LESOTHO AND SANI PASS 2004/5

After an extensive Lesotho tour with C.J. and Anton ZOOM Van Es in June 2004 while relaxing in style in the snow at Sani Pass hotel, it was decided that the Sani pass hotel was the only place to be for new year 2005.

And so it came to pass that a significant and rather boring slice of KZN had to be negotiated in order to get to the inevitable festivities.

To this effect a straight line was drawn from Richards Bay, home to the intrepid explorer Pittendrigh family, and a route hugging as tightly to the line as possible, was generated, thus departed the intrepid explorers en route to inevitable alcoholic oblivion at Sani, via the shortest and most logical route to the pub at Sani Pass hotel.

The route from Richards Bay/Empangeni takes one through Eshowe which is rather dull tar road traveling and inclined to carry significant heavy duty and taxi traffic, a section to be survived.

After a brief stop for fresh bread rolls at Eshowe, the descent into the Tugela valley is rapid and immensely picturesque, the weather has been kind this summer and the environment is green and luscious. Fortunately weather was also cooperating as this area is known for scorching summers and incredible humidity figures.

The roads through the Tugela area wind down from the hills into the valley and then follow the rivers through them, where they finally come out at Jameson's Drift where the Tugela is crossed and the whole process then reverses to ascend once again to Greytown.

The roads were in good condition, no parts required 4x4 use and are sutable for small cars as well, being of good quality maintained gravel.

The first overnight stop was Gleneagles B&B at Mooi river where we arrived unannounced and 'unbooked' to a somewhat frosty Patron, who informed us that it was too late to book for supper and seemed to be obsessed with quoting the cost of the room repeatedly as if this may make us reconsider and seek refuge at another inn. Strange commercial behavior indeed, never the less the room was comfortable and the staff friendly as they efficiently imported a pair of additional beds and mattresses to accommodate the two Pittendrigh snappers in a family room.

After settling down, a good shower, and taking stock, the tour continued to the Porkys restaurant at Rosetta, a most pleasant dinner of 1/2 a doz cold Heinies and an Eisbein, soon chased the dour expressions of the host out of mind, (on the previous subject of supper's availability)

The following morning started a shopping expedition in the Rosetta area where there are more crafts and arts shops and things than any married man should ever be exposed to, in fact one item in particular stands out and this was the Marakesh cheese shop, just outside Rosetta on the Nottingham road side, fresh mature Parmesan, Garlic and chive cream cheese, goatsmilk cheddar, now that's the stuff arts and crafts are made from.

The road out of Rosetta to Sani Pass quickly becomes a good quality gravel road. It meanders along the foothills of the Drakensberg passing by the Kamberg, Mpendle and Loteni turnoffs, and crossing the Lotheni and Mkomazi rivers.

The trip is beautiful, relaxing, very very green and otherwise as boring as all hell. Still a good deal shorter than any alternatives and some birds and things to be seen on the side of the road, many stalks and birds of prey of various descriptions.

Sani Pass Hotel provides 2 bed bungalows, aside from other types of room and a family rondawel or 2, the rooms are very comfortable and unusually there were enough power points to accommodate the various electronic amusement aids that inevitably accompany us on such a trip. In fact to their credit, there was even a strip of 'parking friendly' grass right outside the room which allowed the fridge to enjoy the luxury of 220VAC while it waited for its real job to start in Lesotho after the new year.

The primary focus of the three nighter at Sani was to eat' sleep' drink and relax, which is about what we did, got a wonderful back massage with those stone things all fried up in oil, felt better at the time than it did the next day though, I wondered if some of the Springbok rugby team hadn't been scrumming on my back when I woke up the next day.

A quad tour was the highlight of the physical exercise whilst at the hotel, this of course was pure coercion by the snappers as I am as opposed to quads as I am to Diesels. Anyway they say don't knock it till you try it, so now I can knock it, a 250cc quad does S.F.A. for me, it buzzes like a bee and has the power of a wet fart from my IT465 (which regretfully doesn't fart much anymore) I think it must be the cheapest type of speed thrill there is, not even a chance of falling off as there are too many wheels, thank God I am not that old yet. C.J.'s daughter did the HO....    Hummmm thing and fell asleep on her Mothers lap, on the moving quad, while we were returning to the Hotel after the grand tour, thus expressing my own sentiments as purely as could be.

Well the New years eve party was a party, some of the guests in fancy dress and stuff, we drank too much wine, there were enough avid dancers so I was left alone to vegetate with my Cabernet and relax, I must say a wonderful vintage it was.

The day of the first was slow with Pitt snappers making a second quad tour alone with the tour operator, which they said was a bit more exhilarating, Veronica managed to park her quad in a mulberry bush and some other hugely exciting stuff.

The evening of the first was rather a quiet one with festivities being slowed up big time by Veronica and Charlotte following in CJ's footsteps and beginning a bout of Gippo guts with all the trimmings.

Ended the evening in the Sani snooker room, don't know why it took us so long to discover it, I could have gotten my eye in while the others were riding quads if I had known, at least there would have been some adrenalin in that.

Finally on the 2nd we went off up the pass, it was uneventful the road as stunningly beautiful as always but somewhat easier than usual, with almost no traffic and definitely no snow to deal with.

Leaving Sani without a stop at Sani top was strange, but we were too early for soup for lunch, so on to Kao mines.

The trip from the A1 down to Kao mines is slow, the average speed on the 33km stretch was 11km/hr. The roads are considerably washed away and much of the trip is first gear lo range rock to rock type stuff, while easy enough, there are two little stream crossings on the way, the trip under different weather conditions could also have been very challenging, especially in snow. I sincerely doubt the use of this road during winter will permit reaching the other side without the loss of at least one tyre or at least a puncture or two along the way, tough trip in the snow, for sure.

We spent the night at Groenoewer campsite, a beautiful little clearing on the Motete river, the locals have to give permission for the use of the spot and it cost us R25 per vehicle, by and large the locals left us alone, the isweeti brigade I mean, although a few visiting canines did have to get the swat spray treatment to keep them away from our stuff and to pass on a message of inexorable unwelcome.

After a good nights sleep we packed up and headed for Roma with the driver and tour guide feeling a little "dicky", the worst was yet to come. We set up camp at the Roma trading post guest house after an uneventful journey. The balance of the Kao mines road was good quality gravel, due in main to the imminent re-opening of the mine, and the remainder of the trip on good quality tar.

At Roma we discovered a huge Blue Gum tree had fallen down in the camp, having a plentiful supply of wood and captain morgan, CJ and I sat down to a session, but sadly the spirit never really developed, everyone was just too tired and the evening never got far off the ground. Off at a reasonable hour for a good nights sleep........  or at least that is what should have happened, instead, yours truly gets the Gippos, doubtless the same one the others have already forgotten about from 2 nights previous at Sani, but gets it good, no sleep the whole night, no medicine, Immodium all 'klaared' out by the snappers, what a fiasco.

Anyway, the next day was a tour to Maletsunyane falls, the highest waterfall in South Africa at 196m high, a beautiful sight and an interesting mountainous route to get there, very beautiful country, all grassy green from adequate rain and roads in excellent nick. After sleeping of the effects of the previous nights gippos at the falls, it was off to Semonkhong lodge or a late afternoon refresher and then back to Roma for our last night together.

The next day saw the parties splitting ways at Fouriesburg, Pitts heading for family in Vereenigning and the CJ's for the green hills of home.

Having spent 2 nights in Vereenigning the remainder of the Pitt family were dispatched from Smuts airport for the ravages of the Northwestern Cape, 48degrees yesterday I believe, and yours truly was released to do his worst attempting to keep off the tar as much as possible from Jhb to Richards Bay.

The details of the trip will not be forced on you the willing reader having faithfully persevered thus far, but suffice it to say that having gotten off the highway at Heidelberg, it was great fun to try and head sort of South of South west, using the compass on my GPS only, on one District "D" route after the other, to see how close to home I could get, well the fun ran out around Standerton where there was no option but to cross the Vaal river on the tar, following this a breeze down Laings Nek pass to Utrecht  via a few more "D" routes and then some unfinished T4A logging in the Babanango area and Melmoth saw a second attempt to the "Special" confluence point.

The confluence visit entails finding S28 29 30.0 E31 32 33.0, this was previously thwarted by misadventure while offroading in the hills of upper Nseleni and this time thwarted once again by the cliffs around the Mhlatuze river valley.

So the special confluence lives to fight another day, but for the rest a great little holiday, just a few 100% too short.

DONALD PITTENDRIGH