Mohalenyane Phakela
THE biggest braai festival in the country is set to be held against the backdrop of the breath-taking Maletsunyane Falls in Semonkong on Saturday.
The festival is a free event open to people from all walks of life who will be expected to bring their own meat, braai stands and beverages with the twin aims of the event being to promote domestic tourism and create useful networks.
Situated approximately 115km from Maseru, the Maletsunyane Falls are part of the Maletsunyane River which flows through Semonkong (place of smoke). The Falls are among the country’s premier tourism attractions with a height of 192 metres.
In 2005, the Falls were certified by the Guinness World Records as the longest commercially operated single-drop abseil in the world.
One of the event organisers, Tichere Pule, said they were
“aligning ourselves with the tourism board’s (Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation) Know Your Country First campaign aimed at promoting domestic tourism”.
“We also wish to create an environment where people and companies can network as they will be coming from different backgrounds, hence the event is free and people just need to bring the things they will need like meat, braai stands and drinks of their choice,” Pule said.
“This is the first time we are hosting an event of this nature and we wish to make it annual.
“We will also promote other local destinations at different times of the year, such the Mokhotlong areas during the snow season.”
He said in addition to the fun, they would also educate people about the history of Semonkong and how to maintain tourism sites.
“We will have various activities as part of touring Semonkong and these will be facilitated by the local community as a means of empowering them.
“Drinking and driving is one of the bad habits that kill the fun so we will be having discussions on that issue. We encourage people to travel in groups so that they can hire transport to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol,” he said.