Page 31 - Dainfern Precinct Living June 2022

Travel
Booted Eagle
Ground Woodpecker
Excellent Chinese-built road
Drakensberg Rockjumper
Sloggert's Ice Rat
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Mark, Anthony, Sue, Joan, Gavin and Gill at the highest pub in Africa
The Lodge claims to have the highest steady supply of snow on both slopes.
pub in Africa and tourists pose for
photos in front of its sign in the bar Other activities at the resort include
area. Lesotho brews its own beer, called snowboarding, a zip line, fly fishing,
Maluti, and we sampled a fair number mountain biking and hiking.
of varieties. Birds seen around the lodge Accommodation ranges from two
included Drakensberg Rockjumper, bedroom timber chalets to four
Cape Bunting, Mountain Wheatear, bedroom apartments all overlooking
Ground Woodpecker and Drakensberg the ski slopes. The resort was very
Siskin. Sloggert’s Ice Rat, which is quiet during our one-night stay, but
abundant in Southern Lesotho, could be the restaurant was quite busy as
seen scurrying around the grasslands in workers from the nearby diamond mine
the vicinity of the lodge. were there enjoying drinks from the
well-stocked bar and savouring their
From the Sani Mountain Lodge and delicious food.
for the next 50km to Mokhotlong,
the excellent Chinese-built road The overnight temperature reached
is a pleasure to drive on. Concrete below zero and, the next morning, our
drainage gullies run either side of it and cars were covered in thick frost, so we
thousands of gabions line the road thus moved them into the sun in order to
reinforcing the many steep cuts through melt the frost from the windows.
the hillsides. Being at an altitude of From Afriski, the A1 road continues Image: Catherine Merlin
some 3 000m and consequently above through the Mahlasela Pass at an altitude
the treeline, the landscape is rather
of 3 220m and, after some 70km at high
bleak. Several streams run through altitude, it winds its way down through
the area and waterbirds seen included many hairpin bends to an altitude of
African Black Duck and South African 2 100m, whereupon trees are again
Shelduck. The road, labelled the A1, noticeable. The terrain, at this level, has
has a high point of 3 240m, where one many sandstone hills similar to those
usually takes the obligatory photo. It found in the eastern Free State and
descends to around 2 400m in places residential areas can be seen alongside
but then climbs back up to over the road in contrast to the very sparsely
3 000m in altitude.
populated mountain areas.
Katsi Dam, the second-largest concrete At the town of Butha-Buthe, we turned
arch dam in Africa, is some 116km off the A1 towards the border post at
west of the A1 but the road to Katsi Caledonspoort where, without having
is extremely twisty and it can take to alight from the car, we had our
nearly four hours to travel the 116km
to the dam wall, so we decided to passports stamped on the Lesotho
leave that for another trip. Birds seen side of the border. Passing through SA
passport control on the Free State side
as we continued on our way along was also very quick and easy.
the A1 included Bearded Vulture
(Lammergeier), White-necked Raven,
Booted Eagle, Drakensberg Prinia and Plans are afoot to tar the remaining
Jackal Buzzard. steep section of the Sani Pass from
the SA border post to the summit in
Our next stopover was at the Afriski Lesotho, which will detract greatly from
Mountain Resort just off the A1 at an the adventure of driving up this iconic
altitude of over 3 000m. The skiing gravel pass into Lesotho. Nevertheless,
season is open from June to the end of the terrain in the mountain kingdom
August and the resort has a beginners’ of Lesotho offers a unique driving
slope and a main ski slope both experience and, for birders, it’s an
with adjacent ski lifts. Snow-making excellent place to observe those birds
machines line the slopes, ensuring a only found at higher altitudes.
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