Sani Pass

Hey friends so I am going to break up the events of the last week a bit to keep the reading length down a wee bit. So right now you are getting the post about the Sani Pass. Later on (tonight or tomorrow night even) you will get a second post.
So Friday Afternoon we (Kate, Jasmine, Elizabeth and I) hopped into a taxi to head down to the taxi rank to get to the Underberg. So we arrived downtown and asked around about where we needed to go to catch a taxi to get to the Underberg. So we walked to the farthest taxi rank that any of us had been to. We got in the taxi and slowly it filled up with people. (Us being 4 made it fill up rather quickly). Anyways they started the engine and as it was idling waiting to get going it sounded a wee bit off. Sort of like it was skipping a beat of the engine as it was firing. So we got underway and slowly but surely we pulled off to the side and we had to start the engine again. Then a second time we had the same problem but it wouldn’t start up again. As we waited for them to try, they decided to call another taxi to take us to the Underberg. (Unfortunately this was after being there for a while waiting...). So we got to stand on the road side and watch a herd of cattle cross the highway, and wait around for a second taxi.
Eventually it arrived and everyone was very relieved so off we went to the Underberg. We got there and called for a lift to a number that was given to us by the lodge we were staying at that evening. And the guy didn’t have a taxi at the time but was on his way towards the lodge and offered us a lift in his pickup truck. So the four of us tossed our bags in the back and we went in the truck bed to go to the lodge. It was a beautiful drive. (see the pictures of the clouds on the mountains taken just outside of our lodge for the reason why on my flickr).
That night we planned out our next day as we discussed with the manager of the lodge about what she thought was possible. We figured that our best bet was to hike up the pass and back down in the same day having lunch at the Chalet due to the lack of available accommodation for us that evening. So with that as our plan we were working on how to get a lift to the border crossing. Luckily Krzyz (Chris), a guy in the room next to us over heard our problem and was wondering if he could accompany us for the hike during the day. Luckily he had a car that could get us to the Border.
So the next morning we got up for 6am and left around 6:30am. We arrived at the South African Border (where we had to leave the car because it is a 4-wheel drive only pass) and started hiking around 7am. It was a beautiful morning to hike up. Also since we started early enough we missed the crazy traffic on the way up the pass. It was just beautiful hiking see the photos as my words can’t quite describe it. We made it to the top by about 9:30am and we were thoroughly exhausted. We had hiked 11.2Km and the majority was uphill. But it was beautiful and worth the walk.
At the border crossing as we were stamping through they were busy off to one side working on the butchering of a lamb which made me think: ‘Hey maybe lamb for lunch would be nice’ (Just kidding friends...). Anyways so we walked over to the lodge and flopped out on a couple of picnic tables looking over the pass and just rested for about 30min. By about 10 we poked our head inside the Chalet and looked around and then chilled out on some couches for another 30min. The kitchen hadn’t opened by the point in the morning so we decided to go for a walk around the area and hiked out along the cliffs. The best way to describe the Sani Top is that it is a very flat area at the top of South Africa (Again see the photos) and the pass is basically this valley that drops down from the town of Sani Top. It was truly stunning.
As for lunch we had it around 11:30 starting off with a pint in the chalet pub. Yup the highest pub in Africa! (Finally!). It was such a pleasure as we chatted with the owner’s brother and shared some stories with him. For lunch I had their famous ‘Mountain Sausage’ which was very delicious. It came with a little salad (a piece of lettuce and two tomato slices) and a potato (half really that was boiled) but it was a delicious meaty lunch (I stole some vegetables from other people’s plates).
After lunch we hiked back down the pass which was a bit slower progress (it felt like) but with less rest stops. The problem with hiking down was that it was a loose gravel and dirt road that is pretty steep so as we were walking we would start sliding with the gravel under our feet. That was the tough and gruelling section of the hike but we were overjoyed when we arrived back at the South African border crossing. Then we found out that Chris was heading back to PMB that same evening. Such a blessing so we asked if we could get a lift with him back to PMB and he agreed. So wonderful.
Basically it was a wonderful weekend trip tiring and exhausting but so amazing. It was a good chance for me to get to know both Jasmine and Elizabeth a bit better as well as to meet an awesome guy like Chris. It was a very chill study break as well. Also I did get to do one of the ists that I had missed once upon a time during the last time I was in Lesotho. Finally the Highest pub in Africa!
Cheers eh!