I went to a country most people have never heard of to chase a fish most people have never seen.

Because, really, why not? The modern world is growing so much smaller so quickly; it’s difficult to find places that are well and truly off the radar—places that, for one reason or another, are forgotten in the post postmodern hustle-bustle. Lesotho, Africa’s “mountain kingdom,” is one such place. The 30,000-square-mile country is entirely surrounded by South Africa, making it one of three landlocked “enclave” countries in the world. It has the highest low point of any country and is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 3,200 feet in elevation. 

Lesotho’s capitol, Maseru, is home to roughly 330,000 citizens, but I didn’t see any of them or their city on my way to Makhangoa Community Camp, a small outpost located on the Bokong River, run by the savvy team of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa-based African Waters. Though an internet search might lead with headlines about Maseru’s high homicide rate, don’t let that deter you—the capitol’s political troubles have little bearing on life outside the city. The countryside is the heart of Lesotho, home to craggy mountains, high, vast valleys, and winding, crystal-clear rivers…

Buy issue

Subscribe to start your collection of The Flyfish Journal.