First of all, I want to say: it is possible to go to Lesotho by public transport, even the beautiful Sani Pass crossing. You do not need to rent a fancy four-wheel-drive vehicle to climb up the way to the mountain kingdom. Here is how I did the Sani Pass with public transport: I started out in Pietermaritzburg where I asked around for the taxi rank to Underberg. A taxi driver drove me to the right taxi rank (i.e. minibus station) and I found the minibus going to Underberg. I sat down, wrote my name on the registration sheet and paid the 130 rand fee (~6,8€), had some street food – taxi ranks are great places for that – and waited until the minibus was full. As soon as it was full, we left towards Underberg. In Underberg, I jumped on the last minibus going to Lesotho around 16.00. It was 180 rand (~9,5€). In my experience, the drivers and/or conductors will help you find the right connection if you tell them where you want to ultimately end up. The minibus is supposed to have four-wheel-drive. It looked like all the others to me, but I admittedly don’t know anything about cars. We made it up without any problems in any case. You get the exit stamp at the South African border post and then climb up one of the most scenic border crossings in the minibus. We had very good conditions, no rain, snow, or fog, just the sun setting behind the mountain range. The Lesotho border post is up on the plateau and the border officials were incredibly friendly, asking me to connect with them on Facebook and one even offered me a ride the following day to go to the next town.
Getting around Lesotho by public transport
It’s very easy to travel by public transport in Lesotho. It is not necessarily comfortable as they squeeze in as many people as can possibly fit, but it’s really easy and cheap. I would advise you to take a seat towards the front if at all possible and carry earplugs with you. I really needed them in Lesotho. The minibus drivers blasted their traditional music (containing a lot of whistling) at a volume that made my eardrums suffer a lot. But on the bright side of things, I got to listen to hours and hours of their music and I met some very nice people as well. To take a minibus, either go to a minibus/taxi rank and ask for the one that goes in your direction or just flag one down on the side of the road. The ones honking at you will usually still have space and take you. However, you will most probably not get a seat as they leave only when completely full, so I’d recommend going to the minibus rank.
The prices for transportation are fixed in Lesotho. You’ll find sheets of paper with the prices between all towns in the minibuses, but you can also just ask the driver, conductor or a fellow passenger. In my experience, they charge you the right price even if you’re white and clearly a tourist with a big backpack. To give you an idea of the costs, going from Mokhotlong to Bhuta Bhute was 170 lotsi (8,9€), or Hlotse to Pitseng was 27 lotsi (1,4€). For longer distances, there are registration sheets like in South Africa and you usually need to pay upfront. For short distances, there is no registration sheet and the minibus drivers will stuff the minibus with a lot more people than seats for a maximum profit. In this case, you just hand the fee towards the front like all the others do. Your change will then be passed back to you. You can also ask for it when getting off the minibus and the conductor will give it to you. The minibus drivers are actually required to have a registration book for all passengers, so when the police ask for it, the driver will most likely bribe their way through the police checkpoint if they don’t have it.