There is nothing in this world that one's body and soul cannot adapt given a little time, a wise man once wrote. But this wise guy clearly spent too much time in his study and never dared to tackle the Letele Pass in Lesotho.
The pass is only 6 km long, and it's essentially simply a general direction in which man, beast and vehicle navigate through the gorge and then aim uphill. In the olden days, the pass apparently led to the Letele gold mine, and even at its best, it was rough going. Since then, the mine has built a new gravel road on the other side of the mountain, and even a Corolla can make it up that pass.
Thanks to this new mine road, the old mountain pass was quickly forgotten and not maintained. Rain has washed away pieces of the road that once bypassed the worst rocky outcrops. Nowadays, you have a choice between big rocks, bigger rocks and enormous rocks.
The 4×4 vehicles arrive at a corrugated iron shack. This dwelling serves as an overnight accommodation for locals and marks the official starting point of the pass, just over 2 km above sea level.
But first, Henk de Klerk needs to give his Frankenjero – a Mitsubishi Pajero chassis and 2,8 ℓ engine with a Willys Jeep cabin – some love. Henk owns a Mitsubishi Pajero workshop, hence the Pajero's internals.
The Frankenjero
