I WAS SIMPLY A PERSON ON A HORSE IN THE MOUNTAINS – IT WAS A DEEPLY MOVING EXPERIENCE THAT I RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE.
LOCAL TRAVEL
It felt slightly absurd to find myself standing outside the small town of Underberg in the Southern Drakensberg, being introduced to a medium-sized horse with a name I struggled to hear over the wind. A few minutes later, I would be riding into the mountains on one of Khotso Lodge & Horse Trails’ legendary sunset trails, hoping that both the horse and I were equally committed to making it back in one piece.
Reader, it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I WAS SIMPLY A PERSON ON A HORSE IN THE MOUNTAINS – IT WAS A DEEPLY MOVING EXPERIENCE THAT I RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE.
Khotso means“ peace” in Sesotho, and after visiting, the name made perfect sense. The lodge has become one of the best-known places for horse trails in the Southern Drakensberg area. The farm sits in a beautiful part of the landscape where the mountains start rising dramatically, and the horses that live here seem completely at home in their surroundings.
My horse, however, had her own ideas about how the ride should unfold. Every few steps she would pause to sample the grass or flowers along the path, clearly convinced that the mountains were simply a moving buffet prepared for her personal enjoyment. This slowed our progress slightly, as Madam seemed to require a snack roughly every 45 seconds. Our guide suggested I give the reins a gentle pull and keep her moving, explaining that she spends the entire day eating anyway. I nodded politely, but between you and me, I did not really have the heart to stop her. I felt like it was just the two of us on the trail, and I quietly decided that my horse could eat whatever she wanted.
By the time we reached the top, at around 1 721m above sea level according to my data obsessed self and my trusty Garmin Enduro watch, with Lesotho’ s jagged silhouette stretched across the horizon, I had completely surrendered to the adventure. I was simply a person on a horse in the mountains – it was a deeply moving experience that I recommend to everyone.
Our guide laid out refreshments and snacks, which felt wonderfully civilised for the top of a mountain. His horse, named David Bowie, was extremely aware that food had entered the chat while mine decided the moment called for a power nap. David Bowie was a very handsome creature with one blue eye and one brown eye giving him a cool, rockstar look. David Bowie mowed everything in sight. The apples vanished. The carrots followed. Efficiency was impressive. Out of curiosity I tried offering him a cucumber stick. He looked at it. He thought about it. He rejected it immediately. David Bowie, it turns out, is not a cucumber kind of horse.
And then the sky did something extraordinary.
I turned my head to the right and found a storm. A proper Southern Drakensberg thunderstorm
APRIL 2026 / INBOUND SA 71