OngeluksNek Pass (Matatiele - Lesotho) EC Dirt

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JonW

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OngeluksNek Pass lies between the Eastern Cape town of Matatiele and Lesotho.

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The turn off to the pass is about 10km outside of Matatiele on the Mt Fletcher road. The road to the pass is dirt and it passes through the Ongeluks Nek Nature Reserve, which was officially opened in June 2009. The reserve forms part of the Maloti - Drakensberg Transfrontier Park and straddles South Africa's and Lesotho's borders.

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The history of the Pass is fascinating and goes all the way back to 1861 when Adam Kok 111 led the Griquas on their great trek from Philippolis in the Southern Free State all the way through Lesotho, across the Drakensberg, and into the Eastern Cape.

The trek involved 3 000 Griquas and their horses, 300 wagons, 20 000 head of cattle and 200 000 sheep. The trek took nearly 2 years before they finally reached their destination on Natal's southern border.

OngeluksNek is the pass where the Griquas descended down the Drakensberg  from Lesotho into the Eastern Cape. The pass reputedly got its name because one of Kok's party accidently shot himself there.

The area in the Eastern Cape where the Griquas settled became known as Griqualand East, and the headquarters that Adam Kok 111 set up still carries his name to this day, Kokstad.

The whole history of the Griquas is really interesting and their story reflects really badly on the British, the Afrikaner Boers and particularly on the Christian Missionaries operating in the area, who all conspired to disempower the once prosperous and fiercely independent Griqua people.

More information on the history of the Griquas can be found here: 

https://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/online%20books/role-missionaries/chapterIX.htm

Up until a year ago the pass was really neglected and in wet weather it was very difficult  to traverse, and was hardly used at all. So much so that when I rode up the pass a few years ago, the border guard  told me that I was the first person to come through the border in the last few months.

The authorities have obviously always had plans for the pass to be upgraded as the Border post is brand new and quite impressive.

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Recently the pass has been graded and a lot of money spent on maintaining it, making it a relatively easy ride. I would highly recommend this pass to anyone to ride, it is very remote and the scenery is spectacular.

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At the top of the pass you come across  Lake Letsie, a natural lake.

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After this the dirt road heads into southern Lesotho, into some of the most amazing countryside I have ever ridden.

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