» CD Reviews

» Features

» Live Reviews

» Travel Features

- Join Here
- Terms & Conditions
- What is Writers Club?

I did a mental check of what I had packed into my Land rover. A map of the Drakensburg, tick. Gloves and a fleece jacket, tick. Camera and loads of film, tick. One large bottle of Prohep, tick. Passport, tick. Essential items for a trip over the legendary Sani Pass, into Lesotho and into the highest pub in Africa.

Sani Pass, the tortuous 8km pass that pierces the Drakensburg Mountains through a narrow defile cut by the Mkosana River, was once nothing more than a vague and dusty bridle path used by the San. Tough drovers brought wood and mohair over the pass to exchange for South African blankets, clothing and maize - all essentials in the impoverished and isolated towns of Eastern Lesotho.

According to TV Bulpin, a South African historian, in his book "Discovering South Africa" - Sani Pass was named after chief Rafolatsani, known as Tsani. In 1912 the narrow trail was widened to 2 meters and in 1948 the pass felt the wheels of a jeep for the first time when ex RAF pilot Godfrey Edmonds took over 12 hours to reach the top of the pass. Further road improvements have opened the pass up to anyone with a 4x4 and a keen sense of adventure.

I spent the night at a hotel in Himeville and early the next morning I set off towards the South African border post, just a few kilometres out of town. Here a large signpost turns back anything other than a 4x4. I locked my hubs, shifted my gears into four-wheel drive and headed into "no-mans land" between South Africa and Lesotho.

Guidebooks abound with descriptive words like torturous, hair raising, terrifying and spine tingling to describe the might and glory that is Sani Pass. I can testify that each of these words is accurate! Within minutes my knuckles were white as they gripped the steering wheel and adrenalin was oozing from my pores. The shiny wreckage of past accidents dotted the side of the road and acted as grim reminders of the hazards of Sani Pass. As I negotiated the hairpin bends - many times having to reverse in order to do so - locals roared past, spitting out stones from under their tyres … which trickled over the edge of the pass into the dark crevasses of the Drakensburg Mountains. A few times I had to stop - to breathe, give my knuckles a rest and, simply, to take it all in.

As the pass came to an end and I found myself on level ground I officially crossed into Lesotho. With the ink still wet on my passport, 2874 meters above sea level, I arrived not only in a different country but a different world. A world of effervescent beauty.

Settled into the picturesque landscape is a small village and, on a small rocky outcrop overlooking the spectacular pass that I had just conquered, is the mountaineer's chalet, housing the highest pub in Africa.

Its summertime in the Drakensburg and Sani Top Village is surrounded by rolling hills and rich, green covered mountains. The landscape looks almost lunar. The eerie but beautiful silence is broken only by the tinkle of sheep bells that ring through the thin air - signalling their presence to the local Shepard's. Herders on horseback dot the green countryside. Other locals, all covered with brightly coloured "Basotho" blankets to shield themselves from the biting cold, add a sparkle of colour to the undulating green.

In winter the rolling hills magically transform into blankets of white snow - reminiscent, I am told, of any European ski resort and although it lacks the formal infrastructure of ski lifts tobogganing and long distance skiing are extremely popular. One only needs to look toward the village, its inhabitants covered in multicoloured blankets and smoke spiralling from traditional rondavel huts that one is aware that is in indeed Africa. Conditions this high into the sky are harsh and temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius have been recorded.

One of the highlights of my Sani Pass experience has to be my glimpse into Basotho life and the culture and ways of these mountainous people. Enveloped in their Basotho blankets and wearing conical straw hats they always a smile on their faces. Walking through the village it is almost impossible not to be welcomed into one of their huts and treated like royalty. Sorghum beer is always offered (a milky sour homemade beer usually drunk out of old tins) and declining to at least taste it is considered rude, It was sitting inside one of these rondavels, on an old SAB beer crate sorghum beer in hand, that two ladies told me a few stories about Booth culture. They told me that when a first child is born friends of the family would seek out the father (who is never present at the actual birth) and give him the news. If the child is a boy then the friend will strike the father on the hand and if the newborn is a female they will pour a calabash of water over his head. Another story that enchanted me was when a young Basotho man wants to get married he wakes up very early and milks the cows. Before anyone else is awake he leads the cows into the hills. When his farther awakes to milk and no caws he knows that his son wishes to get married.

Where better a place to sit and quietly contemplate the beauty and to take in all the experiences unfolding around me than a comfy couch, surrounded by huge bay windows overlooking Sani Pass, in the highest pub in Africa. All this preferably with a drink in hand. (read: Maluti beer - Lesotho's national beer in its trademark bright orange tin)

The Sani Pass Pub was originally a shelter for hikers and a half way house for people transporting goods to and from South Africa. This was until Jonathon Aldous, owner of the Himeville Arms Hotel at the base of the pass, saw its potential and transformed this humble dwelling into one of Lesotho's premier holiday resorts.

Although not the best stocked bar in the world (who can blame them considering the nearest bottle store is down a harrowing pass and across a border) the Sani Top Bar definitely has its hares of interesting mementos - from photographs, to letters of thanks to framed advertisements that have been shot on Sani Pass (both Nissan and Mazda have taken advantage of the beauty and magic of the terrain). Paging through the guest book I found that people from all corners of the globe had shared my fascinating experience - all with words of praise for the pub and its rustic accommodation as well as the friendly villagers.

My night at Sani Top Village was spent in the intriguing pub surrounded with an assortment of travellers - some local, some foreign - enjoying board games, sharing stories and, well, drinking … in the highest pub on the African continent!

The next morning with the highest hangover in Africa I regrettably bade farewell to the enchantment that is Sani Pass Village and descended back into South Africa.