James Burnham (left) and Joel Nix (right) visited Underberg on a dark and cold evening, in search of a Sani Pass adventure and a comfortable hotel to rest their weary bodies and feed their appetite. What struck us was their inspiring spirit of adventure.
They loved their visit to the Basotho village where they entered the chief’s traditional stone hut for an immersive experience from our talented tour guides. The village chief was delighted to have almost her entire range of handmade Basotho curios snapped up and bought by our American guests. This is a wonderful gesture which will be appreciated by the village during the cold and quieter months ahead.
It must have been so difficult and scary-exciting for Arnout to hold onto this secret until they arrived in South Africa and travelled to a beautiful view point in the Blyde River Canyon.
Six happy souls from Port Elizabeth chose Major Adventures to introduce them to the epic Sani Pass that leads up the great escarpment of the south, into Lesotho.
Charlie and Gardi Major of Major Adventures were thrilled to reconnect with good friends and pioneers of Sani Pass. Dudley Blevins started with Mokhotlong Mountain Transport MMT / Giants Cup Motors as an apprentice in 1974. Then did his army service and later returned.
Travel 109 km with us in just over 3 minutes, and get a key-hole view of the unparalleled Sani Pass adventure into Lesotho. No other operator has the history that our business is fortunate to have. We are the only Sani Pass tour operator that has a living family legacy with the Sani Pass that dates back to 1956, and whose business has never changed ownership. Deep roots, extensive experience, rich knowledge and talented guides, make the Major Adventures experience of the Sani Pass into Lesotho – the best that money can buy.
lammergeier, (German: “lamb vulture”) (Gypaetus barbatus), lammergeier also spelled lammergeyer or lammergeir, also called bearded vulture
Photo by Reese Braam / Unsplash
The history of Sani Pass in the Drakensberg Mountains is one that is steeped in adventure, danger, and excitement. It is a unique area of the world that has long captivated adventurers, both current and past.
Another happy group of Dutch tourists give us a thumbs up for their adventure through the Summer-green mountains, and up Sani Pass into Lesotho.
Excitement sparkled in the eyes of Willem and Fieke who prepared themselves to buckle up for their “African massage” drive in our 4×4 Toyota Prado, and up the rocky roads and across flooded streams and up Sani Pass into Lesotho.
The Sani Pass in the Southern Drakensberg Mountains is home to an astounding array of flora and fauna species.
The Veneboer family, parented by Cor and Theresa – travelled to South Africa with their three sons and their girlfriends – to experience our great outdoors.
William accompanied Myrthe, Robbert travelled with Elien, and Lars Veneboer was with his girlfriend Lonneke.
In the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg, outside the tiny towns of Underberg and Himeville – is the road that leads runners to the famous Sani Pass. The Sani Pass – which was once a bridal path used to carry goods from South Africa up into Lesotho on the back of donkeys – is the steep and gravel road that athletes use for the Sani Stagger. The course is an “out & back” course that runs from South Africa to Lesotho, and back! The course runs 21.1km up Sani Pass to the Lesotho border post, and then 21.1km back down the pass into South Africa.
Breathing in the fresh mountain air, our Dutch travellers took a moment to stand amongst the mountains and appreciate the view.
Niels enjoying his Maluti Beer in the highest pub in Africa
Our favourite photo of Allen on route up Sani Pass
Niels learning all about the Basotho culture
Allen Mkhize, our guide – narrating the story of the Basotho
Allen caught by the camera at the highest pub in Africa
The Daily Maverick published a short visual essay providing travellers and tourists with a glimpse into the ‘Kingdom in the sky’.
Mike travelled from Köln Altenkirchen Westerwald – Germany to South Africa. Part of his travels included experiencing the original 4×4 Sani Pass tour into Lesotho. Mike enjoyed the tour with a very experienced, knowledgeable and jovial guide of ours – Ellias Mofukeng.
Gifts for Mike’s grand daughters back home.
Ms Lidy Uiterwijk Winkel and her 7 year old son – Tycho Zandbergen, summited Sani Pass and travelled into Lesotho together. Lidy and Tycho are from the Netherlands.
Yesterday one of our guides – Warren Dlamini demonstrated a level head and quick thinking.
Tiny Miss Cleo – all the way from Germany, took her parents on her first Sani Pass 4×4 tour into Lesotho today.
The group of Major Adventurer’s today were all the way from the US of A, and had such a good time in Lesotho and experiencing the 4×4 trip up the legendary Sani Pass. Donning Basotho blankets and headgear, they celebrated the end of the day together.
Freezing fun was had by all when Sonya invited her friends to celebrate her birthday with her – in Hollywood style – with a trip up Sani Pass with Major Adventures. Everyone came in theme with their own special costumes.
Dozens of special moments and achievements were experienced by everyone, including:
You can feel the energy and spirit of adventure when you speak to Gerrit and Margriet. They are from Holland and have been touring South Africa. Just look at the photos and you can see that this couple love life and adventure.
Misty is the Major Adventure’s golden Labrador. She is only five years old, but loved by all our Sani Pass tourists and visitors.
Ted and Elsabe Jasrzebski contacted Gardi Major today for a trip up Sani Pass. This was the third time that they have come to Underberg to make take the 4×4 drive up the pass. The first visit was washed out by rain, and the second – by snow. But Ted and Elsabe persevered, and finally went up the pass today.
South African tour guides join Gardi Major after two years of lockdown and no business, to smile again with hope and joy.
What a pleasure it was to meet this family this morning. We had a long chat and when I mentioned that its not often that we see families travelling together from abroad, they said that many other South Africans said the same. With the cost of travel, I suppose its easier for Europeans travelling to developing countries like ours – where their currency multiplies – buying them incredible value.
The Belgiums are a fascinating people. The Kingdom of Belgium is a federal monarchy in Europe. Due to its diverse communities, Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. The two main communities in Belgium are the Dutch-speaking Flemish community and the French-speaking Walloon community.
Pre-COVID, South Africa enjoyed on average 162 thousand inbound travellers (excluding Africa) in the month of May each year – which was switched off and lost for two years – shattering the tourism industry around the world.
An excited couple from Holland didn’t hesitate to jump on board our 10 seater land cruiser, in preparation for the trip up Sani Pass – where a fascinating 2 hour drive on the winding gravel road lay ahead of them.
The calling of this Ultra-Trail Drakensberg to the super humans of this world was a sight to behold. Nerves busting and anxiety levels flipping, participants experienced the awkward terrain of the Southern Drakensberg on foot, some running round the clock for 43 hours! We are proud of each and every runner that started this race. Congratulations too all.
My first impressions of Lesotho were brown, a lot of brown, sprinkled with little specks of bright colours, like candy coated buttons on a caramel cake.
“The San believe that rain is caused by an animal that flies across the sky, which when captured, is brought to the land requiring rain, it is then cut so that its blood can “rain” over the land. Kaggen, the mantis, it is said threw up into the air the moon which was his shoe. He also had a pet eland, his wife was a dassie (rock rabbit) and an adopted daughter was a porcupine” (it was believed that the stars were shining porcupines dotted in the sky). http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/rock-art
Water poured down the Sani Pass after heavy rains on Saturday night. As I drove with up the Pass with Charles Major from Major Adventures, waterfalls sprayed from the side of cliffs and formed silver lines running down the sides of the mountains.
“On a good day you can see until tomorrow” is how views from the edge of the Sani Pass have been described.
In October 1998 Charles & Gardi Major opened their doors and started Major Adventures in Underberg.
