|
|
|
|
Trip reports/MitchS/newdatag276.gdb Please see tracks from my trip last weekend to Lesotho. Since others have expressed interest as well as providing pre trip info, copying them for their info. Please note that I have 2 GPS units (Garmin V & Garmin 276C) both with external antenna placed onto of my snorkel ie right next to each other. Also I found out at the end of day one that my 276C had lock on road switched on after upgrading the firmware…dolt! – which I then switched off. Also for all the tracks I submit now WAAS was disabled. I found WAAS appears to work well in Lesotho claiming 2m accuracy so as a test I have another track from my 276 which I will submit separately for feedback on perceived quality. Just to be clear - all the “interesting tracks were recorded without WAAS. Please ignore all waypoints in the files other than the file labelled “waypoints” otherwise there are many repeats.
Objective: Other than the usual getaway I have been keen to see if I can drive from the south (KZN borders) to Semonkong rather than the long route via Roma. We had driven to the start of the route at the Orange river during summer on a previous trip but not able to cross due to the water level. This weekend was a “family” affair with 2/3 vehicles & small group of 7 adults plus 4 kids incl babies and my 6mnth preggie wife so no hardcore 4x4’ng was planned. I had heard of 3 possible routes but only established from the biker community that one of them had been relatively recently (2002) driven so in short the intention was to explore and see how far we could get without pushing it and potentially return with some of the Ecotracks guys at a later stage to drive through start to fin.
What we did: We started off from the Matiele caravan park (recommended for stop over for the KZN blokes – we must have stayed at least 5 times in the past) early Wednesday morning and chose to try the Ongeluk border route – Maps indicated it was drivable but no one could say that the road was clear. Having left early enough the plan was to try but anticipate that we would need to backtrack and drive to Zastron (our next destination) via Barkley East / Lady Grey way. The route to the SA border post is great, travelling through beautiful farming community with grand old missions near the border – they truly are unreal to see. At the SA border we were told that vehicles are allowed up but that no one had driven up for the last 1 year 8 months… We were also told that the “bad” section is only 7km and that at the top of the pass the roads were good but that there were no border formalities in Lesotho.
We decided to give it a bash and other than 2 areas where we had to road build a bit I drove up relatively easy with Mom quite OK – That’s normally the measure of difficulty! J I must say though that the traction was brilliant – other than right at the top (which is very similar to Sani top) there are no loose rocks just deep ruts so I didn’t even use the diff locs, just very slow in low range 1st & 2nd. That 7km took about 1 hr (tracks will show for sure) but please indicate low range is a must with high ground clearance and it would be impossible in snow or rain. There is very dark soil, the type that my GX just loves to sink up to the axles in. In fact the route would be great for technical training in good weather as there really aren’t any steep drop offs on the side that could kill you if you make a mistake but would still require level headed thinking. After that we joined up with the existing T4A route and other than surprise to find a wonderful dam at the top the rest to Zastron was uneventful on good roads but still remote with few but friendly locals (as you know this is not always the case in Lesotho) We found that the Lesotho Gov has started the construction of a border control but was not yet open but suggests that the pass is about to be upgraded… We drove out through Telebridge uneventful despite passing into Lesotho without formalities we were cheerily waved through to the SA side. We stayed at Tienfontien B&B in Zastron – what a gem! High Quality and very good price. (The cottage is like a mini Boer museum which was great for us “souties” to see & enjoy.
I’ll skip the route to Semonkong which was on for most regular road but you may appreciate the “short-cut” we took to get us to the main Semonkong road which is reasonably close to the start of Baboon’s pass which I still have to see…
At the pub in Semonkong we established that the route I planned to take was driveable but the road so hell that not worth it – more or less like Baboons. So without expectation whilst the rest of the group went for a walk down to the bottom of the falls we drove down the road to see where we would be forced to turn around. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the road had obviously been upgraded and that before long were driving past the last recorded tracks on T4A and into the area I was very interested in. We drove to the start of some bad bits (point 37) and a bit past to see the road improving perhaps to within 10Km from the crossing of the Senqu! Because we had to provide lunch for the rest of the group we drove back (very reluctantly) to the top of the falls and rejoined our group. Eager the next day (but failing to convince my mates to pack up in case we made it through) we drove right down to the last ridge overlooking the Senqu, having rejoined the existing t4A route over the river and up the pass/es. Because we had to return to Semonkong that night there was no time to attempt the last 4km but we could clearly see the road but at the same time recognised that it would not be easy. Where the T4A route shows bad rock etc, I can confirm that it is bad – on the return although still within the tolerance of the “Mommy meter” it was necessary to use diff locs – my mate (highly experienced) in his Hilux also made it fine but I would not recommend the route beyond 37 towards the Senqu for inexperienced drivers even with competent 4x4’s (steep narrow passes – easy to find yourself out of comfort zone…) We met 2 vehicles coming down (double cabs – not sure of make) who had previously not made the trip up from the Senqu to the point 48 where we had stopped. Broken diffs, propshafts etc – Also confirmed by the Telkom Lesotho driver we had been discussing with the night before. The route (in particular the first 4ks from the Senqu up) should be marked as low range, experienced drivers / difficult, high ground clearance etc and if I had to discuss vehicles I would not suggest double cabs unless modified / raised suspension – this is Defender / Cruiser road where I think dif lock is a requirement due to the loose rocks and steep ledges. Certainly would not recommend it without 2 or more vehicles and each vehicle should carry 2 spare tyres on rims.
On the way back we found that the local villagers were repairing the road at one point. We stopped for some time discussing the area – most are quiet friendly I guess since it is seldom visited – you don’t get the “sweet sweet” syndrome and when we left we each gave them R20 for their efforts / our impact on the road, encouraging them to continue and spread the word. I just hope that fellow travellers respond the same way and don’t do the sweety thing! (or worse still – we heard that a member of the group staying at Semonkong from Bloemfontein had an accident with a local…Unconfirmed but judging by their actions and partying at night would find it quiet credible…that’s gonna promote tourism in Lesotho!)
Oh yes, I made a bit of a fool of myself in the pub one night, commenting about the “slide-your-arse” tracks in the area. My point being that it’s not very descriptive and decidedly rude – ie not really what I think we want to see on T4A. A biker took serious exception to my derogatory remark and once things had calmed down told me that it is a well known route for bikers in as much as “the roof of Africa” Perhaps some thought needs to go into biker tracks in Lesotho. Where these guys go is not possible for even hardcore 4x4 – perhaps these need to be categorised differently? The risk being that someone attempts one of these tracks by mistake. There is a strong biker / GPS community in Lesotho so I think you will continue to get more tracks but I also suspect that like Namibia bikers will tend to make new tracks rather than follow regular routes – on the other hand possibly there is less environmental damage due to the rocky terrain? I am NOT taking a stand on bikers in Lesotho – just raising this as something to consider with NOW etc (DP?)
Yesterday, but for those last 4 kms we were forced to drive out of Maseru & all the way round Lesotho some 600km instead of the short route into KZN I had hoped – We did consider via Thaba Tseka but did not want to go higher than 9000ft due to Cathy’s pregnancy… I do (now) know though that the road is possible and where to drive so I guess still achieved more than planned collectively. Now maybe some of the Ecotrack dudes who had nothing better than drive around a game park might try it with me before summer! Mitch Sowden |
|
|
