Knopkop's Solo

Lesotho,
It is a country that I have wanted to visit since I first bought a dual sport bike in 2006. In 2007, myself and Kawasefi did a day ride from Harrismith to Sani Top and back. I loved it. It was only my 3rd ride on dirt on my then 650GS. I was nervous as hell, but promised myself that I will be back to ride Lesotho properly.

The Wilddog Freestate Bash in Fouriesburg, coupled with a long week-end, granted me the ideal opportunity to take some much needed leave from work and so the planning started. I slammed together a route with some research on past ride reports, and some good advice from some experts on Lesotho.

I posted the “planning” for the trip and I wanted some guys to join me, only “kobusb” showed interest, and he was also going to the bash, so we would meet up there and sort the final things out. As things go at a bash, we partied waaaay to hard and when our Sunday morning departure time came, none of us were feeling like riding to much, the tunnels were on the menu as well and I did not want to miss out on that ride. So we decided we will leave one day later and alter the route a bit to make up the one day.

Monday morning came and I was ready to rock and roll, unfortunately Kobus was now out of action due to an upset stomach. What to do, what to do?? I was unsure of doing the trip solo, should I just abandon ship now and go home and relax the week, or should I head to Katse, and then just ride to Sani. I decided I will ride to Katse and then make up my mind as to what to do.

The road to Katse is flippen beautiful. It was very overcast and I could not see the top of the mountain through the clouds. This made me even more nervous. I am a seriously crappy rider on tar twisties on good days, now I am on knobblies, in the wet, on this bloody steep pass with these tight twisties. I was very nervous and took things very easy.

Some pics on the way up the pass:
Here it is still nice and dry:




Man, I like this bike, I love this picture as well


See, I did attend the BASH


As I went higher and higher I saw that the mist is getting thicker and thicker, the wind was also picking up heavily. This did not sit to well with me in the confidence department.




I finally made it to the top. The mist was very thick and it was bloody freezing with the wind pumping.


But the gods were having mercy (or pity) for me, as about 1km from here, as you start to descend, the mist was behind me and I could see the entire Mountain Kingdom lying before me. What a sight. No matter how many pics you take or how well you try to describe the beauty of Lesotho, you will always fail to bring across how vast and how massive these mountains are, it is truly breathtaking.
I started to descend towards the dam, and as you exit Ha-Lejone, you are right next to the dam




After crossing over the bridge, you go up another pass and this is the view back towards the dam:




A little further on, you crest another pass with a fuel station at the top. I stopped to fill up with Super as they do not stock unleaded.


I finally arrived at Katse Lodge and got myself a reward for all my efforts:


I grabbed a Cheese Burger and Chips for lunch and as I was munching away, I saw this coming in:


It was coming down in 5min. And I mean really bucketing down. There was no way I am going to go any further in that rain! So I booked a place to sleep and took this easy for the rest of the afternoon.
When the rain stopped, late afternoon, I took a ride to the wall. The thing is HUGE.








To give you an idea of the size, check the people working there.


Took a pretty picture of my bike as well


Went back to the lodge for a beautiful sunset
Notice the “taxi’ taking people across the dam after work.








Not a bad day to start the trip, and as I went to bed, I was still not sure what to do tomorrow. Should I go to Sani via Mokhotlong, or should I go south towards Sehonghong and Matabeng?

Thx, can't wait to hear the rest!?!?
Beautiful pictures!

Lovely - where's the rest??

Lovely pictures - thanks for sharing

Thanks for your report back !
Very good pics !

Wahl wrote:Lovely pictures - thanks for sharing

Why aren't you at breakfast?

Eisssh I got the transport problem

Lekkerte!

Thanks for the replies guys, I will hopefully finish the report today.

Absolutely marvellous old chap. Keep them coming!

I realised that no matter what route I take today, I would need to be on the road early. The earliest that I could check out was at 06:00, so I set my alarm for 05:20. I woke up at 05:00 with the sound of pouring rain on the roof. I was not a happy chappie. But yet gain the gods were good to me, by the time I was dressed and packed the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to light up the place a bit.

I checked out and I was on the road by about 06:20, still not sure what to do or where to go. I thought to myself, just make it to Thaba Tseka, fuel up and take it from there. The tar was very wet, but thank goodness also very short. So after 1.5km on wet tar, I hit the dirt. Now my journey would start in earnest. Wet dirt is no problem, wet tar is. Lesotho is so full of rocks that mud was not really a problem, the road was good and the traction was plenty.

I love riding early mornings, and to ride early morning in Lesotho is something special.







It is amazing to see all the kids going to school. The villages are so small with no running water or electricity, but all the kids are dressed up in their school uniforms and walking to school. This was a good thing to see. They are obviously used to bikes passing through the villages, the waves and calls for “Wheeeeelie” and “Sweeeets” were coming thick and fast. I had no sweets and cannot wheelie so I just “smiled and waved”. I was concerned about stone throwing, so I tried to keep an eye on all the kids I passed to see if anyone tries to pick up a Lesotho missile, there is no shortage of rocks here. I had not one single issue with stone throwing in Lesotho at all.

The 60odd kms to Thaba Tseka went by in a flash, and I refuelled at the BP tankers in town. I got little bits of mud on the road, but nothing to worry about. The sun was out in full force now and it looked like its going to be a beautiful day for riding a bike in dual sport heaven. On the road to Thaba Tseka I thought alot about what to do today, I knew that 35km after Thaba Tseka, at Taung, I would have to make my decision. Easy to Sani, or possibly difficult to Mashai, Sehonghong and Matabeng.

On the way to Taung:


Then I caught my first glimpse of the mighty Senqu river. I was quite excited and the views of the river is simply stunning. I was also a bit nervous about the river crossing, I did not want to cross in a boat like Metaljockey and Nardus did. This being my first visit to Lesotho, I could not tell if the river was very full or very low, but I assumed it was low as I could see the sand banks in the curves of the river.


I was right, the crossing was bone dry and the river was very low. I was very relieved. Some pics of the crossing. I was looking forward to this river crossing as it signals to me that I am now in Lesotho proper, all on my own.






I made it up the mountain to Taung, decision time. I felt good on the bike, I had my rhythm, the day looked good and it was just after nine in the morning, so I had time on my side. I kept on repeating SGB’s words in my head: “Your track is fine. Start early.... Have fun! With the X, you should have no problem.” So it was decided, I would hook a right at Taung and take the more difficult route.

This road is bloody awesome, you hug the mighty Senqu river for a long time while riding the plateau. This is my all time favourite type of riding, where you have a river on one side and a mountain on the other, this became quite common on this trip. This stretch was one of the many highlights of my trip.

The last thing on my mind in Lesotho was sand, Lesotho is just rocks, no sand, until I came across this. They are working on the road and for about 400m I had to use all my Mozambique sand riding skills to make it through this stretch. Up a steep incline, with two sharp turns, and a cliff on the side. Eish. Man this was some loose stuff. I love sand, so this was good fun. I made it through with lots of cheers and waves from the locals in the earthmoving equipment.


As I was trotting along, admiring the views, I though to myself, hey man this road is easy peasy. I reached Sehonghong and Lebung, took a sharp turn left and my breath was taken away. Before me lay a decent of note. They mine sandstone here and everything is loose rock, everything. I went down this mountain, at one stage it was so steep that I locked up both wheels, and was still sliding. The X-Challenge is a very high bike and I did not want to risk putting a foot down, so I just kept on the pegs, not touching the ground all the way down. I made it down. I turned and took a pic, but as usual you cannot see how steep this thing really is. (you can see the edge running down from left to right in the pic)


Then you ride on the ledge one car wide and head down another steep twisty hill, this was much like Sani.


I am heading towards that crossing down there.


This was actually a very nice part but not newbie friendly, I loved it. The X-Challenge ate this part for breakfast, what an awesome bike.

I made my way down to the Matabeng River, and again loved the riding next to the river in the valley. This was another really nice part of the trip that I will remember for very long. I stopped at this rock to take a pic. It was getting very hot in the valley, I took of my Thor Impact Rig I was wearing under my jacket and dipped it in the ice cold water of the river. It cooled me down nicely.


After this rock you start climbing up the Matabeng Pass, again river on one side, huge mountain on the other, awesome. That is where I am heading, see the tower at the top, that is the summit of the pass.




I did not stop on the pass to take pictures, the clouds were building, and my camera’s battery light came on at the Senqu river. I did not want to risk it going flat. I made it to the top with no problems at all. Momentum is your friend, stay on the pegs and gas it. The X-Challenge made mice meat of the few step-ups and endless amounts of loose rock all the way to the top.

Top of Matabeng Pass


This is where I came from


And this is where I am heading


I made it down the pass, the eastern side (Sehlabathebe side) is in much better condition than the Matabeng side, going down was no issue at all. Stopped for fuel at the Chinese shop and took the road to Ramatseliso’s Gate. Now this road was the all time highlight of the trip. Next time I will do it in the opposite direction so that I can look at the mountains all the time. You cannot describe the beauty of the Sehlabathebe area. It is something out of this world.

I went out Ramatseliso’s Gate and headed to Matatiele, my planned destination for the day. I arrived in Matatiele just after two in the afternoon. I decided to refuel and eat something and then I headed to Mount Fletcher to look for a place to stay. What a shithole this place is. I decided to push on to Maclear. I found very nice accommodation here on a farm just outside town. This was the view just outside my room:


I was lekker moeg.

Today was an awesome day on the bike. I rode from one side of Lesotho to the other all on my own, on not the easiest roads out there. I learned that you can ride pretty much anything if you commit, and that your bike is way more capable than you think.


The rest will follow soon.

I woke up nice and early again, I thought that I might be a bit sore and stiff after yesterday’s long ride but I was fine. Cool. I packed up, loaded the bike, and hit the road nice and early again. The mist was incredibly thick through Maclear, I could not see a thing. It was very difficult riding. But once through Maclear, the mist cleared as I started climbing higher and higher towards Pot River Pass.

I took this pic at the base of the pass, I really enjoyed Pot River pass, it is nice and twisty on good easy gravel


After Pot river I went past elands Heights plantation and started climbing up and up. The wind was picking up and it was pumping. Riding started to get a bit difficult with the wind and the bad corrugations on these plantation roads. I stopped at the base of Naude’s Nek to chow some biltong, and have a water break.


Naude’s Nek pass is the highest passable road in South Africa, I have never been here and have been looking forward to it for some time. The path is pretty easy and not to steep, it looks a lot worse from the bottom than it actually is. The main problem for me was the wind.




Made it to the top


I saw the turnoff to Tenahead, and thought to myself that I will definitely come back to this area, stay a few days and ride all these routes to Tiffendell and Tenahead some other time. All the more reason to come back here.
Had a bite to eat at the Rhodes Hotel




Ran into a traffic jam on the way out of Rhodes


Crossed the Bell River and headed up to Lundean’s Nek and towards Wartrail. I just love all the sandstone in these areas, the same as in the Clarens area, simply beautiful.








The wind was still pumping full blast and it was becoming a bit of an irritation, I went up to Lundean’s Nek for the token poser pic.




As I went round the corner in the backround where that little stone building is, I saw all the huge rainclouds on the other side of the mountain. It started drizzling and I could see the lightning and hear the thunder rambling closer and closer. I klapped it down the other side of Lundean’s and did not stop to take pics. I will have to come back here and do it properly. It was now raining as I got to Upper Tele. The road between Upper and Lower Tele was another hightlight, hugging the Tele River with the Lesotho and South African mountains on either side, just stunning.
When I reached Tele Bridge, I was riding in hail. The rain and hail stopped soon after and I was dry in no time.

Crossing back into the States


Stopped in Zastron to fill up. The last time I was in Zastron was in Std 7 at “veldskool”. Zastron has this mountain with a hole in it. We climbed up to it when I was there in Std 7 and that hole is friggin huge.


From Zastron to Wepener I took dirt all the way. This was some very nice fast and open dirt, it felt good to open up on the dirt again and klap it. I went past this tower it is very very high. Not sure what it is for.


One more on the way to Wepener, I would stay in the Ford Laser tonight.


Let’s just say I had a VERY lekker time in Wepener, man that barman, Godfrey, knows how to keep the Captian ‘s coming fast and furious. Had a huge kuier with some of the locals, very interesting stories of how supply of pretty much anything into Lesotho works, and the absolutely insane amounts of cash transactions between SA and Lesotho. These transaction values are just scary, it is not the dop talking as I actually saw some of the cheques collected during the day. Crazy stuff I tell you.

Stumbled to my room after way too many......

Nice one! Ek dink ten minste een so solo trip is nodig in elkeen se lewe... Myne is nog nie eers op beplanningsfase nie, maar dit sal gebeur!

I struggled to get going this morning, geez wonder why? Packed up, loaded the bike, has some breakfast at the Lord Fraser, filled up and hit the first dirt. As I turned the corner, I saw this. Man I was not even fully awake yet, and now this. Lekker, it sets the tone for another great day in Africa!


The day was filled with nice open fast dirt, some fast and smooth twee spoor, some absolutely great riding.






My TKC at the rear holding up nicely after 6000km


Another Freesate traffic jam


And the last one for the day


Stopped close to Peka Bridge Border Post for some rest




I was making very good time with some good speed, the only problem was these bloody mud patches that would jump up every now and then. It became and irritation when you are cruising at over a 100kph on smooth open dirt and then this jumps into the road every few km’s. Had a few moments on these but kept the rubber side down!




Between Ficksburg and Fouriesburg I wanted to take some more dirt and rested a bit. My bike under my favourite tree, the Willow.




My Dunlop D606 on the front still looking good, I fitted it on the Friday morning of the Bash.


Saw this funny mountain - weird




I got to this water crossing and it was flowing very strong, I walked the fist part and saw some big loose rocks and I decided to rather give this one a miss. I am on my own, and don’t want to drown the bike or myself now. I also saw a lot of car tracks where people had turned around. Will come back and do it some other time.








I fuelled up in Fouriesburg again and headed for Caledon’s poort border post yet again. This time to do the Monontsha road. I took the road and loved it, went out at Monontsha Border, went through QwaQwa and headed back to Harrismith.
A pic on the Monontsha Road


One ugly, tired, and dirty mofo, but very happy.


My GPS info


Thanks very much for reading!
Go and ride Lesotho it is awesome!

Wow KnopKop, excellent report and great pictures! I am very jealous!

Ahh lovely. Thanks for the recce KK !!

Wow great report thanks

GSlady wrote:Ahh lovely. Thanks for the recce KK !!

Recce ??

Wil jy kom saam ry daar?

If I take the club on a GS ride on that stretch in Lesotho, I will be fired!!!

A Bigger bike will really struggle on those rocks, I have seen pics of 990's doing it, and a few 800's but with really very good riders. You will make it on a Boxer, but you will need to be a very good rider. I was very busy on the X-Challenge.

But the beauty is something else, I have not seen anything like the Sehlabathebe area. Sani's views does not come close. It looks like something out of Lord of the Rings.

Awesome.

Please stop the torture. You killing me with jealousy!

Thanx for the great report.

Well done ou pêl!!! Volgende keer gaan ek saam.

Nee wat, sal hom klap met 'n GS (ek is 'n sucker vir punishment!!)

Marnus wrote:Well done ou pêl!!! Volgende keer gaan ek saam.

Nee wat, sal hom klap met 'n GS (ek is 'n sucker vir punishment!!)

I know you will make it. Next time you are coming along, at your own risk. To ride Lesotho there are a few things you need.
* You need a kidney belt
* You need to have a serious love for rocks
* Knobblies
* Good strong Bashplate, or lots of ground clearance
* The days are long, you need some stamina
* Take you camera, the place is soooooooooooo beautiful.

Dit lyk soooo lekker!! Dankie vir al die fotos! Ek wil Desember die Maclear, Ugie, Rhodes ding doen. Die passe daar lyk great! Was darem al by Katse dam!

mario wrote:Dit lyk soooo lekker!! Dankie vir al die fotos! Ek wil Desember die Maclear, Ugie, Rhodes ding doen. Die passe daar lyk great! Was darem al by Katse dam!

Jy moet die Lapa Munnik pas gaan ry (Bastervoetslaan pad) tussen Elliot en Ugie. Hy was op my plan vir hierdie trip maar ek moes my planne bietjie verander. Ek gaan hom so gou as moontlik doen!

The perfect ride for your bike KK !

Thanks for sharing your experience...

Lekkerte!! Dankie vir jou report KK! Was baie lekker gewees om dit te lees en die stunning foto's te kyk!