Trip report – Paul Doherty’s Sehlabathebe National Park / Matebeng Pass trip

Summary:-

The people.

Paul and Mike Land Rover Disco II V8

Ben and Rika Toyota Land Cruiser 80 4500

Andre and Vianne Ford Ranger 4.0 Supercab

Lukas and Hanna Toyota Hilux 2200

Ed and Paul GWM Hover

Richard and Rowena Land Rover Defender Td5

The idea for the trip came about over coffee. I was discussing trips I had taken with

Andre, who had been to Sehlabathebe before, and asked him what it was like. When he

heard I was keen to go, the idea for the trip took hold. From there, it was mentioned to a

few mates and a group was formed ☺

Dates

19 to 22 November 2010

Day 1 From Durban to Sehlabathebe National Park 380Km

Day 2 Driving 0. Hiking around Sehlabathebe 8.8 Km

Day 3 50 - Exploring Matebeng pass

Day4 Homeward bound, following the same route we took on the first day, 380 Km

Highpoints

Sehlabathebe at sunrise.

Matebeng pass.

The silence of the park

A swim in the pool at the waterfall.

Jackals in the camp and calling at night.

Low points

The wind.

The single toilet facility in poor condition.

Documentation

To enter Lesotho, you need:-

• Vehicle Logbook

• Letter to remove if still under finance

• Proof of insurance

• Passports

• Interestingly on our trip we were not asked to pay a road tax etc, that is charged

when entering via Sani Pass.

Road Conditions:

Tar road to Matatiele, in good conditions. What potholes existed were small.

The first 10km from Matatiele toward Ramatselisos Nek border post is rough but

smoothes out (a relative term) quite nicely as you leave the outskirts of the surrounding

residential area. As you start climbing toward the border, the road condition declines to

little more than a track. In the wet, this track would be a challenge. Low range is advised

on some areas, especially leaving the border heading back to Matatiele, as you got to

climb some rocky ‘steps’. A 4x2 will make it (in dry conditions), but it is going to work

very hard.

The route we took to Sehlabathebe:

BP Cato Ridge, Harding, Kokstad, Matatiele, Ramatselisos Nek border post,

Sehlabathebe.

The return route:

Reverse of the route taken to get there.

What to be aware of:-

• Whatever rubbish you create while camping / staying in the lodge needs to be

taken out with you. There are no incinerators, disposal facilities in the park.

• While there is a toilet for the use of the campers, it is not in the best condition, no

seat etc, but functional.

• The use of the lodge facilities while you are camping is not allowed. This was

made very clear to me when I booked.

• I booked the weekend by getting the number off the following web site:

http://www.ltdc.org.ls/tourismproducts.php

Sehlaba-thebe Self Catering Tel: +266 22 311767 / 22 326075

Detail of events:-

Day 1.

We all met at the BP oasis in Cato Ridge for a 08h30 departure. It was a cheerful

gathering as the drivers filled with diesel and petrol respectively while the passengers

stocked up on coffee and sweets. As we had never travelled as a group before, we had

quick briefing where we reviewed convoy driving guidelines, handed out UHF radios as

well as did a comms check. The banter through the radios for the first hour was

ridiculous, and hilarious! UHF radios may not have much range, but in a smallish

convoy, they worked ok for us.

Our route took us along the R56 past Ixopo, Kokstad toward Matatiele. The route was in

good condition, with few potholes. The route however did undulate through valleys and

over hills and there were many tanker trucks on the route. There were many occasions

where we were slowly creeping down a hill behind a truck or slowly creeping up a hill

waiting for an opportunity to overtake. I liked that fact I had a V8 disco which would

pick up her skirts and fly when called upon.

In Matatiele, we stopped for biltong at a butchery recommended by Andre and a petrol

(in my case) top up. The Biltong I had preordered was delicious. My co pilot, cut it up

and between the two of us, we made a pretty healthy dent in the stock ☺.

Getting biltong in Matatiele

Just outside Matatiele, we turned onto the P612 that took us to the border post. Initially

the road past the residential area surrounding Matatiele was very rough but its condition

improved after about 10km. Once clear of the residential area, we pulled over to deflate

our tyres.

The road condition deteriorated again about 37km in, as we began our climb toward the

border post and at times it became little more than a track. There were no issues with the

group who had locked their diffs and were proceeding with caution but a 4x2 may

struggle on some sections.

Road condition on way to border.

The views were amazing.

The trip from Matatiele to the Border post was 47 km and took us just under 2 hours,

with a 15 min stop to deflate the tyres. The border post was neat and tidy with clean

ablutions. We were the only people there and we were processed rapidly. A short drive

and we were at the Lesotho side, where the passports were stamped and we proceeded

toward Sehlabathebe. In all, it took the group half and hour to clear both sides of the

border including making use of the bathroom facilities at the SA border post.

Road conditions were fair on the Lesotho side, certainly much better than the last 10Km

of the South African side and we made good time, toward Sehlabathebe. This is my first

visit into Lesotho, other than the obligatory trip up Sani pass in winter, and it was

refreshing to see Lesotho a brilliant green rather than wearing its mid winter brown hue.

What an amazing landscape.

Lesotho Summer Landscape.

It took us 57min from the border to the entrance of Sehlabathebe National Park, and a

further 34 min to complete the 9.7km from the entrance to the area near the lodge where

we camped. Road conditions in the park are rough but easily manageable. Low range is

advisable if you don’t want your vehicle to struggle up some of the ascents, due to the

thinner air. When we arrived, there was a mini bus full of locals in the area where we

would have liked to camp, near the trees. They were having a braai and playing the music

a little loud for my taste. They turned out to be pupils of a school in the area and they left

when they had finished with their braai.

Entrance to Sehlabathebe.

In the failing light, we set up camp about 30m away from the pupils and lit a fire. Thank

goodness I had partially cooked some ribs before leaving home, in anticipation of a late

arrival. What a great way to end a day. Good food, a cold beer and great scenery!

We were also blessed with a great Jackal sighting that evening. After the pupils had left,

they had thrown the remains of what they were eating into their braai. After the flames

had gone out, a jackal appeared to scavenge the remains. The braai the pupils were using

was a fairly large circular raised vessel and the jackal after standing on its hind legs

trying to get in eventually hopped into it to get what it was after. It was amazing to see it

so close to us, and while it kept an eye on us, it seemed to be quite happy to go about its

business.

As it had been a fairly long day, we did not stay up to late and it was great to drift off to

sleep hearing Jackals calling.

Day 2.

I was woken at first light by my solar powered (and not too popular at that time) co pilot

rummaging through the Disco looking for the coffee before he disappeared on a hike.

After pointing him in the right direction I clambered out of my tent to take a look at the

surroundings. In a word, incredible! That first morning’s sunrise was the single event that

made the trip worthwhile. The light slowing drifting down the sides of the mountain into

the valley where we were camping was just the tonic I needed. I got some coffee and sat

down to savor the silence and the scenery.

Sehlabathebe at sunrise 1

Sehlabathebe at sunrise 2

After a while, the rest of the camp slowly began to stir begin their day. The plan for the

day was to do as little as possible. Some went on a horse ride later in the day, some went

hiking, others broke out their books and found a tree. ☺

We were camping on what is essentially the lawn of the lodge. The lodge itself is made of

pressed asbestos panels, fairly comfortably decorated and can sleep approx. 14 in two

wings. Most of the facilities are aimed at lodge residents. The only facility that the

campers have access to is a single toilet that is in a poor state of repair. No seat and it was

not particularly clean. It is at the back of one of the utility buildings near the lodge which

is about 100m from where we were camping.

View of Lodge and camping area.

Later that morning, Richard and Rowena, Andre and Vianne and I went on a hike to a

nearby waterfall, a round trip of 8.8km. The surroundings were amazing, with grasses of

different shares and green and yellow and an incredibly blue sky. We hiked in the valley

between to mountains for most of the distance and it took us just over an hour to reach

the waterfall. The waterfall is modest in height, about 3 stories, with a large pool at its

base. As we were pretty hot after the hike, a few of us decided to go for a swim. It was a

very brief excursion into the water as it was shockingly cold and we beat a hasty retreat

to the warmth of the rocks.

View of the waterfall.

After lazing around the pool for an hour or so, we hiked back to camp. Before I left, I had

placed the solar shower bag on the bonnet of my car. It was nice and warm so I decided

to have a shower and take a nap. Aaaaahh, Bliss.

That evening, we were treated to a full moon and another braai. A very successful day I

think.

Full moon rise.

Day 3.

Day 3 dawned sunny, but very windy. The fly sheet was slapping against tent and some

of the ground dome tents were being bent into odd shapes. It wasn’t the strength of the

wind that was unsettling, but rather the fact it didn’t blow consistently. For a few

seconds, it felt like gale force, rocking the Disco, then it would be dead still for a few

seconds, before beginning to blow again. It highlighted that I am under prepared for

windy conditions and it is something I will need to address.

The plan for the day was a day trip to the top of Matebeng Pass. We left the camp site

and headed for the A4 toward the pass, a trip of 26km. The pass is in generally good

condition and it took us close to 3 hours to complete the trip, stopping often to take

photos and acclimatize to the altitude. At the top of the pass, my GPS unit reported a

height of some 3030m above sea level.

The trip up and at the top provided us some incredible vistas. We could also see a number

of storms happening in the distance, which made us wonder if we would be get back to a

wet camp. As it turns out most of the rain storms missed us.

Rain in the distance over the pass.

At the top of the pass in the gap, a new transmitter has been built, not leaving much space

to park our vehicles. So we stopped where we could safely pull our vehicles over and

walked a short distance to the top. There we had a picnic lunch drinking in the view.

After lunch we leisurely retraced out route back to camp arriving back just before a brief

rain storm. I retreated rapidly into my roof top tent and lay listening to the rain. Luckily

the wind had abated! (or so I thought). It was a brilliant evening with a great sunset.

Sunset.

After the rain.

As the lodge residents had left sometime during the day, some of our group took the

opportunity to move into the lodge, not wanting to risk packing up wet tents in the

morning. They were the clever ones. After another brilliant still evening and a great braai,

we retired fairly early as we had the drive home the next day. At 11h30 I was woken with

the flysheet slapping the tent and the Disco rocking as if it was being savaged by a large

animal. The wind had returned. That night it was so strong it broke an awning attached to

the side of the Defender in the group. It took me a long time to fall asleep again

Day 4.

It was another great day at the top of the world, with no wind! Excellent. After a brief

breakfast we all broke camp and said our goodbyes. Some members of the group did not

want to travel in convoy back, preferring to do some low flying home. The rest of us left

at mid morning taking the same route home that we followed traveling here.

At both border posts, there were no queues and we were processed rapidly. The officials

at the South African border did however make a brief search of my vehicle looking for

contraband. They opened the back, put their head in and took a sniff. Apparently

satisfied, they closed the door allowing me to leave.

I was a little nonplussed about that. Did my vehicle smell that bad or were they sniffing

for the tell tale odour of ‘Durban poison’??

We made a brief stop in Kokstad for some fuel and food, but otherwise made pretty

consistent time home. At 17h00, I drove through my gates and parked the Disco. I

unpacked the fridge and the cooler box leaving the rest can wait for the weekend ☺.

In Summary:-

Sehlabathebe is a great place to visit. It is clean, quiet and fairly remote. The scenery is

great and it is a place I would love to (and plan to) visit again.

Fuel Consumption on the trip:-

Distance driven 806 km

Fuel used 157.2 L

L / 100 19.5 (not bad for a V8 ☺).