Trip Report - Roof of Africa

[izakjbrt]

Drove the pass the weekend on the 07/07 , a day before the snows came....thank god. Did find some to make yellow snow

[iandvl]

Day Last : Letseng -> Pretoria

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I was supposed to leave on the Monday. There were delays in terms of the project team arriving back at the mine, so I could only have my close down meeting on the Monday afternoon. I spent the Monday working on my report.

Early, early Tuesday, I was up and about. Watched the sunrise over the roof of Africa. Had a cup of coffee. Finished packing. I did not really want to drive in the dark on unknown mountain passes which were possible iced up. So I waited for it to get a little lighter...

At about 07h00, I reckoned it was OK and headed out... The route today would be the A1 all the way to Butha Buthe via the remainder of the Tlaeng Pass, Khalo La Lithunya (Pass of Guns), Mahlasel Pass and Moteng Pass.

Had a lekker drive, but driving here in the early morning can be difficult on the switchbacks in the passes. ie: Often you end up driving into the sun and it is difficult to see the road. There was also ice on the road at various places (you can see some of this in the photos). Finally, one has to be super wakey in terms of trucks. On the switchbacks, they can occupy the whole road. So keep an eye ahead to make sure you're not going to meet one of them on a bend, or you're going to prang or someone will need to reverse...

Got to Botha Buthe, but GPS took me wrong wayish again, so I missed the filling station. Crossed the border at Caledonspoort. There was no fuel in Caledonspoort. I refuelled in Bethlehem. From there I did more or less the same trip back. Bogan-central (Tweeling), Villiers, and the N3 / N1 back to Pretoria. Made good time and got home at around 13h00.

Side note: Moteng Pass is an absolute monster...

[iandvl]

I'll submit my closing thoughts in this trip in the morning. Cannot do it now. :)

[Peter Connan]

Another beautiful trip report, thanks Ian.

[Oetie]

Thanks Ian, always lekker reading your trip reports and see the photo's.

That multicolor photo at the mine with the mountains in the distance and the trucks infront is surely on in a million, definitely wall mounted material!

[iandvl]

Thanks Ian, always lekker reading your trip reports and see the photo's.

That multicolor photo at the mine with the mountains in the distance and the trucks infront is surely on in a million, definitely wall mounted material!

Thanks. Yes - sunset. Shot on my cellphone with digital zoom. I'm sorry I did not take my big camera with. :(

[iandvl]

Conclusion

I've been in Lesotho quite a bit - as mentioned previously. But these occasions have always been either Maseru and surrounds or up and down Sani. On one occasion, after doing business in Maseru, I did decide to drive around a little and exited at Peka Bridge. But this is the first time I've driven across from Sani to Caledonspoort.

The people are friendly and the country is beautiful. I'm sort of sorry I did not have time to see more of the place whilst I was there, so I've decided to add to my list of places to see more of. So I'll put together another trip sometime to see a little more of the place.

[Peter Connan]

I've only been once. Left with a bad taste in my mouth. Let's just say it didn's suit my style of travel. The fact that I was struggling with a blown radiator hose and constant overheating didn't help my frame of mind either.

What I did find was that it was quite difficult to plan a traditional trip. Very little camping available unless you are happy to camp in somebody's garden, and very difficult to communicate and plan beforehand.
I know lots of guys just drive untill they find a place, but my brain doesn't compute.

The other thing is that it's too cold for me. Even in December, we got ice on the roads and frozen in our tents.

But there are also amazing experiences to be had, and places that are definitely worth going to. Doing the tour at the dam is one.

[Steele]

Thanks Ian, awesome report as always. Agreed - those passes (even the tar ones) can be scary with the ice and snow.