With the view gone, we were barely driving more than 30 km/h and we still had a long way to go. We made our way through probably breathtaking landscape that we will never remember, making our way to Sani Pass.

The first stop of our South African Roadtrip was The Drakensberg National Park. That translates basically to Dragon’s Mountain, and yes it was as epic as it sounds. The whole area is amazing to discover but we only had two weeks to cruise through the country. So we picked Sani Pass as our base to explore the amazing nature of Drakensberg. Sani Pass is exactly what it sounds like: a pass that winds up the mountains. It goes from the small village of Underberg to the border with Lesotho. Find out in this post where to stay and what to do here. So you can make this an epic part of your African adventure.

Why Sani Pass?

Sani Pass is a place for nature lovers. You can:

• Hike through the foothills with your family
• Climb one one the peaks in the Drakensberg Mountain range
• Visit the tiny happy country of Lesotho
• Go mountain biking in the most amazing landscapes
• Take a bird watching tour or course
• Explore the area in a 4×4 with or without guide
• Take your tent and go camping
• Do a multi-day guided trek through the Drakensberg area
• Get your headlight out and go on a Cave hike

If you’re done with the hikes for a while there are a ton of other things to do. You can go fishing, horse riding and abseiling. If you’re feeling less active you can explore the culture some more and have some tea with the local tribe. Or you can learn about the indigenous fauna and flora or get a nice massage treatment.

Getting There

At the base of Sani Pass you can find the small village of Himeville, which is part of the bigger neighbouring town of Underberg. Setting your GPS to either of these should take you pretty close to your destination. If no GPS is available you need to take the N3 that runs from Jo’burg to Durban, coming from either side you need to take the exit to the R617 near Howick. You can follow that one till you start seeing signs for Sani Pass or pass by either of the previously mentioned towns.

If you do not have a car the closest you’ll probably get with public transportation is Pietermaritzburg. There are however several other solutions: a lot of them are listed on the website of the Lodge we stayed. Do take a look there if you are an independent traveler without a car.

Lodging/Eating

Lodging

There are several lodging options in the nearby town of Underberg. However if you wanna stay closer to the National Park, I highly recommend the Sani Pass Backpackers Lodge. It’s a great place in the middle of the wilderness. They offer all kinds of options from camping through dormitories and private rooms to cottages for up to 6 people. The staff is super friendly but is especially a perfect base to explore the area because of their great offers on organised tours and trips in the area. But do not take my word for it: the place has great ratings on about every booking platform like Google, TripAdvisor and many others. Also take a look at their website which is full of useful information not only about them but activities in the area.

Eating

The lodge’s restaurant is great and you should definitely try out their nice breakfast. However we arrived late and the restaurant was already closed. So we used the well equipped kitchen to cook our own stuff. If you want to stock up on supplies the closest decent supermarket is in Underberg which is about 25 min by car. In Underberg you can also find some small restaurants. Of course there is also a KFC, which seems to be present in even the tiniest South African town.

Our Activities

Hiking! There are all kinds of hikes and tours around the area. I would always recommend going with a guide who will probably take you to a starting point with a four-wheel drive. Going solo is not always a good idea in the area. Especially if you’re planning to go up into Lesotho, it’s easier to have someone with you that knows the guards at both border controls to ease the transit process.

I have a huge tip you will thank me for later. The whole area is quite high up, the base of the pass is already at 1560 meters and the top of some of the hikes can take you up to 250 meters. So do yourself a favor and put on a LOT of sunscreen. You might not feel yourself burning due to the wind but trust me you are!

Our Experiences

Driving in the dark

We picked up our modest Ford Figo in the OR Tambo Airport of Johannesburg and started the long drive immediately. We drove most of the way on the N3 toll road that goes all the way to Durban. However we made the mistake of leaving the highway already at Mooirivier. Not long after we also had to say goodbye to paved roads. Before long we were wobbling around on bumpy dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. The landscape was beautiful however and enjoyed the adventure.

Soon it started to get dark however and a very impenetrable mist started setting in on top of that. With the view gone, we were barely driving more than 30 km/h and we still had a long way to go. We made our way through probably breathtaking landscape that we will never remember. Eventually we did make it back to the paved road and soon also to Sani Pass.

The Lodge

We arrived at the Sani Pass Backpackers lodge around 9 PM. After checking into our cozy 4 person dorm room we got the sad news that no warm meal, nor beer or wine was available anymore since the restaurant had already closed.  Luckily we did buy some emergency provisions on the road and we cook ourselves a rather sober meal of spaghetti with white beans in tomato sauce. Budget travel at its best! Hunger is the best sauce however and we all finish our plates without effort.

Aldo

We wake up to a symphony of cell phone alarms. We quickly make our way to the reception to join the hike to Hodgson’s Peak (aka Giant’s Cup) of 8:30 AM. Once assured of our spot, we enjoy a wonderful warm breakfast in the restaurant. Afterwards we pack our stuff and meet up in front of the lodge to meet Aldo, our slightly elderly but very fun guide for the day. The whole group loads itself into Aldo’s for wheel drive and we take off.

The Sani Pass

As we make our way along the bumpy and winding road of the pass the view progresses from amazing to jaw-dropping. We take several stops on the way up to enjoy the view and take some pictures. After about an hour of driving we arrive at the first border control to leave South Africa and a couple of minutes later we get our passports stamped at the border post of Lesotho.

This tiny and incredibly poor country is apparently one of the best scoring countries on the happiness scale. Which might be related to stories Aldo tells us about their main export product being weed. It also apparently is not uncommon for young men to be left alone with their herds of goat and sheep for several months to roam around the plateau and graze. Due to lack of female company they resort to having more intimate relationships with the animals in their care.

Up, up, up…

We park the car near Africa’s highest pub, but Aldo’s informs us that will be our reward for when we come back. We start our hike first over a great plateau and then start making our way up. Each time we take a break the view becomes more spectacular until we finally make it to the top after about two hours hiking. We eat our lunch and enjoy the view before the clouds roll in under us and block it. In the distance we can see how the plateau that is Lesotho simply drops away and forms a natural border with South Africa.

Back Down

We make our way back down faster than the rest of the group and leave even Aldo behind us. We meet back up at the bottom of the peak to start our hike back to the pub. There we enjoy a nice local beer from Lesotho and start driving back down the pass. Once at the lodge we immediately take our car further down to Underberg and stock up on groceries, beer and wine. Back in the hotel we make ourselves some delicious burgers. Afterwards we play some cards in the cosy common room and enjoy our beers. We call it a night around midnight so we are all fit to drive the next part of our itinerary in the morning.