Page 29 - Dainfern Precinct Living June 2022

Travel

The Sani Pass
n support of South African Tourism’s call to
travel locally rather than take an overseas
vacation, we decided to embark on a road trip
Iaround Lesotho. Image: Catherine Merlin
After a six-hour drive from Midrand, we finally
arrived in Underberg in KZN where, together with
a group of long-time friends, Sue and I booked
into the Elgin Guest house (highly recommended)
a few kilometres along the Drakensberg Gardens
road. The rain fell incessantly overnight but, to our
relief, the morning dawned with bright sunshine,
although it was still very chilly. After breakfast, we
drove through Underberg and Himeville and onto
the road to Sani Pass.

Sani Pass is the most iconic gravel pass in South
Africa and ascends 1 332m in altitude to the
summit in Lesotho at 2 876m above sea level.
The last few kilometres of the previously rough
gravel road to the SA border post have now been
tarred and the retaining walls alongside the road
have been gunited to prevent rock falls. The road
engineers have thoughtfully incorporated plant On the switchbacks of the Pass
holders with indigenous plants seeded into the
gunited walls.
The six of us passed through the SA border post
and, with passports stamped, we ventured onto
the very rocky and uneven section of the road. I
selected first gear in manual 4 x 4 mode with a
locked back differential and we trundled along at
a crawl looking for the least difficult path while
crossing mountain streams and avoiding large
boulders.
On the switchbacks of the Pass
26 DPL issue 5 2022 DPL issue 5 2022 27
DPL5 2022 25