Down the Sani Pass to Coffee Bay

Leaving Lesotho today after our brief stay. We wake up early enough to watch the sunrise and consider heading further into the country, but the roads are all rough mountain passes, and although that sounds incredibly fun, we've got a schedule to keep. So, we're heading down to the coast, to Coffee Bay, a popular surf spot.

The drive down the pass is challenging but fun in our little Jimny. Spare a thought, though, for the passengers of a little minibus who departed just in front of us. With minimal clearance, normal road tyres, and probable lack of 4x4, the vertiginous drops might seem just a little more scary. The conductor of the bus has to walk in front in order to move the bigger rocks out of the road to allow the vehicle to make a safe descent.

On route to Coffee Bay the GPS takes us completely the wrong way, and unfortunately we only see the hostel's recommendation to "turn off your GPS and follow our directions" after we get lost (and almost get involved in a two-car crash). On the road to Coffee Bay, we see a tragic number of dead dogs on the road, which, combined with the darkening of the skies, makes for a pretty grim drive for the coast.

We arrive just before dark though, and set up our tent. We grab a drink in the bar- I opt for a Durban Poison- named after a famous weed strain in the eponymous city. It is brewed with cannabis (which is newly legal in South Africa), and tastes faintly of sweet sweet Mary Jane. Doesn't get you high though.

Unfortunately, a gigantic rain storm that night shows us that the tent is totally not waterproof, and we end up getting soaked during the night. The rain wouldn't stop for another two days.Read more