How to get from Johannesburg to Malealea Lodge by public transport

1. You should never stay immediately next to the Noord Taxi Rank or Hillbrow, as the hotels right
beside the rank are generally hourly-rate lodges and the immediate streets are unsafe for walking in
the dark. Instead, stay in Rosebank or Sandton and use an Uber. This is the safest, most stress-free
option. You stay in a highly secure, vibrant area with dozens of excellent hotels. I stayed at the
Hyatt House Johannesburg Rosebank

2. Wake up at 5am and book an Uber or Bolt ride directly from the hotel to the taxi rank. Set your
drop-off location explicitly to this precise location: “Lesotho Taxi Rank, 78 Sophie de Bruyn Street”.
It is part of the MTN Noord Taxi Rank but you should avoid the massive, chaotic MTN Noord Rank
entirely because it will be pitch black at 5:30am it is not a safe place to wander around. Wait inside
your Uber until the driver pulls up in the yard. Walk directly from the car into the gated rank area.
The Uber ride takes about 15–20 minutes and cost R60

3. a. Wait inside the yard for your shared taxi to Maseru to fill up. Taxis to Bloemfontein and Welkom
also depart from here. Taxis only leave when completely full (15 passengers). At 5am, you are
aiming for the very first morning rush of cross-border commuters. If you miss the first one, you have
to wait for the next empty vehicle to pull up and start loading from scratch. Short Wait: 30 minutes
to 2 hours. My vehicle left at 8:30am.
b. The journey is about 450km, takes 5 – 6 hours with one stop mid-way, and cost R390 plus R20
for luggage.

4. The shared taxi drops you at Maseru Bridge border control. We arrived at 2pm, got our passports
stamped to exit South Africa, walked across the bridge, and then got our passports stamped to enter
Lesotho.

5. a. Directly outside the Lesotho customs gate, you will see local shared sedan cabs, which are locally
known as "4+1" taxis (identifiable by a yellow stripe painted down the middle of the vehicle). These
will take you to where the bus departs for Malealea Lodge (near Sefika Taxi Rank). They cost R15-
R30 per seat (they take 4 people), or you can pay extra to have the whole taxi to yourself. The drive
from the border takes 5 – 10 minutes.
b. Most taxis and buses leave from the Sefika Taxi Rank (also known simply as the main Maseru
Taxi Rank, downtown near Pitso Road).
c. However, the bus for Malealea Lodge does not leave from here, but from a point 5 – 10 minutes
walk away, at this precise location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dcFCTXMDRvYikiGP6 ***
6. a. The bus leaves at 3pm, whether or not it’s full. It’s about 80km to Malealea Lodge, takes 3 hours
and costs R100. The last 7km takes an hour as it’s an extremely rough road. It feels like party time,
as they play extremely loud music!
b. Alternatively change in Motskuoa. At the taxi rank, ask for a minibus heading in the direction of
Mafeteng or Quthing. Take the first avasilable minibus going south. Get off at Motsekuoa (approx.
50 km south of Maseru). Wait here for a Malealea minibus which will drop you right in front of the
lodge gates.
Contact Bob, the Malealea Lodge Manager, on +266 5883 9646 for assistance. Bob can get in touch with
the direct minibus to Malealea from Maseru