MountainKingdomhorsewhispererthatheis.
“I’llbeyourguide,”hesaid.“Anddon’t
worry,theseponiesareperfectforbeginners.
Youjusthaveto sitonthem.They’lldotherest.”
I’mnotsurehowheknewwewerenovices.
Perhapsit wasthewaymyridinghelmethad
slippedto oneside,ormyson’slookofbarely
containedpanic(he’dneverbeenona horse
before).Nomatter,wedrewconfidencefrom
Charlesandoffwetrotted,firstto Bushman’s
Nekborderpost,wherepassportswerestamped
withoutushavingto dismount.I’venever
gonethroughimmigrationonthebackof
a horsebefore,andthiswasthefirstofmany
uniqueexperiencesonouradventureinto
thehighlandsofLesotho.
Ourtrekstartedin a wide, grassy valley
wherewesawGreyCrowned Cranes, Kori
Bustards,andSecretarybirds patrolling on
skinnylegs.Besideus,also on skinny legs,
walkedSteve,withtherestof our group. They
hadchosento hike,ratherthan ride, and were
easilykeepingstridewiththe five of us on
horseback.Ourpacewasslow and steady.
Ofcourse,thisboredmy daughter no end.
Sheridesratherwelland,when no one was
looking,slylyapproachedthe front of the line
andwhisperedto Charlesthat we all would
liketo canter.Withoutwarning, off we went
at a speedentirelyunconducive to staying inthe saddle. In alarm, I watched helplessly as
my son clung on for dear life, legs flailing and
poor little backside smacking up and down on
unyielding leather.
He didn’t quite scream, I’ll give him that,
but his forlorn despairing sounds were not easy
to hear. Mercifully it came to an end when Sam
fell off and lay moaning and crumpled in a fetal
position in the grass. “I’m walking with the
boys,” is all he said.
But that didn’t last long, either. Sam’s only
12, and the other lads were fit and in their early
20s, and Steve himself is one of those cross-
country, endurance types, a wiry man who
thinks nothing of trail running a few hundred
kilometres.Anhourorsolater,ona particularly
steepuphillsegment,Samannouncedthathis
legsweretooshortto keepup,andthathe
wouldretrysomehorseback.
Butsoonweallbeganto feelquiteat home
in thesaddle.Indeed,thehorseswerekindand
easy.Theywerestrong,theyknewtheroute
and,thanksto mywifeSashatellingCharles
to discountanyfurtherinstructionsfrommy
daughter,therewerenomoreunpromptedfits
ofgalloping.Samwassmilingandexclaiming
to theworldhowablehewasona horse,and
howagreeablehefoundtheexperience.Must
say,metoo.
Wehadclimbedto about2 500metresby
lunchtime,whenwedismountedat theedge
ofanescarpmentand,surroundedbypeaks
andplateaux,feastedonsandwiches.Above
us,Cape-andBeardedVulturescircled,noTOP:Youcaneitherrideorhike(orboth)onthisfour-dayexpeditionintoLesotho.BELOW:Like goslings in a row,
theMorrisclanfollowstheirguideCharlesMolatellethroughtheLesothoscenery.
026 http://www.countrylife.co.zaTRAVEL ◗ LESOTHO HORSE TRAILS