The Kingdom in the Sky - Lesotho

[Viking01]

Lesotho, officially The Kingdom of Lesotho is sometimes called “The Kingdom in the Sky”. It is completely surrounded by another state (South Africa), which is otherwise only the case with San Marino and Vatican City. The capital city is Maseru. The government is a parliamentary monarchy. The country has not been part of the United Kingdom since 1966 but is still linked to it through the Commonwealth. The western part of Lesotho lies on a plateau called the Highveld (also called the Lowlands due to its relative position within the country). It is the main settlement area of the country and consists largely of sandstone. The Lowveld lies between 1400 and 1700 meters above sea level. The landscape is characterized by table mountains and river valleys. The capital, Maseru, is located here. The eastern plateaus and mountains (Highlands), on the other hand, are sometimes over 2000 meters high and consist of basalt formed by volcanic eruptions about 170 to 150 million years ago. The Highlands are characterized by deep river valleys and numerous mountains and ranges. The Drakensberg Mountains (called Maloti in Lesotho) run through the country in an almost crescent shape, beginning in the southwest and ending in the north. The highest mountain in the country and all of southern Africa is Thabana Ntlenyana at 3482 meters. The lowest point of the country is at the confluence of the Oranje (called Senqu in Lesotho) and Makhaleng Rivers at about 1390 meters above sea level. Lesotho's altitude is a unique geographical feature: it is the only independent country in the world where the entire national territory lies above 1000 meters, with an additional 80% of the area lying above 1800 meters. Lesotho is considered a lower-middle-income country with significant socioeconomic challenges. Almost half of its population is below the poverty line, and the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is the second-highest in the world. However, it also targets a high rate of universal primary education and has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa (81% as of 2021).

We will need two flights to explore this country.

For the first flight, we depart from Maseru (FXMM) and head east to Katse (FXKA). Close by is the Katse Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Malibamat'so River in Lesotho, which is Africa's second-largest double-curvature arch dam after the Tekezé Dam in Ethiopia. Located just below the confluence of the Bokong River, which forms the western arm of the Katse reservoir, the dam is part of a larger project that will eventually include five large dams in remote rural areas. The potential of the project was identified in 1953 as a possible means to supplement the water supply of South Africa's industrial heartland in the Witwatersrand. The World Bank arranged a treaty between the governments of South Africa and Lesotho, allowing the project to proceed. The dam is not in the simulator. We continue north along the lake and then head east to land at Lentsen (FYLT). Heading southeast we reach Mokhotlong (FXMK).

We pass by Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest point in southern Africa, and turn west to reach Sehonghong (FXSH). Overflying a couple of small landing strips we reach Qacha’s Neck (FXQN). The town is home to Lesotho's first and only Snake Park, which is conveniently situated at the foot of the historic Letloepe hill/rock formation. We turn northeast and land at Nkaus (FXNK) and 20 miles further at Matekane (FXME). The airstrip is often used by charity organizations and doctors to access remote villages in the area and is known as one of the world's scariest runways. Just about 8 miles south of Matekane we land at Nohana (FXNH).

We now turn west again and land at Mohale’s Hoek (FXMH). In the year after the proclamation that made Lesotho British territory (1869), an assistant commissioner was appointed to administer what was then called Cornet Spruit District - after the Makhaleng River. This would make Mohale's Hoek the second oldest of all the district headquarters towns in Lesotho, except that the town was destroyed during the Gun War of 1880. Southwest of the town near St Patrick's Cathedral are the Motlejoeng caves which were used by the celebrated cannibal, Motlejoa during the Lifaqane. The final leg gets us back to Maseru (FXMM). The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones". After the 1998 parliamentary elections in Lesotho led to suspicions of vote fraud and a military intervention by South Africa, much of the city was damaged by riots and pillaging and until almost 2008, the effects of the riots could still be seen within the city.

The flight plans are here. The flight has about 290 miles and 9 landings. We fly for about two hours and finish the flight the following Sunday. I will be in the Caribou, but the C208, the Twin Otter, or the turbo-charged Bonanza are suitable aircraft.

To see the Caribou in MSFS 2024 you may have to enable the airplane in the Marketplace (in your library). The autopilot mod for MSFS 2020 works also in 2024, some keyboard assignments for AP commands may be required.

Recommended scenery:

FXNH Nohana

FXMM Maseru

FXMK Mokhotlong

FXQN Qacha’s Neck

FXME Matekane

Matekane is made for MSFS 2024 but works well in MSFS 2020. The other sceneries are made for 2020 but work in 2024.

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for an 08:00 am local departure.

 

Multiplayer Particulars:

Date and time: Sunday, March 02, 2025. 1700 UTC

Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark and use DTP's Teamspeak Channel for communication.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here ). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

[MM]

A quick reminder. This Sunday begins Daylight Savings Time in North America. As per tradition, we shall maintain the time of departure on Sunday (as well as Wednesday and Saturday) the same as our Wintertime start in UTC time. Effectively, this means that our European members will continue on with the same local time start as in the Winter. North Americans, on the other hand, will start at the same UTC time meaning one hour later in our local time. (That is: Sunday 1300 EDT, 1200 CDT, 1100 MDT, 1000 PDT; and Wednesday/Saturday 1500 EDT, 1400 CDT, 1300 MDT, 1200 PDT.) We maintain this 3 weeks until Sunday March 30 when the Europeans go to Daylight Savings Time as well.