South African Country Life – September 2019

valley,allalonebutforthewildlifeandthe
soundofwater,allofusbeguiledbytravel
in thesaddle.CertainlyI’mstillofthenotion
thathorsesarenotasreliableorasresponsive
asvehicles,butsowhat,quitefrankly.If my
horsewereto pauseto munchsomegrassand
refusedto acknowledgemyinstructions,orif
it suddenlytookoffat a trotwithoutaskingmy

permission,that’sjusttheanimalI travelled

with.Andat leastit wasn’ta bakkie.

Onourfourthandfinalday,aswefollowed

thesamepathdownfromLesothoandback

intoSouthAfrica,it wassadthatthebondwe

hadallformedwithourhorseswasaboutto

end.“Butdon’tbedown,”saidSteve,aswe

unsaddledforthelasttimeandletournew

friendslooseintothepasturessurrounding

KhotsoFarm.“Wehavenumeroustrailshere,

andyou’lljusthaveto comebacksomeday

foranotherone.”Andthat’sexactlywhatwe

promisedourselvesto do. ■

KhotsoFarm,KhotsoHorseTrails

andThamatuLodgewww.khotso.co.za

ABOVE: Steve Black and Sam Morris attired in traditional Lesotho
tribal blankets. ABOVE RIGHT: There are many overhangs carved
into Lesotho’s sandstone and granite mountains, many ‘converted’
into shelters for local sheep herders. RIGHT: Well-preserved
Bushman art is scattered throughout the rocky landscapes of
Lesotho and the Drakensberg.

LEFT: Rock hyrax (dassies) are very much at home

in among the boulders, cliffs and scree faces of the

Drakensberg. BELOW: Baboons and other wildlife

such as rhebok can be seen on the trail.

029