The first thing I noticed when entering Lesotho was the blankets that the people wore and the number of Horses and Donkeys around.
The majority of the Lesotho landscape consist of mountain ranges and with hard to access locations it is understood that the more traditional form of getting around is still in use. Of course poverty plays an important role and not everyone can drive a 4x4 to reach villages.
I met many men that took pride in their horses and others that overloaded their donkeys. Children from a very young age ride horses or transport goods on their donkeys.
These animals are of utmost importance for the existence of these people. It’s apart of their lifestyle and we had the opportunity to share in this by taking a night-out ride to a village deep in the mountains. Malealea Lodge has a guided tour where you can go by horse back to a remote village not accessible by any vehicle.
We took food and sleeping bags for one night out and stayed in a hut next to a goat camp. The goats had bells attached to their necks in order not to get lost and through out the night we were woken by the noise of the bells.
This horse trek into the mountains was one of the highlights of the trip. The horses know the route well and anyone can do it. You don’t need to be able to ride a horse or do the correct whistling and ‘click click’ noises to go on this trip. These horses are well behaved and the guides know their story. My horse, Super Tax, walked away during the night, but was luckily found by some locals about 2km away and was safely returned before we left the village.
