Qiloane Falls is located along the Makhaleng River in Setibing area, which is close to the popular Molimo Nthuse Pass, which means “God Help Me Pass” in English (due to the scary nature of the precipice before the road was tarred).

It takes about 2 hours to walk from the Basotho Pony Trekking base to Qiloane Falls. 

Recently, 16 lady hikers participated in a pilgrimage to Qiloane Falls. They included 3 representatives from Spiral Travels, the local
tour operator responsible for organising this hiking event which was exclusivefor ladies only, as a rehearsal for the SheHikes event to be held next month.

The team arrived at Basotho Pony Trekking at around 7.30a.m, under the capable leadership of the Spiral Travels team. None of the ladies, except the organisers, had been on this route before though some of the ladies were seasoned hikers who have participated in the famous annual Moshoeshoe Walk, which takes 3 days covering 116km.

Others were even hiking for the first time. The common factor for both the novice hikers and the avid hikers was a desire to reach the Qiloane Falls.

The trip started with introductions and the organisers
emphasised the need for participants to network as it was one of the objectives
of the SheHikes.

Around 8.30 a.m. the team paused for ‘breakfast on the go’
for they had left Maseru around 6.20 a.m before any breakfast.

During the hike, one could see isolated cattle posts from
afar, with grazing animals here and there. Interestingly, we didn’t meet any of
the herders along the way, though we could see some from afar.

There were very few houses in this beautiful valley, though
we didn’t come close to the houses. It was relatively a quiet hike, without any
interaction with the locals, and the team could admire nature with limited
distractions.

In some instances, we had to forge the route through the
Cheche trees, where one had to walk leaning forward.

It was a smooth trip until it was time to cross the
Makhaleng River. Some team members were not comfortable to cross the river
until after coaching and coaxing when all were able to cross.

It was touching to see friends comforting one another, as
some were crying and visibly shaken from this experience. One of the leads,
Malipolelo Theko, fondly known as ‘Mali showed bravery and leadership, in
helping others to cross the river.

When asked where she got the courage to help others to cross,
this is what she had to say:  “When I was
in high school, we were guided on how to cross a river. After all, the water
level was not too high, as it didn’t even reach the knees”.

But for Nthatisi Sello, who was crossing a river for the
first time in her life, the river level didn’t seem shallow at all. Later on
when she was relaxed, she said she was glad that through this hiking experience
she had conquered her fear of crossing rivers.

’Mali said as a regular hiker and as one of the leads, her
role is to make sure that everyone gets as comfortable as possible during the
hike. She was therefore keen to help fellow hikers by all means and to make it
so enjoyable that they would join other hiking activities in future because of
the support they got from the team.

She said this was the fourth time she has been to Qiloane
Falls, and she is so confident about the route that they didn’t need a local
guide.

She says she keeps coming back, and each trips always feels
like a new experience.

After crossing the Makhaleng river, the team walked for
another long stretch, and some kept asking the leads: Are we there yet?

The simple answer was “not very far now, keep going”.
Eventually, we came across one pass (Lekhalong), and ’Mali in her jovial spirits,
was taking pictures of each person who came through the pass, and kept saying
“This is a wow picture”.

Little did I know that the “wow picture” meant spectacular
Qiloane Falls was in view.

Again this was one of the spots where people spent time
taking pictures, as the saying goes a picture says a thousand words.

Upon reaching the falls, the ladies rested for a while, enjoying
some snacks while some music was playing in the background before they changed
into their swim wear and shorts. Music kept playing in the background.

It was another moment of laughter and pictures as people
posed for picture in the river, near the fall and basking in the sun on the
letlapa. The sound of splashing water and the mist coming from the fall all
made it feel like a holiday season.

Matselane Kulehile, said it was a fulfilling trip, when she
walked in nature without any distractions of vehicles or anything in a
refreshing breeze.

Mojabeng Hlao had this to say: “I liked the walking, socialising
and meeting new people. This was also my first time coming to Qiloane and it
was amazing to notice the support, care and love shown for each other during
the moment of river crossing. This is different from what we witness on social
media platforms where women say negative things to other women.”

“This is not your everyday kind of adventure,” said Mpinane Qhobela
a regular gym goer.

Seipati Mahao applauded the organisers for understanding
that they were first-time hikers so they had to meander up the hill, instead of
going straight up, which made it easier to get to the top.

They made it comfortable for all, she added. Her only
disappointment was that the water in the river was not very clean so she
couldn’t swim.

Matšolo Mathibeli said: “I am happy we came when its end of
summer, before it gets cold so we were able to wear swimming suits. What makes
it more exciting is that it is women only”.

After about an hour, the team changed into their hiking
attire, and re-traced their steps back to the Basotho Pony Tracking base. We
crossed the river at a different spot which was relatively easier now to cross
for ‘the first timers’ as it was now a repeat.

The trip back was still exhaustive as the sun was up and the
energy levels were low. It is worth noting that in this route, there are no
natural spring wells, therefore hikers need come prepared with enough water
bottles for the trip.

At about 2.30 p.m. we were back at Basotho Pony Tracking
where we had late lunch before heading back to Maseru.

It was a blessing that the rain started pouring only after
we had reached the bus otherwise, it would have been difficult to cross the
river on our way back. The return trip is about 12 km and the walking time was
about 1 hour 55 minutes one way, with regular stops in between.

The trip to Qiloane Falls was worth the sweat and the
painful muscles.

Some pointers on
improving the Qiloane Falls experience: 

The resting place for the visitors at the Falls is a bit
neglected. The grass thatched shelters could do with a revamp. The responsible
authorities could partner with the locals to maintain the place by keeping it
clean.

The locals could also serve as sources of information for
visitors to learn interesting historic facts about the place, and ideally they
could be based at the Basotho Pony Trekking station to welcome visitors.

Paballo Thaole and Khotsofalang Jobo, from Spiral Travels
are the brains behind SheHikes which they describe as a female hiking
initiative, that takes place in April and October covering the heritage route
along Ha Baroana-Thaba Bosiu, Malimong and Kome.

They wanted to start something exclusive for the women as
part of empowering them to lead healthy lifestyles mentally and physically.

SheHikes is exclusive for women after they realised that
sometimes women are afraid to hike with men since some women think men are
faster paced.

SheHikes also aims at creating a supportive environment of
women only, to encourage women to engage and network.