Mohale's Hoek & Quthing Dinosaur And Caves Visit Tour

Maseru- Mohale’s Hoek- Quthing

After breakfast, we get in our vehicle and head to Quthing via Mohale’s Hoek where we will make a stopover to visit the famous Motlejoa Caves and have a view of the town. The road will then continue along the Mt Moorosi road to Quthing, overlooking magnificent sandstone gorges. This is a full day’s drive during which you can see dinosaur footprints and Ellenberger’s cave house.

Mohale's Hoek had first been inhabited by the San who were found there by the Baphuthi around 1795. The Baphuthi settled in Kubake, the small mountain fortress shaped like a castle, near the present Likuena High School while some settled at Thaba-Ts'oeu. Chief Moorosi of the Baphuthi is said to have been there during the journey to this new home.

They later settled below the foothills of Thaba-Linoha, north of the present Bethesda mission, and the area was called Maphutseng, which simply means the plural of a certain variety of pumpkin. In singular it is Lephuts'e. This was found in plenty on the fertile bank of the Maphuts'eng River. Some Baphuthi inhabited the area bordering Senqu River, Morifi, and across the river into what is now Quthing. After 1824, the area was inhabited by Mohale, the younger brother of Moshoeshoe around the 1830s.

On the expansion of Moshoeshoe's kingdom into southern Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe sent his brother Mohale to administer the area where the Baphuthi and Basotho enjoyed a rather fragile friendship. After living for a while at Lifateng, Mohale established a substantial village at the place now known as Old Hoek (the present-day Ha Ts'epo village) a few kilometers north of the present town. This village was destroyed in 1867 during the Seqiti War and was subsequently abandoned.

In the year after the proclamation that made Lesotho British territory, an assistant commissioner was appointed to administer what was then called Cornet Spruit District - after the Makhaleng River. This would make Mohale's Hoek the second oldest of all the district headquarters towns in Lesotho, except that the town was destroyed during the Gun War of 1880. Southwest of the town near St Patrick's Cathedral are the Motlejoeng caves which were used by the celebrated cannibal, Motlejoa during the Lifaqane. The town moved from Old Hoek to the present location because of a certain businessman of English descent PB Jandrell.

Highlights of the Tour:

Ellenberger’s cave house

Dinosaur Footprints

Inclusive in the Tour:

Transport

Tour Guide

Lunch

Entrance Fees

Exclusive in the Tour:

Items of personal use

Hotel expenses

Breakfast & Dinner