Short trip to Lesotho

Naks said:
You mean the pass? I doubt it - it would be too costly. They are tarring from the Lesotho border post at the top of the pass to Mokhotlong, which is a good thing.

Hell, even if they tar the pass itself, that is a good thing for Lesotho & ZA.
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It's already been approved. Think the quote was R160m or something. The reason for doing so was that having to maintain the road was becoming a schlep.
No, not a good thing at all. The Sani pass is a tourist attraction. Literally. It's a lot easier now, having been graded and smoothed out (although I am told in winter it's still tough), but people love it.
 
Tarring the pass is a good thing - it will improve trade between the border towns, more ZAs will be able to visit Lesotho and vice-versa, and a gravel road is more environmentally unfriendly than a good tar road

the pass will still be a tourist attraction, and will be even more so, since platkars will be able to go to Sani. You want to do 4x4 tracks, plenty of those around - go find one a play to your heart's content.

Instead of preserving the privilege of the few, perhaps think of how the lives of the ordinary people will be bettered by a tar road? (hint: speak to the locals about how tar roads are improving their lives)
 
Awesome trip! I must go down that way before they tar it. Thanks for the pictures and map Naks. :)
 
Naks said:
Tarring the pass is a good thing - it will improve trade between the border towns, more ZAs will be able to visit Lesotho and vice-versa, and a gravel road is more environmentally unfriendly than a good tar road

the pass will still be a tourist attraction, and will be even more so, since platkars will be able to go to Sani. You want to do 4x4 tracks, plenty of those around - go find one a play to your heart's content.

Instead of preserving the privilege of the few, perhaps think of how the lives of the ordinary people will be bettered by a tar road? (hint: speak to the locals about how tar roads are improving their lives)
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I think there's a bunch of other locals that would disagree with you

but anyway the pass is already a shadow of its former self and probably its glory days as a real adventure route are already long gone
 
Naks said:
What bunch would this be? Having been there last week and spoken to various of people about it, not a single person said it's a bad thing (sample size was small though)
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there's been huge resistance to the pass being tarred since government first announced its intention to do so back in about 2005, which is why the process has been delayed for so long, from the article I linked to earlier

The announcement that the road would be tarred follows a lengthy opposition campaign from tour operators and community members in the Underberg area.
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The announcement that the road would be tarred follows a lengthy opposition campaign from tour operators and community members in the Underberg area.
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Yes, of course tour operators would balk at the idea. Do you know what they charge to take tourists up the pass in a Prado? It's a rip-off.

I think you will find the people on the Lesotho side are more favourable to the idea.
 
I hate to be the one to say this, but it's a race thing (or at least a wealth thing, which pretty much still equates to the same thing in SA). For the wealthy (mostly still white) with access to 4x4s having a tough dirt pass is an adventure. To the poor (still black), it's a huge obstacle to being able to travel and work, not to mention get access to health care and education.
 
Colin62 said:
I hate to be the one to say this, but it's a race thing (or at least a wealth thing, which pretty much still equates to the same thing in SA). For the wealthy (mostly still white) with access to 4x4s having a tough dirt pass is an adventure. To the poor (still black), it's a huge obstacle to being able to travel and work, not to mention get access to health care and education.
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Whilst you may have a point it's never that straight forward, especially given that this is a border crossing point between 2 countries, if it was purely SA sovereign territory then your point around health care and education would hold more validity
 
From the GPS trip computer.

You have to remember, the trip included driving on the N1 to Cradock when we left and also when we we coming back from Colesberg.

Most of the trip distance was actually done on the N1, I think in total we only did around 500km in Lesotho, mostly at an average of 60kmh.
 
Naks said:
From the GPS trip computer.

You have to remember, the trip included driving on the N1 to Cradock when we left and also when we we coming back from Colesberg.

Most of the trip distance was actually done on the N1, I think in total we only did around 500km in Lesotho, mostly at an average of 60kmh.
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ok fair enough, I would've expected it to be less with gravel roads & Sani Pass, but I guess with such a high % of it being on the N1 that pushes the average up
 
Smurfatefrog said:
ok fair enough, I would've expected it to be less with gravel roads & Sani Pass, but I guess with such a high % of it being on the N1 that pushes the average up
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Me too. I battle to keep my average over 100 on most roads other than freeways. I did once manage to average just over 100 between Pietermaritzburg and Grahamstown, but I was doing 160 whenever I got clear of traffic.
 
I think the pass will be tarred eventually to support trade in goods, but this would be at the expense of off-road enthusiasm. What is the appetite for a second road--not tarred--specifically to support off-road tourism?
 
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