Two Vikings in Lesotho

[XTZCharlie]

I've been meaning to do a ride report of the Lesotho bike trip I did with my brother in law last December/January. But between working, building, and a back injury, I've been putting it off. I have a bit of free time at the mo, so I will give it a go and try remember what we got up to....


My daughter got married in April last year, and lucky for us, some of the family flew in from Norway to join in the festivities. They arrived about a week before the event and stayed for a week or so once all was said and done. During their short visit, my brother in law, Trond, and I went for a ride or two, and at some point, one of us thought it would be a good idea for him to come back to SA, and for us to do a ride across lesotho. He had never been to Lesotho before, and was keen to have a blokes only biking adventure. A week or two after the family got back home to Norway, he called me up, and said that after speaking to a few of his mates, some of them were keen to join in the festivities and come ride Lesotho as well.

I was certainly not expecting such quick commitment, but I couldnt help but get super excited at the prosect of another epic Lesotho ride. We spent the next few months deciding when to go and what our routes should be like. Trond, up untill this point in time had never ridden off road, over rocky terrain. Had never ridden in the rain and certainly never in the mud. So trying to figure out where to ride in Lesotho for a complete novice, yet at the same time see the rugged side of Lesotho. I must have spent 100s of hours pouring over maps, gps tracks, google earth, youtube videos, chatting to folks who had recently been out there, anything that i could find to accomodate the level of riders I was expecting to guide around Lesotho, and ride terrain that was challenging yet doable with a bit of effort. The thought of doing a bit of a recce ride to scope things out was also something I was considering. But the free time I had available, with other commitments on the go, was a bit of a hinderance.

One big challenge we had to overcome in planning this trip, was bike hire vs bike purchase. I spoke with a few folk, and going the bike hire route was going to be expensive, but the bike purchase route could potentialy be expensive as well. It was decided early on in the planning stages, that whatever bike we chose for the 'VIKINGS' to ride. They had to be light weight single cylinder adventure orientated bikes. around the 650cc range and spares had to be reasonably cheap and readily available for the bikes to be prepped in time.

In the end we decided that we would go the bike purchase route, and so I started looking for decent second hand bikes.

But, as time went on and crunch time arrived to actually step up and put your money where your mouth is. Pay for the flight to SA. Buy riding gear if you didnt have any, health insurance...etc etc. The pals who were uber keen to start with, started pulling out one by one, until it was just Trond and I who would be riding Lesotho this time round. With a very busy work schedule, Trond could only get off work at the end of the year, so he booked his flight for a day after xmas, and would be back in Norway in the second week of January. Once we had dates confirmed, my wife and her two sisters decided to have a girls only adventure in Norway while the blokes were slinging it in deepest darkest Africa. They ended up in Norway for about a month.

Although it would have been great to have a few more folks come out here and ride. The fact that it was only going to be the two of us, made the bike purchase issue a non starter. Trond would ride my KTM525exc and I would ride my Honda XR650R. Being the beginner rider, having a bike with a happy button makes life that much simpler when you stall or fall off. By the time the route was mostly finalised and the accomodation sorted, I had about 10 weeks to get the bikes Lesotho ready, inbetween working all day and trying to build on the small plot of land my wife and I recently purchased.

I had'nt ridden either bike for a while, with being busy building ect. so there was not that much to do other than the usual maintenance and checkups. My Honda had been parked for more than a year and it had been months since I rode the KTM. So one random saturday, I rode the KTM out to Muden and back again, then swapping bikes as soon as I got back home, and did the same track on the Honda. At the end of the day, I had a much better view of what needed to be done seeing as the bikes had been standing for so long. The only major thing I decided to do, was have both bikes front and rear suspension serviced at TBR Suspension up in Hilton. Its local and they do a good job. Once that was sorted, both bikes had a full going over and service as necessary. New tyres all round, chains/sprockets/oils/filters, etc etc. Then I used each bike to commute to work and back for a few days, all 15kms of it, To make sure there were no surprises on our trip, that could have been avoided by simple maintenance.

A few spares waiting to be fitted

Setting the height of the KTMs forks. Its a bit of a fiddle to get it ±0.05mm or better for both sides.

Ready to ride

 

[Oubones]

This is going to be good

 

[XTZCharlie]

OK...so where was I?...Oh Yes

The bikes were sorted, and Trond was busy hunting around for riding gear. He didn't own a single piece, so ended up bargain hunting, for bits and bobs and managed to find some decent kit. While he was doing that, I had decided on a route for the trip, and got busy plotting gps tracks for each day.

My thinking behind the trip we would be doing, was to show him what Lesotho has to offer in terms of wild, undeveloped countryside, with a decent bed to sleep in at the end of each day. He was coming all this way, so I couldnt expect him to sleep next to a goat track after 10 hours of hard riding. I had to make compromises where I could, and have a few contingencies just in case things decided to go **** up. All the while, keeping in mind that Trond is a beginner rider with no 'off piste' experience. I guess you could say it was a fine line between making it too hard and no fun at all, or too easy and feeling like the trip was lacking somewhat. I lost a fair amount of sleep pondering this particular dilemma.

I would have much prefered to have had more time to do the trip, but due to his work commitments, It ment we only had 10 days saddle time. Total bummer. Anyways, I had to work with what I had, so I made the best of it.

For day 1, I decided that Trond needed some saddle time before we set out for the Lesotho mountains. I figured that if he crashed and had to be driven back home, at leasty it would be local and should we need serious help, it would be relatively close by. Or if he felt it was too much then we could do day rides locally and still have a great time of it. There are so many great places to ride to, here in Natal, and deciding where to ride as an introduction to the great off road for a novice, was no easy task. I wanted to do a ride that offered everything that Lesotho would throw at us for our day out. In the end I decided to ride out to Zingela Safaris on the Tugela river. We would ride through the Karkloof to Muden via tribal trust land, then on to Weenen, out to Zingela for lunch, then back home via MiddleRus. So it was to be dirt roads, tar roads, rocky tracks and with a bit of luck, some mud, and a river crossing or two.

But...

That wouldnt happen, until after xmas. In the mean time, the wife headed off to Norway for her sisters adventure. And I had about two weeks on my own, from the time work shut down for the holidays, to when Trond was due to pitch up. So i did what any sensible bloke would do...

The day work closed for the year, I got on my bike and rode to Lesotho.

Perfect weather riding up Sani Pass

I always try to take photos for couples/groups/families who are on a trip. so that they can all be in the photo, Some folk insisted I get my own pic as well.

I think we have all taken this photo before

 

[wooly bugger]

Show some more, please?

 

[Rynet]

@XTZCharlie , thanks for the ride report, love the way it unfolded , the build-up, planning and testing the equipment phase. Look forward to more.

Ps the photographs are beautiful.

 

[skydiver]

Nice photos
I am not really a KTM fan but that 525 exc sure looks good

 

[dieseldawie]

 

[XTZCharlie]

Now that I had two weeks to myself to go explore the quieter, out the way places of Lesotho. I figured I would take some camping kit in my backpack, a book and my coffee pot, and go find a nice spot to get my Zen on, and unwind for a few days. I decided to skimp on any home comforts and carry the bare necessities with me to keep the weight down. Yet no matter how may times i packed and repacked my rucksack, it weighed a bloody tonne.
After about the fourth or fifth time of sorting my bag out, I was the gatvol, and whatever i didnt have on the trip would just be tough sh!t, and I would make a plan if I needed to.

Work would close in two days time and I was ready.

I booked my first night on the road at the Sani Backpackers. Not one of those cheap dorm rooms you have to share with a bunch of gabby strangers. Ohh no. I went the full monty, and paid the princely sum of R400 for a hut, all to myself. Hell, the place even had its own shower. But to be fair, you were either blasted with arctic cold water, or had your nuts fried with water off the sun. Even so, it was quite nice.

I said my farewells at work, around 9am. Was home 20mins later, a quick shower, grabbed my kit, and I was on the road before 11am.

I dont know about you lot, but I hate riding on tar roads. I try make a point of avoiding them as much as is practical. Hence, riding out on the Loteni road on my way to Sani Pass is standard practice. The bonus being, that a mid morning ride during the week tends to have not much in the way of traffic. And true to form, my ride out through the Petrus Stroom, on through to Fort Nottingham and eventually popping out on the Loteni road a few kms from the Kamberg turn off, had maybe a bakkie or two and a tractor along the way. The dirt road through the loteni all the way through to the Sani crossroads, I might have seen one car. For the most part, it I had the countryside all to myself. There is something about riding through beautiful scenery with no-one else around, that really sets the mood for a chilled ride. I took my time riding the Loteni road, stopped here and there for a break or to look at the view. And by the time I arrived at the lodge, I was all smiles under a layer of dust, and ready for a few cold beers. I checkd in, dropped off my stuff, and decided I would do a quick dash up Sani Pass.
I mean, it's right there... you might as well!!

So off i went, tootling along the very snazzy tar road, expecting it to become a dirt road a little past the Sani Hotel. To my absolute horror, the once lovely dirt track, is now a super smooth tar road all the way to the SA border post. If you're into that sort of thing, I suppose it would be nice. But as I mentioned, I am not a fan of the blacktop.... oh well never mind.

The ride up the pass was also a bit of an anticlimax. There had obviously been some work done to the pass recently, because it was more akin to riding along a dirt road as opposed to what Sani used to be like. By the time I got to the top... 10mins or so... the weather started rolling in, and I decided I didnt feel like riding in the rain, so I turned around at the top and made my way back to the lodge.

I had chatted to some folk during the past few months about my Lesotho trip, and we all agreed that December is the wet season for Lesotho. Turns out, they had been having rain everyday for the last month by the time I got there. Coasting down the pass to the border, I was begining to wonder if riding across Lesotho in the wet season, with a novice, was a stupid idea. Don't get me wrong. My brother in law is a tough chap(like the rest of us vikings), and is pretty much game for anything adventurous. But there is no taking away from the fact that you need a bit of experience riding in what Lesotho has been known to offer during the wet season.

As we know, Lesotho mud is not for the faint of heart.

Anyways, I got back to the lodge just before the rain, and I settled in for the night with some good grub from the canteen, and some excellent coffee that I brought along for the trip. I was, however, somewhat trepidacious about spending two weeks in Lesotho, in the rain.

Heading back to the lodge as the weather was rolling in

Quaint little hut. Actually quite comfy if youre on your own

Looking back up the mountain... Does'nt bode well for tomorrows ride

It poured with rain that night. Admittedley, I was decidedly nervous about the next two weeks. Now, I knew in the back of my mind its the rainy season, but I'm always hopefull the weather will turn in my favour.

Seldom does though...

 

[Oubones]

Pity about the tar.
Loteni is a very nice road and I like your relaxed way of riding.

 

[XTZCharlie]

Seeing as it spent most of the night pissin with rain, I was not in any hurry to get out of bed the next day. I was up and about with my coffee around 5am, and the weather was misty and dreary, as to be expected. After dithering about a fair bit, I went to chat to the lady at reception, and booked myself another night in my little hut of luxury. I was in no hurry to be anywhere in particular, and I had plenty of time on my hands. Its the holidays after all.
Once I was organized to stay the night again, I fueled up at the canteen with a decent breakfast, then jumped on the KTM headed back up the pass again. I was hoping that with all the rain we had during the night, Sani would at least be a bit muddy and hopefully more challenging this time round

But...no.

There is too much drainage and road maintenance happening. It was a little muddy for sure, but no thick lesotho snot to keep you entertained on the mountainside for a few hours. Oh yes, and the weather cleared up nicely.

Here is the new tar road... hateful thing

You can see the gabion baskets against the side of the road. folk have done some serious work to Sani over the past year or two. I suspect they will make it a tar road at some point.

I spent a bit of time at Sani top pub. The weather was good, I remembered to bring my book with me. With a steady supply of coffee, sunshine and a kick *** view, I settled in for a long morning of putting my feet up and relaxing. By about 10am the crowds started to arrive, which was my cue to be on my merry way. It ended up being such a nice day, I took a very slow ride back down again. Made a few vids for the family facebook holiday blog thingy. Havent been this chilled for a very long time.

 

[petri oosthuizen]

Stunning

 

[XTZCharlie]

After spending a second day at the backpackers, relaxing and having a general layabout. I had plenty of time to think about where to go riding in the days ahead. Being away from the crowds is more up my alley, so the aim was to find someplace remote, and camp out a while, move onto the next place, rinse and repeat, before heading back home. I needed to be back home at least two days before Trond arrived in SA. This would give me time to do a full service on the bike, and repair anything that needed fixing.

Trond and I had been discussing Matabeng Pass in the south east of Lesotho. The last time i went up Matabeng pass was more than twenty years ago, and that was in the back of a 4x4. I have vague booze filled memories of the trip. And after such a long time, it felt like I was going to be seeing it for the first time. With a bit of research and having chatted to a few folk about it, some of whom actively tried to convince me it could no longer be ridden because of all the rain, and the roads having been washed away, I decided to go and have a look for myself.

The weather was looking to be in my favour, and now with a destination in mind, it was a simple matter of choosing between the routes to get to Matabeng. Either head north up Sani, swing a left along the way and aim for Sehonghong, and then across the river towards Matabeng, approaching from the North. Or ride up Ramatseletso, then on to Matabeng and approach from the south. I couldnt make my mind up, and being impatient to get back in the saddle, I did what I normally do... I flipped a coin

Then rode for Ramats Gate in the south.

Perfect Start to the day

I rode down to swartberg, hoping to fill my tank before riding for Ramats Gate. Turns out there is no longer fuel available in swartberg, so I was forced to ride a few kms out of town to Franklin. After that, I was back in business and on my way to the highlands. I found a little dirt road that took me through some fantastic scenery, with luck on my side again, not a single vehicle anywhere in sight.

The escarpment on the horizon... Lesotho bekons

I wound my way up Ramatseletso's Pass, unfortuneately, all the gnarly hairpin bends have now been concreted over. Its very sad, but the views are still as spectacular as always.

After not much fuss riding up the pass, I arrived in good time at the border post. I was the only customer, so 5 minutes later and I was on my way again.

It was just after lunch by this point, and I was keen to get to my destination. My plan was to go find a nice quiet, out the way spot in Sehlabathebe National Park, pitch my little tent and do nothing but chill out for a few days. The main road to SNP is under development by the chinese, and its going to be a massive highway by the looks of it. I think it will end up being tar road from SNP all the way down to Qacha's Nek. I made it to the park by around 3o'clock in the afternoon. Thankfully the weather held out untill i got there. I paid the fee for a few days, and wound my way up and over the mountain, and arrived at the perfect spot long enough before the sun went down to set up camp and get a brew on.

Plenty of road works under way across Lesotho these days.

The riding gods had heard my prayers, and provided me with some mud.

Stupid bloody cow decided to jump in front of me at the last minute.

The long winding roads of Lesotho. you cant help but love it out here... while its still dirt

Riding up the mountain along this great little track. Spectacular views when the weather is good.

The brand new lodge/conference centre that was completed a few years ago. Its already becoming derilect, with folks vandalising the place, its going to need some serious repairs to be operational.

looking for the perfect spot to spend a few days in peace and quiet. Not a soul in sight for miles around in any direction

Somewhere at the bottom of the valley

My neighbours for the next few days

I found a great little spot next to the river to set up camp. Life does'nt get better than this.

 

[Chrisl]

What was the metal(looking) pipe for accross the river on the last pic?

 

[XTZCharlie]

A wild guess but, I think it had something to do with the water feed for the old abandoned lodge.

 

[Oubones]

I feel the itch starting!
Nice, I am truly jealous!

 

[punisher]

i wonder if there are any troot in that wee burn

 

[XTZCharlie]

i wonder if there are any troot in that wee burn

I am sure that there are. my little camp was upstream from a 'wee loch', and that definitely had a few beasties lurking in the depths

 

[XTZCharlie]

During the rest of the week, the weather in the park was truly spectacular. Beautiful sunny days with cool nights. One evening was warm enough that I could sleep out in the open. The stars you see up there with no light pollution is truly amazing. It reminds me so much of my wanderings in the Sahara desert. To be fair though, I was half eaten alive by the bloody mozzies.

I spent my days hiking around the area, swiming in the river or in the pools. Read a few books on my kindle and was happy as the proverbial pig, doing pretty much as little as possible, which was the whole point of being out in the middle of nowhere on my own in the first place.

The Devil's Knuckles. This has to be the best breakfast spot I have had in a long time. It was a few kms hike up the valley to this spot every morning.

One of my regular swim spots

Unfortuneately... My luck eventually ran out, and the weather turned to ****. One morning, I had a great sunny start. By lunch time it was raining, and the tempreture plummeted.

The weather rolling in down the mountain

Remember earlier when I said that, whatever I did'nt bring with me was just tough tekkie, and I would make a plan if I needed to. Well bugger me, it turned out I had to channel my inner MacGyver making said plan, and not freeze to death in my little one man tent.

I spent that night and most of the next day huddled indoors under my space blanket freezing my *** off. That's one of the things that I love about the berg, you have fantastic weather one minute and the next it's freezing cold, and everything in between. Although I would have prefered it to have stayed sunny at this point.

By the afternoon, the chilly weather was now firmly set in, but the rain had started falling harder and it felt like it was getting even colder than it was. It got to the point that my perfect camping spot was flooding out, so I had to abandon ship and seek shelter elsewhere. I don't think I have ever been so cold pulling that campsite down. Being dressed for summer riding in cold berg weather is not ideal , I don't recommend it.

Having spent 2 months walking from Germany to Portugal in the winter time, back in my youth, I have a fair idea of when it's time to find warm refuge from the elements. There were no bridges at hand to shelter under, so I found the next best thing. The old abandoned lodge at the bottom of the valley. I hoped to camp out under the veranda or at least as close to the building so I could have some form of shelter from the weather. Thankfully one window had no glass in it, so all my kit went through it after parking my bike under the eaves. I followed suit and discovered one of the old rooms had a fireplace in it. With a brew on the go, I set out my kit to dry and tried to make a fire with some wet wood I managed to scrounge. I eventually got a fire going, and thanked the gods for a warm spot to spend the night and thaw out.

This was the presidents lodge back in the 60's. He was a keen fly fisherman apparently. Its abandoned now, and in serious disrepair. Such a pity .

I woke up the next morning, after a night of blissful warmth, to more rain and misty conditions, but, despite the miserable weather, I was'nt ready to leave the park just yet. I still had some supplies, and ventured out and found a few more sticks for my campfire. I decided that I would enjoy the solitude for another day or two. See if the weather was going to clear, and if not, then perhaps make tracks to somewhere else out there.

Thanks the gods I was indoors at this point. I ended up having four seasons in one day. It rained till about midday. Then it decided that wasnt good enough, so it started hailing. That went on for about a half hour, and then it was if someone turned the tap of. A surreal experience where one minute its roaring in your ears, the next, its completely quiet.

Thats right, it started snowing. It snowed for about an hour or so, but sadly it did'nt settle. It would have been awesome to build a snowman in the middle of summer

 

[XTZCharlie]

Having spent a while at the back end of Sehlabathebe National Park, I eventually decided to make tracks, and go have a look at Matabeng Pass. If it turned out to be impossible, then I could simply turn back, and find a different route up towards Katse dam. Being forever optimistic, I was looking to ride up and over Matabeng then on to Thaba Tseka.

Making a brew before heading out. Just as well that I remembered to pack my ferro rod, as I lost my maches somewhere.

It had rained pretty much non stop for the last four days, so it was definitely time to move on and find somewhere sunny and dry for a change. I packed my kit and rode up and over the mountain, back the way I had come. It was a cold and dreary start to the day, and I was hoping for it not to get any worse than it had been so far.
What came as a bit of a surprise, was that, as I rode over the mountain and made my way back to the entrace to the park, the dire weather turned out to be a beautifil sunny day.

Riding out the park, on my way to go find Matabeng Pass and see if its rideable.

I made it back to the little village in fairly good time. I wanted to top off the tank before heading to Matabeng, but the china shop near the turn off to Matabeng was out of fuel and the lady I spoke to, guessed at a fuel delivery, some point in the vague future. The chinese bloke who I assume owned the place, had zero interest in chatting to me about the fuel delivery update...the weather or any sort of meaningful chitchat... What a truculent little ****.

I still had a little over half a tank of fuel anyway, which is about 200kms range, give or take a few. I knew that I could ride up Matabeng, and then on to Thaba Tseka where I know there are a number of places to get fuel from. Just as well I had no luck in getting extra fuel, as my bike feels top heavy with a full tank. Add a fokin heavy backpack to that, and its a miserable experience when things go pear shaped. Or riding difficult/very rocky terrain.

I swung a left, and slowly made my way towards the mountain. Seeing as I was on my own, I was being extra careful and not taking any unnecessary chances. Nothing worse than being in the middle of nowhere on your own, and having a crash or some such nonsense. I learnt that lesson years ago in Mozambique, riding on my own, going too fast, falling off the bike in deep sand and breaking three ribs. Not my best day. I figured that if I binned it halfway up Matabeng, it could well be days or even longer before someone found me.

I knew that Matabeng was going to be a challenge. Lesotho had been having plenty of rain, and the folk who I had spoken to, all advised me to avoid it because the road had been washed away. Still, I had to go and see for myself.

Looks promising already

Now we're talking...

There were a few rocky sections on the way up the southern side of Matabeng. However, nothing along the way was so rough or washed away, as to warrant it to be unrideable. I dont see what all the fuss was about

Riding up the southern side of Matabeng Pass. The higher I got, the more sheer the mountain became. Spectacular views untill the mist blocked it out.


The pass was in pretty decent shape, considering all the rain over the past month or so. The track kept climbing higher up the mountain, and I was ever hopefull for a seriously tricky corner to hack my way through. You know that type of track where you have to stop, get off your bike and walk to the top of the corner with your bag. Then ride up without all the extra weight. That 'character building' type of thing you look back on with fond memories, while you sit at home nursing a cold beer and all those scrapes and bruises you collected through the corner you were hoping to come across, but are still not sure how you managed to do it in the first place. I eventually rounded a bit of a curve in the track, just knowing in my heart of hearts, that my long dreamed of 'rocks from hell' corner was just up ahead..... and there in the misty distance, was the top of the pass. The steel radio/vodacom antenna sticking out the ground, marking my arrival.

I felt totally cheated.



But man, what a view

 

[Dacquiri]

And….?? What’s the other side like? A mate and I had tried it last October but turned around after the river crossings at the bottom started getting too much and thinking the pass would be much worse. Perhaps it was worked on in the few months in between? I am keen to try it out again after seeing your videos up the pass. Looking forward to the rest of the report!!