Deadliest Roads | Lesotho: The Snow Kingdom | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] tv [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] lesotho is a forgotten kingdom a tiny piece of land on the world map dwarfed by the surrounding giant which is south africa [Music] this tiny african country is quite exceptional every winter it is covered in snow it even has a ski slope it has an abundance of water which it supplies to south africa a country which desperately lacks it such wealth however cannot be found within this magnificent country's infrastructure the suttons ask only one thing of their king to modernize their country [Applause] [Music] is foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] in lesotho the roads are so dangerous that bush taxis driven in remote and rural areas are always driven by men [Music] female taxi drivers are confined to the towns and cities however these two jovial rebels have decided to buck the trend alice and febelina are off to scour the country's tracks in search of new customers they've spent all their savings on our final service for their minibus by 100 in town they have a lot of competition in rural areas on the other hand taxis are rare alice and femilina are hoping to double their income but their friend william doesn't like the thought of them driving the roads on their own foreign [Music] [Music] caution is the only thing that can protect them aside from their family's prayers [Music] [Music] the young women hit the road with dreams of big money at the forefront of their minds but they have forgotten one thing unlike in town road signs here are rare driving a bush taxi is no mean feat and alice and febelina's problems are only just beginning working in town now seems all too simple is [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] between taking on the descent herself or letting her friend take the wheel alice has quickly made her choice [Applause] [Music] though the outside temperature may be no more than 10 degrees the old korean taxi suddenly feels like a pressure cooker [Music] foreign [Applause] hey [Applause] [Music] and they still haven't found any customers to transport alice and femilina haven't taken into account one important factor in lesotho many people travel through the country on horseback it's the only form of transport which allows access to villages not served by the tracks [Music] this horde of riders aren't just out for a stroll they're here to keep the peace [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] remarquetsa and his men have been hired by the police to maintain law and order they are referred to as the wrath of the lion the militia holds all rights to enforce the law or in any case it exercises them and they have no mercy with a certain type of thief [Music] uh [Music] is the only way of warding off cattle thieves but there's a downside to the fear the militia instills the lesothos don't like them very much foreign [Music] on his horse surrounded by his men ramaketsa is all powerful but in a few days time he will find himself behind the wheel on one of the most dangerous roads in the country and it's there he will have to face his fears in this country which lacks so much resourcefulness remains the key for the inhabitants of the sierra never too careful nelson has made his fuel tank flap into a small safe nelson is a travelling gas station attendant [Music] [Applause] he buys the precious liquid in cities to resell it to the highest bidder [Music] there are neither buses nor any public transport on these mountain roads so there's an unspoken rule amongst drivers don't leave anyone at the side of the road they may be their last hope of transportation [Music] future the road is long and difficult so nelson keeps his spirits up with the help of substances which are very dangerous for drivers these seats must be taken out [Music] aside from a penalty which is unlikely in this remote area smoking weed at the wheel can have dramatic consequences particularly when driving on the edge of ravines but nelson seems blissfully unaware [Music] i just focus on my castle [Music] it does seem however that this forbidden indulgence has taken its toll on the state of nelson's car and apparently his boss is none the wiser as to why the next incident will surely cost him his job as a driver and maybe more [Music] liters and liters of water for the engine but still no customers for our two bush taxi drivers [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign finally a customer and 16 lotis in their pocket that's around one euro [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] my [Applause] the difficult roads aren't all bad as the time taken to negotiate them brings along another customer daddy [Music] as women who drive bush taxis in lesotho are few and far between they tend to command people's respect [Applause] in a few kilometers time this group of travelers will quickly change their minds [Music] [Music] but this descent may quickly bring the mood down the track is incredibly slippery and the precipice dizzying this young woman who's used to driving in towns is struggling to control her old taxi and she has a unique way of reassuring her passengers yes foreign foreign [Applause] foreign foreign [Applause] [Applause] huh [Applause] foreign [Applause] with the worst of the panic over alice and fevelina find their passengers again who are shocked to see them arrive in one piece [Applause] [Music] with all the day's excitement they've worked up a hunger they've pocketed five euros which means they can treat themselves [Music] foreign [Music] but meat can be a rare treat as alice and femilina earn an average of around 1 000 euros a year nelson the travelling gas station attendant has barely moved on his journey to deliver gas to the mountain villages [Music] he's been driving without a break for six hours and he's only traveled 40 kilometers he's taken the tracks situated deep down inside the canyons which are particularly stony and uneven nelson is 20 kilometers away from the village it doesn't sound like much but it's a long way when it's travelled at night the dangers are plentiful [Music] rather than take on wild animals and thieves nelson and his two lucky passengers opt to camp out for the night but not just anywhere [Music] [Applause] the mountains of lesotho are riddled with caves some are a bit like time machines which harbor the oldest rock paintings in the world [Music] did [Music] [Music] it's near freezing and not much warmer by the fireside [Music] as for alice and femalina they've now warmed up [Music] today's jackpot means they can let their hair down [Music] the next morning last night's party is starting to take its toll but it certainly hasn't dampened their spirits [Music] [Music] foreign the young women are heading to the valley of the horses today their main aim is not to find customers but to attend an important event for alice foreign [Music] horse races aren't fought out on a race track but on the mountain plateaus of lesotho here the riders are considered to be heroes every week they trek long distances to line up on the start line [Music] oh alice's cousin entie is pulling his whole fortune behind him you know [Applause] foreign [Music] [Music] but things aren't about to go as smoothly as entirely might hope with no posters and no advertising to promote it talk of the race has spread from village to village carried on the wind and by travellers [Music] [Applause] [Music] as if by magic 300 people have gathered on this small piece of land each will gamble their meager savings in the hope of improving their lots [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] lines up at the starting line cheered on by alice and fabalino foreign [Music] the race is underway [Music] but suddenly just as he's about to take the lead entire horse swerves off course [Applause] makes a spectacular comeback but crosses the line in second place [Music] anti would win it hands down alongside his horse the young man not only takes part in races but also does life-saving work [Music] not all riders are able to maintain their speed when they swap the reins for the wheel like remarquetza head of the militiamen on his horse he is feared across the whole mountain but when he swaps his armor for a taxi he becomes a man like any other one with flaws and fears especially on this road which he's taking on for the first time ramaketsa has collected people from his village in south africa the militia man is not scared of a punch-up with his enemies but the further he gets down this track the more scared he becomes [Music] foreign the track connects south africa to lesotho it's about 40 kilometers of treacherous zigzags bordered on all sides by ravines [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign the proud militia man has admitted defeat for him pursuing thieves is much easier than driving on this deadly road foreign [Applause] [Music] do [Applause] [Music] wow [Music] the climb is never ending the mountain pass peaks at 3000 metres above sea level [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this driver has had a lucky escape now he just needs to get his car out of the ditch but that's a challenge in itself good [Music] he was right to relinquish control of the wheel most lesothons want their little country to become a part of south africa the african giant is a modern country which is constantly developing unlike their kingdom [Music] um [Applause] riches lie in the form of its snow it's a striking image and quite exceptional for africa it's thanks to this that lesotho is referred to as a water tower it's the highest country in africa and its lowest point is found at 1300 metres above sea level [Music] winter is in full force in the month of august during this time temperatures drop below freezing around -10 degrees [Music] [Applause] foreign [Applause] and seeing as man has learned to tame the snow lesotho and south africa are home to the only ski slopes in this part of the continent [Music] amongst the avid skiers are few lesotans and lots of south africans skiing is not an affordable hobby for the majority of lesotho alice and femilina have never seen skiers in their lives [Music] foreign foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign a can of soda and a head full of dreams are all alice and femina can enjoy at this ski resort reserved for south africa's golden youth while waiting for the country to develop its inhabitants must look out for each other in the villages everyone chips in and helps in whatever way they can [Music] when he's not competing in horse races entei transforms into a paramedic this elderly woman has called for his help [Music] foreign [Music] in a lot of pain the elderly lady will have to endure a day on horseback to reach the hospital [Music] [Music] no [Music] [Music] there is a saying in lesotho sitting down and doing nothing won't get the thorn out of your side they fight every day just to try and make their life a little bit easier [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,209,195

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys Lesotho, dicing with death Lesotho, dangerous Lesotho, most dangerous roads Lesotho, dangerous roads Lesotho, deadliest roads Lesotho, Lesotho

Id: suy_TH9iIQE

Length: 49min 9sec (2949 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 21 2022