Home » Lesotho » One Year Africa: Six Hectic Days in the Mountains: Mokhoabong Pass to Ha Lejone

There is a road running between Mokhoabong Pass and the village of Ha Lejone, via Thaba-Tseka and Katse and from there on it is a broad modern tarmac road.

One Year Africa: Six Hectic Days in the Mountains: Mokhoabong Pass to Ha Lejone

Maarten de Boeck
2006-05-01 19:47:44

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There is a road running between Mokhoabong Pass and the village of Ha Lejone, via Thaba-Tseka and Katse and from there on it is a broad modern tarmac road.
I intended to walk between the two places, of course not via the big road, but taking a 'short cut' through the mountains, rounding the superficial Katse Reservoir. It was a stout plan, as the distance was long and the barriers great.

There I stood, at the side of the road on Mokhoabong Pass, in the heart of the Central Range. The past days I had travelled to Ha Lejone to put the coordinates in my GPS. Actually I had abandoned the idea to walk all the way to Ha Lejone as it seemed exceedingly far to me. I had in mind to try to reach Katse. In the end I managed to walk all the way to the famous village of Ha Lejone.
This is the story of six hectic days in the mountains...

In the evening of the first day I camped on a remote, far-away-from-anything place. I had wandered the entire day, met few people. I felt the sense of solitude I love so much.
'Me, myself, the mountains and maybe some herd boys!' I wrote in my diary.

The Most Idyllic Place

The second day I discovered a lovely mini-valley covered with tiny yellow flowers. I contemplated the scenic valley as one of the most idyllic places where I had ever been. I walked up a hill to see what lay ahead. I heard a call, turned around and saw two boys approaching me. I waited for them to talk.
Hesitatingly they asked me some questions but soon the ice was broken. Their names were Mattoto and Moses. They spoke English quite well. They ushered me to their corral, where they sojourned in a tiny hut, herding the cattle of the families. At the corral I met another brother, Vicente.
They were eager to be photographed ...