Lesotho Slideshow

Here is another Slideshow I made of a recent trip to Lesotho.

Sani Pass

The view of the mountains and the small windy road is what makes this pass so famous. Driving down from Lesotho to South Africa is a lot easier than driving up, especially during the winter season when it is wet and often covered with snow. I found it to be a pleasant drive down as the terrain was dry and the weather conditions clear.

My farther (Paul) took his Mountain Bike with on our trip to cycle around Lesotho, but most of all he wanted to cycle down Sani Pass. This meant that I took the wheel while he had the time of his life.

Lesotho - The People

Nomadic Herdsman

Driving through Lesotho you see some unique sights and meet interesting people. This man was walking next to the road in the middle of nowhere. I asked my dad to stop the car and I jumped out to ask the man if I could take his picture.

I asked him where he was heading and why he was out here in the middle of this barren landscape. He said that he was a nomadic herdsman and that the storm of the night before resulted in him not reaching his destination. He had everything he owned with him and his livestock was his livelihood. He was heading to the police station at the top of Sani Pass where he would spend the night.

I never give people money for taking their photo. Mostly because I never carry money on me and I don’t want the people to start a begging culture. I usually just show them the photo I took, but this time it was different. He asked me to give him a R5 for food and I give it to him. He was excited to chat to me and seemed very educated. He did not beg me for money; he just wanted a R5 for his next meal.

Seek guidance from your ancestors

When I was in Lesotho I paid a visit to the Sangoma of the Malealea village. For R20 he gives you his advice and assists you with any questions or problems you are dealing with.

The Sangoma could not speak English and had a translator that came with him. At first you put down R20, take a hand full of shells and bones and then you throw it out onto the ground. He then goes into prayer to ask for advice and guidance from his ancestors. After this he looks at the shells and bones on the ground and then starts to give advice.

At first he did not speak or ask me anything and then said that I had been to numerous places, but that he could see I wanted to see as many places as possible. He also mentioned that I was healthy and strong, but that I’d been drinking to much beer and this would be bad for my health. He went further to say that I should one day not argue with my wife and that I will have a happy marriage and many children.



The only question I asked him was if I would achieve success in whatever it is I set out to do one day? He replied saying that I will be successful.
The session was finished off by him saying that I should always respect my ancestors and seek guidance from them.

I could have asked him many more questions, but decided not to. I only wanted to hear what he had to say at first by analyzing the shells and bones on the ground. I am sure this Sangoma makes enough money as most of his advice is positive. Or maybe I did not ask him the harder questions that many others ask.

Lesotho - traditional transport

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.

Lesotho - absorb the view

I have just come back from a trip to Lesotho with my parents. Lesotho is a land locked country within the borders of South Africa. This small country with great mountains and many rivers is also known as the Roof of Africa.



I had the opportunity to go on an all expenses paid trip with my parents. For two weeks we journeyed through Lesotho and the Drakensberg Mountain range.

If I could summarize the Landscape of Lesotho in three words it would be: Mountains, Water and Erosion. This actually makes sense as where there are many mountains, there is a lot of rainfall which could result in erosion if the vegetation is over fed and not controlled.

Lesotho’s greatest export would thus be its fertile soil that the rivers deposit into South Africa.

We were in Lesotho for one week only and one week in Kwazulu Natals Drakensberg. This was more than enough time to get an overall image of this small, yet time consuming to cross, country.

Through out our journey the views were amazing. Everywhere you looked there would be mountains. More so in the South, Central and Eastern parts of Lesotho than the North where you’ll find the Capital city Maseru. Another African city with informal outskirts, cellphone banners, street vendors, traffic jams, chicken take-away’s and queues for the ATM on a Saturday morning.

The Roof of Africa is therefore an appropriate name in a country dominated by MOUNTIANS.

These are some of the views I captured on my camera. Being there and absorbing the views was spectacular. The sheer size of these mountains receives no justification when looking at them now on my blog.

Lesotho receives a lot of snow in the winter months and we were lucky to pay a visit between the rainy summer season and the icy cold winter season.