The story of the Sani Pass being tarred hovers between legend and myth. Maybe it's in the offing, but if so, it's a long way off. Torque is king, and sedans suffer here. Photo: Angus Begg 
A series of sandy twists and turns, switchbacks and birds for the twitcher’s checklist – that’s Lesotho’s Sani Pass in a nutshell. Bearded vultures with wedge-shaped tails, which the Germans delightfully named lammergeiers, pierce the space between peaks that stand as though they are on guard. The other side of a border post – to which raiding Basotho horse thieves pay little attention – reveals village life on the tundra, surrounded by stone kraals and wrapped in the country’s iconic blankets.
The Basotho cannot be separated from their ponies. They're in their DNA. (Photo: Angus Begg)
Basotho blankets are an everyday part of winter or summer in the Lesotho highlands. There is a different colour for each region of the country. (Photo: Angus Begg)
Angora goats provide the wool so important to Lesotho's exports. (Photo: Angus Begg)
A sunset with a view towards Hlotsi village. (Photo: Angus Begg)
Aloe polyphylla, valued for its perfect spiral, grows in the Drakensberg and Maluti mountains. (Photo: Angus Begg)
The Roof of Africa. (Photo: Angus Begg)
The story of the Sani Pass being tarred hovers between legend and myth. Maybe it's in the offing, but if so, it's a long way off. Torque is king, and sedans suffer here. (Photo: Angus Begg)