Get in the Saddle
Khotso Horse Trails
A typical three-day fully catered Khotso Lesotho expedition ride currently costs R9 300. Additional outride circuit days from Thamathu village can also be arranged. Khotso Farm runs multi-day horse treks into Lesotho and has a plethora of accommodation options. There are also numerous day trails and hikes on and around the property. Prices range from R280 pp for a bunk in a backpacker hostel to R600 pps for a self-catering rondavel.
You don’t have to be a horse rider to stay at Thamatu Lodge, a converted Basotho family compound in Thamathu village. Its facilities are also available to hikers and 4×4 groups by prearrangement through Khotso.
082 412 5540, khotso.co.za
Amathole Horse Trails
Shane Eades, creator of Hogsback’s eco-backpackers lodge Terra-Khaya, offers a variety of outrides into the Amathole mountains. There are day rides but also overnight experiences with camping under the stars or stays at backpacker lodges or in more luxe quarters. He also runs a five-night, four-day trail (85km; R5 750 pp) with authentic experiences in a Xhosa village along the way. And his “Wildest Coast Journey by Horse” is possibly the most satisfying and liberating way to see the Wild Coast, with days in the saddle that include stretches along the beach and rivercrossings.
082 897 7503 terrakhaya.co.za
Baviaans Camino
Some 93km and four days of adventure through the Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape, this trek is a combination of hikers and inthe-saddle riders. Groups max out at 14 people, with six of them able to ride. There are dedicated days for these expeditions, and the adventure is fully catered with accommodation in old farmhouses. Luggage is portered, there’s a support vehicle, and – for those who do wish to go on horseback – the terrain lends itself to even novice riders.
073 825 0835 baviaanscamino.com
Semonkong Lodge
Bang in the centre of Lesotho (110km or two hours from Maseru along the Main South1 Road), the rugged grasslands around the faraway mountain town of Semonkong could be the moors of the Scottish Highlands – except that this high-altitude terrain is dotted with traditional rondawels and criss-crossed by trails traversed by Basotho cowboys (and -girls) mounted atop sure-footed steeds. You meet these mountain people as you hike towards Maletsunyane Falls, southern Africa’s longest single drop waterfall, which cascades almost 200m down a gigantic basalt cliff into a fury of white spray and ceaseless thunder in the canyon below.
The Falls are best reached by hiking (or riding) across the hills from this stone-andthatch retreat built on the banks of the Maletsunyane River, just outside the town. Lodge staff can send you off on overnight pony treks with local guides who show you the true, raw Lesotho.
With long hours in the saddle, it can be tough going, with cold nights spent in basic huts, but a wondrous experience nonetheless. Shorter rides – to the waterfall, or to see the spiral aloes (Lesotho’s national plant) on Mount Qoang – are available, too. Snow falls three or four times each winter, leaving the surrounding mountains snowcapped for weeks.
Two nights bed and breakfast at the lodge, plus a fully catered pony trek with one night of camping is R4 635 per person.
+266 6202 1021,
+266 5888 1021 semonkonglodge.com