get a false sense of the conditions when you go from the North to the South, as the roads are much better in the South. Also be aware that its not easy to find fuel. you will not find a filling station like in JHB. its usually a at a general store and they decant fuel from a 50l container.

I would also suggest that you fill your jerry cans in Underberg for unleaded fuel and diesel is a bit easier to find. - (normal diesel)
Make sure you have lots of water in summer as the days are pretty hot.
I would also recommend that chat to people about accommodation, some of the websites are not what they say they are. - you expect more than what you get. next trip to lesotho will be in winter.

If any one want more details please contact me and also have the basecamp route if any one wants it.

[OOOOMS]

Tx Wayne, nice report and info

Looking forward to the pics......

[Sebata]

Tx Wayne, nice report and info

Looking forward to the pics......

are the pics available yet

[Mud Dog]

That's an awfully scenic route that you drove. Pity you didn't get to spend some time at Katse dam. Great report with the various links. Sincerely hope you snapped plenty pics along the way!!

[waynza]

Pics will follow soon, they all in RAW. please be patient

[waynza]

Here are some of the Photos, The huts were Chalet in the Sky.
Some of Katse dam......

[Sebata]

nyc

[Donkey]

Hmmm nice, thanks for the report, I know someone that was home also this past weekend and brought me these

[Sebata]

and you had to post the pic of my Truck upside down , with you around i need to start re-doing K53 before getting into my truck :evil:

[Donkey]

The up side is that the beers never ran out and you brought them home to my tummy safe

[waynza]

More Photos.

[Nobit]

Nice one Wayne...
Thats a pretty cool route.. :wink2:
We did a similar route last year in the snow...It was awesome. Busy planning the next on in August.
Different route...wanna see the western side of Lesotho..

[Donkey]

Robert please put up your trip plans and dates on the forum, sounds like I may be intersted to join you