Semonkong, lesotho Title written by Ian Cox First Second Name Photos: other name
days. Perhaps that is why the Chinese were prepared to lend Lesotho the money to build the road in the first place?
Roads are revolutions. Just think, a couple of years ago it took a 4X4 and twelve hours to drive from Durban to Semonkong. Now you can do it in a compact in about six. No that is a bit of an exaggeration. I did it in just over six hours in my trusty Toyota Hilux. A compact would find the going between Matatiele and Quacha’s Nek slow going so add an hour or so. But once in Lesotho compacts were everywhere. That is what a tar road does.
Whatever the reason for its existence, the road is something else and well worth the trip just for the experience of driving it. But this time the road trip was incidental to the fishing and the fishing was special. Back in the 1950’s Semonkong was a small agricultural outpost that boasted a runway lodge and a and a fishing spectacular waterfall. Getting there involved a long ride on horseback or a hairy flight in a light aircraft. However, fishing was such that enough fly fishers were prepared to dice with death and fly in often enough to make the Lodge viable.
Yup the road from Quacha’s Nek to Semonkong and then onto Maseru is now tar. It was built recently by the Chinese though God alone knows how the Lesotho people will pay for it. Perhaps they will make Gauteng pay through the sale of water. After all Lesotho and its water pretty much controls the fate of that Province these
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