Sani - Katse - Clarens: December 2014

[Lime]

Hi All,

Im new to the forum and owning a Hilux!
My first trip with the newly acquired 4.0 V6 Manual will be in little more than a weeks time.
Were Planning to leave PTA early on the 13th of December and drive through to Harrismith were we will be leaving the main routes and traveling by back roads to Himeville were we will spend the night.
The next morning we will tackle the Pass and and after a quick beer at Sani Top we will hit the road to Katse were we've booked a self catering unit.

This is the portion of the trip that I have a few questions about. From reading this forum (and Others) it seems that the drive via Thaba Theka is at least 8-10hours depending on the conditions. Apparently there is a second route (turnoff after Mothotlong) that is shorter. (like I said Im a newbie and haven't mastered the art of adding pics yet, so I've attached links to Google maps and 4x4 Community Forum thread to show the proposed route/s.) My question is what is the best route to follow, this does not necessarily mean the shortest or quickest although expected times of travel will be appreciated. (yellow and green routes on the PDF

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sho ... p?t=171934" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.google.co.za/maps/dir/Katse ... 4419?hl=af" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We will so far be traveling alone, unfortunately the second vehicle in our party cannot make it anymore and this has made me rather hesitant to tackle serious off-road sections due to lack of backup. After Katse we will be heading through Caledonspoort to Clarens so the women can do some shopping and we can relax at the Brewery before heading home on the 16th. Does anyone have any suggestions on routes/attractions worth stopping at for this section. As I understand these roads are in better condition and travel time is greatly reduced so we can doodle around a bit more than on the Sunday.

All help is greatly appreciated!

[4x4BEES]

Welcome Emil

Hope you get what you are looking for here.

Hope you enjoy the trip

[george]

Hi Emil

We took the same route.
Very nice and senic.We where also alone and there was lots of snow and we had no problems
We went from Underberg via Sani pass and slept at http://www.lesotho-info.co.za/country/b ... mong-lodge
Then from there the next day to Katse. Please do the guided tour at Katse.It cost R10 or R20 per person but is so worth it,.They take you inside the dam wall.

Enjoy

[Masekind]

Welkom hier

[Lime]

Thanks 4x4BEES, I'm sure that I will, Hilux drivers are alwys helpful....even if you drive a Landrover!
George, dit you take the route via Thaba Theka (south) or the "shortcut" (North)?

[george]

Nope.We did the route via the south.

Here is some pics and info

http://jmvgt.blogspot.com/2012/08/lesotho.html

[DawidT]

We also took the Thaba Tsheka road in April. Done a circle route up to Sani, north to Katse and south back to Sani. I had my Explorer caravan in tow and the distance was not an issue - time to travel it is the killer.

DerikB was with us and he is the one with the detail on the exact route.

Enjoy and take lots of photos!

[Lime]

Nice Pics George! At least im feeling better about going it alone seeing all the snow you had to deal with!

Dawid, thanks for the reply, which was the faster route? and which was the more scenic? I've made all my travel companions aware that it will be a LONG days drive so were up for that.
Last question, can I message someone on the forum directly? Would be great if I could contact DerikB for the route info.

Thanks again of the help

[DerikB]

Thaba Tsheka is definately the more scenic route but prepare yourself for atleast an 8 hour trip without many stops. At one stage it took us 2 hours on 40km because of the condition of the road. This is between Katse & Sani. If coming from Katse towards Sani, St James mission is a good place to overnight. Think we paid around R80 per person.

If you need more info dont be afraid to ask.

Be sure to do the Damwall tour at Katse, think it starts at 9 and then again at 11 and costs around R10 per person.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Haboob]

I think you will need more than a day up Sani and then on to Katse...

[Lime]

Thanks Derik,
Do you still have the route info? (DavidT mentioned you might have the info?) Ive downlaoded Mapsource and will appreciate any help in this regards greatly.
In your opinion should we rather take the Northern - ie Quicker route? As Haboob has indicated that it may not be a good idea to try to push through in one day?
The border on the SA side opens at 8:00 and looking at most forums and blogs Sani Pass should take us about 2h? - Thus Sani top at 10:00 for a beer and a quick breakfast hoping to get going at 10:30 - 11:00
So we should reach Katse via Thaba Tsheka at 18:30-19:00?? am I being overly optimistic?