The Namahadi Pass – historical gateway to the Drakensberg and Maloti mountains

This study covers the social, infrastructural and political history of Namahadi Pass, which is situated in the northern Drakensberg close to the QwaQwa area. As such, it covers a number of historical eras, including the precolonial, colonial, Apartheid, post-colonial, and post-Apartheid eras. The pass straddles the border between two independent states, Lesotho and South Africa, although the former QwaQwa homeland status of the South African territory cannot be discounted. The literature review covers the social, infrastructural and political influences that affected the pass. Methodology comprised a historiographical narrative of the social and political history of the pass, which was then analysed for themes. Secondary sources such as pertinent texts as well as primary sources such as photographs, maps and Google Earth were all utilised for the narrative. From the colonial era heyday, which coincided with the operation of the private Rydal Mount hostelry, the pass now sees dramatically lower mountain tourist usage. This was also significantly influenced by the shift in mountain tourist infrastructure to the chain ladders near the Sentinel. The construction of the Fika Patso dam in 1986 had a massive effect on the pass, especially in terms of route and usage. Tensions, sometimes violent, between Lesotho and South Africa have, in addition, affected the pass, chiefly in terms of mountain tourism but also in the movement of borderland people. It is the infrastructural change (including the tourist infrastructure shift towards the Sentinel and the Fika Patso dam) that has transformed the pass into a relative backwater, although the establishment of a research station at the summit holds some promise in breathing new life into the pass.