Mokorotlo Cultural Ride beckoning
Discovering exotic Lesotho and her culture on two wheels
One of the great things about motorcycle riding is enjoying the fresh air while taking in scenic views. If you live in an urban area, it’s a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and clear your head. And if you live in a rural area, it’s a great way to take in the beauty of nature.
While taking in the scenic views, you also get to discover different routes that you might not have taken because you usually took the quickest route. By taking the longer but more scenic route, you can enjoy some fresh air and an awesome view.
This is what has prompted the Tumelo Maketekete Outdoor and Lifestyle Farms to organise a ride through awe-inspiring scenery of the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, also enjoying the local culture with the added thrill of living on the edge – in many cases, quite literally while riding.
This will be the first annual Mokorotlo Culture Ride Lesotho, and ’Makeresemese Letuka for PUBLIC EYE Life&Style (LS) engaged with the founder and organiser TUMELO MAKETEKETE (TM) for details about the event.
LS: Mokorotlo Cultural Ride – We have just got to know about this event. What is it all about and what made you come up with the idea. What has been your inspiration?
TM: To expose other nations to an authentic Basotho culture, Tumelo Maketekete Outdoor and Lifestyle Farms will host a Mokorotlo Cultural Ride in October. The ideal behind the Mokorotlo Cultural Ride is to showcase the Sesotho culture to the rest of the world, especially South Africa.
LS: Where is the ride going to take place and on which routes?
TM: The ride will start from Johannesburg to Lesotho, and in Lesotho it will be hosted at Qhanolla in Botha-Bothe, then on Saturday morning the ride will go to Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village.
LS: How long is the tour?
T.M: About 1 100km is the total estimated distance for three days.
LS: Is participation open to everyone, or is it confined to Lesotho or South African citizens?
TM: Participants can be riders from anywhere but must be 21-years-old and above, though it was initially meant for South Africans, but there is accommodation for any interested local rider as long as one owns a bike and all bikes which are above 500cc capacity engine are allowed. But no helmet, no ride.
LS: Any big names, local or foreign riders expected?
TM: At the moment, some of the well-known riders from Triumph Motorcycles SA are expected to join the ride once the negotiations are finalised.
All riders are expected to bring their own bikes, fuel, riding gear, passport, insurance documents and valid covid certificate for border crossing.
LS: Some of the activities expected?
TM: For those who have registered with the price, there will be accommodation and food, horse riding, visit to Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village, traditional home brewed beer, branded T-shirts, Mokorotlo and branded buffs, visit to the local chiefs and local tours.
Friday 28th will be the departure date from Johannesburg from a yet to be confirmed location, comfort stop, refuel in Heilbron then lunch and departure to Caledoonspoort border, then check in to the B&B, then horse riding to ’Muela Hydroelectric Dam, traditional dancers and praise songs in Tsime. The following day departure to Thaba-Bosiu, then last day departure to Johannesburg.
The inspiration behind this event was to offer the average rider something different, unique and authentic. Besides the fact that I pride myself in my culture, we need to keep displaying it time and again so that Basotho do not forget about it while other nations get to know us even better.
LS: In terms of sponsors, have you secured any, and who are you looking forward to partnering with?
TM: In terms of sponsorship, we would like a media partner like the Public Eye newspaper to cover the event from now until it happens, if the local TV can also assist it would be great. More sponsorship can be in the form of local companies buying a few spots and running competition for winners of those spots. There can be five spots.
Then we will also need T-shirts, buffs and mekorotlo. Tumelo Maketekete Outdoor and Lifestyle Farms is based in Randfontein South and they host monthly outdoor activities; they pride themselves in creating a safe environment for women especially, to take part in their activities, as most of these are male dominated.
LS: Are regular Roof of Africa Rally riders also allowed to take part?
TM: We did get hold of Motul Oil, being the organisers of Roof of Africa Rally to also sponsor, but we have not received any feedback yet.
