Why Apple invented ‘pano’

A visit to Sani Pass – what more magical soul food is there?  And to top it all off, I have an iPhone that takes panoramic or ‘pano’ shots. The only way to even try to capture the breathtaking magnificence of the road leading up to the mountain kingdom. The route up Sani Pass starts at 1544m and climbs 1332 vertical metres to an altitude of 2876 m at the Lesotho boarder post.

Mountain Passes of South Africa https://mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/kwazulu-natal/item/410-sani-pass.html has some interesting information and a superb video of the pass and is well worth a visit.

Sani Pass ascends the escarpment of the Drakensberg range of mountains. Dramatic outpourings of lava spread across much of Gondwana about 180 million years ago heralding the start of Gondwana breakup. Remnants of these once extensive lavas now form the Lesotho highlands and Lebombo mountains.

At every twist and turn in the road the water erosion, both ancient and modern, is evident and the never ending roadworks on the South African side attest to the weather extremes the area experiences. In contrast, the Lesotho side of the boarder has a state of the art tarred road with expertly designed water runoffs into the deep river valley

Sheep, goats, Basotho ponies and the odd group of cattle climb the steep mountain sides with ease and their blanket wrapped herders stride effortlessly in their white gumboots with red soles.  Low stone houses dot the mountains and are so well camoflaged that only the geometric sheep pens give their positions away.  A wizened and weather ravaged man approaced our vehicle with such delight evident on his face as he babbled endlessly trying to convey his willingness to adopt our dog.  She took one look at him and moved to the other side of the car gazing off in the opposite direction with disdain

a short YouTube clip of our adventure can be found here – https://youtu.be/_6Eq_4yBYsM

The Ouhout trees (Leucosidea sericea) line the road on the way out and their distinctive bark glows in the afternoon sun.