The hidden Lesotho -
trekking in the Maloti Mountains
By Claus Bo
Jensen, Dec 2005
Photos: Karen
Steffensen, Steering Commitee Member
- I wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning in our rondavel
in the tiny village Ha Mothakhati, high on the banks of the
Senqunyane River. It is still dark, and it takes some time to
figure out the sounds, which have woken me up - it's the sheep and
goats leaving for another day in the mountains. I turn around in my
sleeping bag and close my eyes again, but I can't sleep - I just
lie there and think of the difference from the busy city of Maseru,
which we have left just 2 days ago.
"We" are 3 Danish tourists and our friend and guide Joe Thaba from
the Raboshabane Tour agency. One of us had made this trek with
ntate Thaba a few years ago - very likely the first tourists ever -
and now we were going to be the second group. From Maseru we drove
to TY, and then east to Mapoteng. In Mapoteng we visited the police
station to let them know our route and what we were doing - just in
case - and then we continued another half hour to the village where
the road ended. Now the easy part was over, and we had to put our
luggage on the back and start walking.
The first part was easy though, going through the tiny villages of
Ha Lieta and Ha Mokhethi. The people were curious, and wanted to
know where were going. They were sure that we were going to do some
work because we had so big backpacks. These people really know how
to travel light, with just a stick and a blanket, so of course they
look at our luggage and wonder. One farmer was going the same
direction, and he showed us the right path to Mosalemane pass, and
then he left. The "road" up Mosalemane pass is an old road built in
the 50'es. The road used to be a "highway" in the mountains linking
the villages near the river with the rest of the world, but
nowadays it has lost its importance, because better and more direct
roads have been built. But for walkers like us it was perfect. It
was a long and hot walk to get to the top, but when we finally made
it the view was fantastic.
Up there is a large kind of a plateau with no villages or
anything. Just a herd boy with his sheep or cattle now and then. We
walked for maybe another hour and found a very beautiful campsite
near a small stream, where we set up our tents for the night. We
found some wood, cooked our supper and sat around the fire and
watched the sun go down and the stars come out. It is amazing how
many stars you can see, when there is no electric light
anywhere.
The next day we continued crossing the plateau. It
was a little up and down - not totally flat - but much easier than
the day before. The weather was fine in the morning, but clouds
were building during the day, and just as we had made it to the
other side and were beginning to descend towards Ha Mothakhati, it
started to rain. So we were wet and cold when we reached the
village. We found the chiefs rondavel, and asked him, if we could
camp somewhere near the village. He remembered those, who had been
there on the first trip, and was very nice. Instead of a camping
spot he showed us an empty rondavel, and said we could sleep in it.
As a result of the new road mentioned earlier, the village now has
a small shop, and we went there and bought some biscuits and a
candle to light up our new "home".
When we finally got up on that third morning, we were
treated with papa and mafi, and then we continued towards
Senqunyane River. We were not going to cross the river, but we had
to cross a smaller stream, witch had quite a lot of water because
of the rains the day before. We followed the road a bit with nice
views of the river, and then we started walking round Thaba Putsoa
Mountain and westwards, up on the plateau again. Again we could see
the clouds and hear thunder around us, but today it did not come
our way. Our plan was to descend from the mountains today, but when
we looked at our map in the afternoon, we realised, that it was
going to be too late. Instead we found another nice place for our
tents, and enjoyed another nice evening under the stars.
The fourth and last morning we got up at sunrise. The backpacks
felt light now - we were getting used to them and we had eaten our
food! Just as we were packing we saw 3 people coming towards us -
it was the police. They were not looking for us though, but there
had been some trouble near by, and they were going to investigate
it. We just had to walk up a small pass, and then a long way down
again to the valley. Soon we saw fields and houses again, the
houses became a village, the path became a road, and we were back
in the civilisationagain.
Read more on www.raboshabane.co.ls