• On the first day, We could not go down to Bushman's Nek the night before because of some misinformation to the horse owners about times and dates, that was sorted when I got to Sehlabathebe on Monday, we then decided to ride down quite early the following day. I suppose Kingsley's guys were anxious and waiting for our arrival the previous evening as planned. [we always had a plan B for all occasions]
• About six guys rode back with our guides/ rangers escorted by bikers up the challenging hills & escarpment to SNP, while the vehicles all went up via Matatiele through Ramats'eliso's Gate. Preparations with the police, immigration & customs were well on track here & Van Rooyen's Gate to allow the equipment from Bloemfontein to cross free of tax [goal posts, nets, paint...]
• The Community Day at Ha Mavuka [graced by Minister of Tourism & dignitaries from Qacha’s Nek] became much bigger than anticipated. Mad Mike did his famous stunts [having me enquired of the pilot of the chopper] he flew onto the newly refurbished football ground with an official ball to kick-start the match of the day. A bull & two sheep were slaughtered for guests and people at large [what a merry feast!].
• The ride up Matebeng Pass was spectacular and took many more picture stop-overs than I anticipated. The bikes were well ahead of us to Sani Top. We all arrived safely at Sani in the evening [what a blistering cold day at Sani… wind blowing at xxx knots & mist cover most of the time. A warm welcome at Jonathan’s place with GluWein and a cold beer at the acclaimed “highest pub in Africa” made it all worthwhile.
• The next morning after breakfast all the Landies lined in a convoy to cross over to RSA down the pass [again with prior arrangements, passports not required – smooth border operation]. As usual the bikes led the way… Alas, a tourist vehicle [we thought he was getting into our picture] coming up warned us about a biker who fell and hurt his leg. Apparently, ironically he is a Surgeon Doctor practising in Cape Town; the damage was actually much more serious than we thought – in the company of Dr. Bertus things couldn’t get any worse – the patient actually refused any medication from Bertus and decided to hold on till he got to a clinic in Underberg. The leg had twisted so badly and had broken bones, a case which was diagnosed on a scan. He was then flown to Cape Town same day.
• Back into Lesotho up the pass through Mokhotlong to refuel & hit straight to Lets’eng Diamond Mine [arrangements were done to drive up the Khubelu River 4x4 valley] but the weather did not allow. At Tlokoeng Dr. Gideon Groenewald accompanied by Desmond [Ramololi] were waiting for the team from Lets’eng Mine. We all drove on to Maloraneng Chalets for another spectacular welcome performance and a feast of local cuisine. Lets’eng was partly covered white with snow that had fallen last night and had continued in the morning as well.
• The next day, a cold windy morning broke out through the hills and the team drove up to Lets’eng runway to board a chopper that would be flying in from Maseru to deliver Kingsley to the Katse area for another community day hosted by the people of Ha Seshote and surrounding communities. Due to bad weather, the chopper was cancelled and plan B came into effect. Two fast Discos & a Lesotho tourism Toyota took Kingsley and all the materials to Seshote down via Moteng Pass, a speedy trip that lasted about 3 hours. Hilariously the people of Seshote were not discouraged by the weather and stood for their guests of honour.
• Liphofung caves became our last night sleep in Lesotho and border crossing into QwaQwa was preceeded by a huge Community Day at Mafika-Lisiu at Mononts’a. A very different ambience with horse games and beautiful colourful blanketed horsemen accompanied by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service became the attraction of the day. A prelude to the Batlokwa horsemen upon entering Tlokweng Chieftaincy.
The rest is history well marked with indelible ink on the minds of Kingsley, his team and the people of Lesotho...

In first gear with low ratio and diff-lock engaged the dusty canvass topped Garmap Land Rover Shortie grinds and growls to a hill top overlooking the Chief Gumbi Community Soccer Match, all part of linking Communities to Transfrontier Conservation Areas as we cross Africa through 9 countries.
The midday heat beats down, up goes the satellite dish, soon we have a signal giving us this opportunity to send you the message that the Boundless Southern Africa Expedition blog is up and running.
In true grey beard fashion the blogs will be in the form of regular dispatches and voice clips from the field.
It’s all about Nature Culture and Community and using Adventure to Improve Lives.
Siyabonga and thanks for caring for Mama Africa.
If you are interested in updates about the expedition, please do the following:
Visit the Expedition website or Boundless Southern Africa - View Boundless news by clicking on the link provided on our Links page.

On the official Expedition website you will find Kingsley's dispatches and other updates. or on the "View Boundless news " you will find updates that we provide from the Boundless office.