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Lesotho & Sani Pass 4 days

 Lesotho & Sani Pass 4 days Tour Information Sheet


This tour is available on request.


Day 1

Depart  for Sani Pass Hotel. On arrival at Sani Pass Hotel at around 14h00 we will check in and get comfortable.

Nestled in the beautiful Mkhomazana valley at the foot of Sani Pass, Sani Pass Hotel and Leisure Resort is famous for its warm hospitality, breathtaking views of the Drakensberg, and personal service

Sani Pass Hotel offers a fantastic range of sporting facilities on its 800ha property. We have two full-size bowling greens that are available for competition or just for a fun game. There is a badminton court situated close to the pool. Two floodlit, all-weather tennis courts, squash court- for a good workout- volleyball courts and two outdoor pools adjacent to the outdoor terrace where the whole family can enjoy a fun-filled day. For the children, there is a gigantic play area with trampolines, swings, slides and a paddling pool with fountain
Fly-fishermen can cast a line in the stocked dam or take on the challenge of hooking a wild river Rainbow or Brown Trout. Rods and tackle are available for hire.

Day 2

We start our accent of Sani Pass early morning after breakfast for Sani Top Chalets approximately 22 kilometer further.

We start our assent up Sani Pass from an altitude of 1,500m to reach the summit 14 kilometers further at an altitude of 2 874m, the only road link between KwaZulu-Natal and the rugged Kingdom of Lesotho. On reaching the summit we proceed through customs and continue our journey to reach Sani Top Chalets some 500 meters further.

Just in time for a beer in the highest pub in Southern Africa. The rest of the afternoon can be spent on a short hike along the escarpment with its breathtaking views.

The Pass felt the wheels of a jeep for the first time in 1948 when an intrepid ex-R.A.F. pilot, Godfrey Edmock, took over 12 hours to get to the top. The pass follows the course of the upper little Mkomazi River through exceptional mountain scenery to the edge of the escarpment. Among the final zigzags you will get a glance on a waterfall that doesn’t see any sun during winter, and stays frozen from May to September.

In summer waterfalls cascade and tumble into the river below. The green slopes that sweep upward to the base of towering basalt cliffs are dotted with the color of our great variety of flowers and the roadside is lined with flowers. Our knowledgeable guides will be on standby and assist you to identify this floral wealth.
And if names like Ground Woodpecker, Orangebreasted Rockjumper, Drakensberg Siskin, Gurney's Sugarbird, Bearded Vulture, Mountain pipit, strike a response in you, then you will know that this is an important site for avid birdwatchers.

 

Day 2

Early morning departure after breakfast. Today we will visit the world-renowned Katse dam. We will be following a route that will be taking us through Mokhotlong, Tlokoeng, Malingoaneng, Seshote before reaching Katse Dam. The key to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is the breathtaking Katse Dam, which has recently (1997) been completed in the Malibamatso Valley just below the Bokong River confluence.

The Katse Dam is a major international undertaking and is now the highest dam in Africa with a height of 185m. The dam forms part of the first phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) It forms the main collecting storage in Lesotho from which all transfers to South Africa will be made through approximately 80 km of concrete lined tunnels. The reservoir formed by the Katse Dam is very narrow, winding and deep with a surface area at full supply level of only 35.8 km2. The relatively small surface area together with the low evaporation rate at the dam result in very low evaporation losses from the reservoir water surface - approximately 10% of the evaporation experienced at Vaal Dam for the same storage.

The total storage capacity is approximately 1520 million m3. The Katse Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam with a crest length of 710m and contains 2.3 million m3 of concrete. The catchment area of the dam is 1867 km2 and the natural Mean Annual Runoff (MAR) is approximately 560 million m3/a

On arrival we take a short break and then go on an educational visit into the actual dam wall. We spend the night at Katse dam

Day 3

After breakfast we continue our journey to the South African Border post at the Caledonspoort near Fouriesburg. En-route we will be driving passed Lejone, the Pass of Guns and Oxbow Ski Lodge. The lodge is reached via the glorious Moteng Pass, which tops out at 2800 meters and then descends to the lodge in a valley 8km from the summit, on the banks of the Malibamatsoe River. Through some of the

This route covers some of the most breathtaking scenery in Southern Africa. In this remote kingdom of Lesotho, it’s the PEOPLE who will fascinate you. Blanketed horsemen ride across the plain as men born to the saddle. This is a COUNTRY THAT TIME FORGOT

We exit Lesotho at Caledonspoort and continue to Fouriesburg where we will spend the last night of the short tour.

Day 4

Early departure after breakfast for Durban through the Nationally Acclaimed Golden Gate Resort and National Park. A massive layer of sandstone, stretching from the summit of the Drakensberg along the Eastern Free State Border with Lesotho, has been fashioned by the elements through the ages into unique, flat-topped formations. We travel through this unique and exquisite landscape of steep cliffs, which glow with brilliant reds, orange and golden yellows in the sunlight. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park, proclaimed to conserve 4792ha of remarkable land, features magnificent sandstone formations and is home to many antelope and bird species.

Altitudes in the park vary from 1892 meter to 2770 meter above sea level.

Lunch will be enjoyed en-route back to Johannesburg.

Our tour of the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho ends.