The quad bike website at Quad24 recently added new pictures of an area called Jockstrap pass and the name left me bemused. I immediately enquired as to the location and origin of this name.
Jockstrap Pass, situated in the Kingdom of Lesotho, has a Sosotho name “Rapaleboya” and is a pass of approximately 9 kilometres in length. From Ramabanta this pass circles in a route of approximately 70 Km of which the last 20 kilometres is part of the “highway” from Roma to Ramabantha. . The Makhaleng River is visible all along the way and is crossed at regular intervals by low water cement bridges.
But why the peculiar name “Jockstrap Pass”? It is known that cattle often slip and fall down the steep cliffs. When locals arrive at the carcases of these animals they only find the skins from which strips of leather are cut and used as clothing – and more specific- leather jockstraps!
This Blog has in recent months written about the pleasures of safe quad biking across Lesotho and also focused on the need for safe driving. Jockstrap Pass is perhaps one of the best kept secrets in Southern Africa - and a place best visited on 4×4’s and quad bikes.
The website Quad24 allows us all to view this area by visiting the photos on the section “Jockstrap Pass”
By: Arrive Alive
