Lesotho

When the British were ruling they said Lesotho was the remotest place on earth. Today its a bit more accessible for tourists. Having said that, it took 3 and 1/2 hours for us to enter by the best road from the north east. The Sani Pass is reached via Underberg and lies next to the Giants Cup. Its almost impossible to ascend without 4WD, unfortunately for me the Land Rover we travelled in was over 25 years old with no seat belts. We had to stop several times on the pass to cool the radiator down as the steam emanating from the bonnet was a little distracting to drive with!
As we were battling up the pass we were driving against a tide of folks descending on the annual Sani Pass flower walk. At the dizzy heights of some 2875m at the top of the pass it gets pretty cold. We drove on the road towards Mokhotlong, our destination being St James Mission, about an hour and a half along the Mokhotlong road. Tarmac is Lesotho is pretty rare so the ride was bumpy. Things of note along this barren road included a couple of piles of stones (on the left hand side if your ever looking out for them), a few small houses and some primary schools.
As you approach St James it gets a bit more populated (Lesotho relative) with a public phone, sheebeen and even power cables that supply electricity to the Canadian nuns at the mission. Despite the absolute remoteness the scenery is beautiful, especially after the rain leaves glistening patches on the mountain side.
We stayed at St James Lodge which is on the mission site and owned by my boss at Forest Lake Adventure Centre. The lodge is pretty basic (no elec and only hot water when you light the boiler) but its position on the edge of the mission is a brilliant vantage point for watching the kids sing before they go into class.
Spent my week helping at the lodge, found time for a hike around the valley and the mission which I suspect has the best kept lawn in Lesotho. Apparently the nuns get the kids to cut the lawn with scissors.
Had quite an interesting chat with one of the peace core volunteers at the high school. She had just had evacuation training in case the elections caused any civil unrest. Unfortunately for her the evac route was down Sani pass on foot or minibus taxi. Considering her social life in the area revolved around funerals she was pretty cheery. AIDS is devastating Lesotho, wiping out the working population. The local hospital only had 4 doctors (all from overseas) and limited antiretrovirals. (Apparently they are being stockpiled by the government in Maseru.)
In the metropolis that is Mokhotlong (there is actually one fairly well stocked shop - they had chocolate) we visited the mission primary/nursery where they looked after 120 kids in 2 tiny rooms and the AIDS orphanage. Its pretty difficult not to get depressed by the situation in Lesotho. It makes the South African government look good. The tiny mountain kingdom is a beautiful place but who knows what will happen to the Basotho people in the next few years.

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