Looping Lesotho pt 1

After prying ourselves away from the spectacular falls and culture in Semonkong, we move deeper into the country to explore further. Each night we wild camp and watch spectacular sunsets over the mountains.

jeep campsite lesotho 720x480

Sunset over another wild camp

jeep lesottho fog border 720x480

Locals are extremely friendly and welcoming, and don’t mind at all when we wild camp up behind their village or hut. During the day we explore dirt roads, always excited for what comes around the next corner.

One night after asking permission we camp right near a rural bar – which is really just a single building. The shepherds come in on horseback wearing extremely colorful blankets and soon welcome us in for the night. Extreme qualities of beer are consumed, with everyone laughing and smiling. I play pool against an old man about half my height who almost beats me even after he falls down from being so drunk.

lesotho rock hut1 720x480

The pride shown in these rock huts is stunning. I love these ornate doors

jeep lesotho waterfall 320x480

Random waterfall right near the road

At one point the shepherds group up and dance what I can only imagine is a traditional dance… something like a conga line but with much more feeling and emotion.. almost in slow motion. Even after all the beer I know I am witnessing something special.

In the morning we wave goodbye to our new friends, straddling the border of South Africa and continuing to pass through supremely beautiful small villages.

A highlight comes when we find at extremely remote and rough mountain pass (NOT Sani pass) in the heart of the country. This road is obviously seldom-used and I find myself in low range first gear to climb up and over the extremely steep switch-backs. Of course, we never seen another vehicle for the entire day!

jeep lesotho mountinan pass pano 720x252

The pass as a panorama

jeep lesotho mountain pass 720x480

Looking back over the pass

jeep lesotho mountain pass 2 720x480

Slowing climbing up and over the mountain pass

Woah, Lesotho is spectacular and the locals are super-friendly.
Why doesn’t anyone talk about Lesotho?

bfg at lesotho 720x480

BFG All Terrain KO2s eating up the rocky pass

jeep lesotho mountain road 720x480

Exploring the mountains

-Dan

4 Responses

  1. Paul Pormen says:

    Dan, Glad to see you writing again. As always your adventure is interesting and the accompanying pictures are outstanding. Thanks again for taking me along. I can hardly wait for the next installment. Quick question, you have been away from civilization for awhile. How do you have enough food for your journey? Tell us a little about cooking in the wilderness camping? Pictures?
    Safe travels, Paul

    • Dan Grec says:

      Hey Paul,

      Thanks for the kind words!
      Every little town has rice, pasta and a few vegetables for sale. Bigger ones have a store that have bread, eggs, frozen meat etc.
      I usually carry enough food for 5-7 away, and I start with cooking all the freshest stuff and towards the end I’m cooking the rice and pasta!

      Actually I wrote an article about cooking and food prep in the latest edition of JPFreek Adventure Magazine – it’s free, check it out here:
      http://currentissue.jpfreek.com/

      -Dan

  2. Tom Donaldson says:

    Hi Dan, I’ve just started watching a few of your videos on your trip down the west coast and I’m really enjoying your adventure.
    My wife Meryl and I have just bought a Troopy and will be using this year to put our overlanding vehicle together.
    I’m not sure where you are right now but if and when your in Joburg please drop me a mail and come and stay. Any excuse for a Braai.
    Cheers for now, Tom

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>