Pony Trekking in Lesotho

Traffic in Lesotho

Comment On This Article

Add to My Favorites

Malealea Lodge, Lesotho
Does pony trekking in Lesotho sound like a standard trip? It must, because every tour operator, travel agent, and guide book writer outside the US has already been through here, judging from the zillions of business cards that cover the walls in the Malealea Lodge bar. They've even plastered up some pony-trekking travel articles so we travel writers wouldn't have to start from scratch.

Apparently, Pony Trekking in Lesotho is world renown. I say this because one of the articles began "Sure everyone's heard of Pony Trekking in Lesotho..." Another piece went on for paragraphs about how brave the author was to embark on this trip, then he outlined "how easy it is" for readers to arrange such a trip themselves. A third writer took the descriptive route and explained the color of every rock his pony had stepped on.

I hitchhiked to Malealea with a group of Germans in a mini-van and upon arriving we made plans with Mick, the owner, for our own overnight pony trek for about $100 each. We bought our food at the only store. (I want to say "the only store in town" but the store was the town.) I also purchased a Lesotho pony-riding hat for $3 right off the head of the hat maker, complete with a year's worth of sweat stain. The main characteristic of this hat, other than its smell, was that it had a small knob on the top which made the head of whoever wore it look like a kitchen pot.