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Published: April 12th 2010
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After the Wild Coast we took a lot less eventful journey up to the Southern Drakensberg and stayed at Khotso Horse Trails...possibly an unusual choice given that neither myself or Hannah are particularly horse-obsessed individuals. Stuff the horses though, as far as I'm concerned the star attraction was the scenery outside the back door. Craggy mountains rising up to the clouds and the fairytale mountain kingdom of Lesotho up on the plateau. Me and my imagination seeing castles and dragons and huge protective sphinxes in the rocky outcrops .
Despite not being horsey people we did venture out for a 2 hour ride across the farm. We had been tempted by a 2 day ride into Lesotho but were very glad we hadn't gone for it when we felt the state of our bum muscles after just a short ride. Probably made worse by the fact we cantered for the first time in my life and all I could do is hold on for dear life while by arse slapped the saddle! Also not helped by the huge bum-flop I did into the plunge pool when I jumped off a waterfall at the end of the ride! Anyway, despite the
tenderness of my rump by the end of the day, I did actually enjoy my equestrian outing. I took pity on a black and white Basotho Pony left on its own and shunned by the other horses and requested it especially, much to the suprise of the stable hands. It turns out not only was my pony, Patches, a loner, he was also blind in one eye and refused to turn right because he couldn't see where he was going. He did however prove an excellent choice for a beginner rider like me because he was so worried about being left behind that he kept his nose firmly in the bum of the horse in front at all times...to the point where he head butted the poor horse at one point!
There is another loner horse here who actually thinks he's human, Simon the Horse actually comes in the lodge sometimes and it can be rather disconcerting to hear a horse blowing its nose through your bedroom window first thing in the morning!
On Friday we took a trip in a 4x4 up Sani Pass, a spectacular twisting winding road up to the Lesotho border. We now have
a page full of entry and exit stamps in our passports but very little else to show for our excursion into a new country unfortunately. While the drive and scenery were amazing the time in Lesotho was cursory and hideously touristy, with 'shepherds' modelling for photos and demanding money and a women posing with her baby in her hut for 10 minutes. We did get to try Basotho Bread straight from the pot, which was delicious, and Basotho home brew, which was not! After that 'authentic Lesotho experience' we went straight to the highest pub in Africa for a hard earned Savannah and our staple travel diet of toasted sandwiches before the cliff edge drive back down into South Africa. We found out later that our host at Khotso, Mad Steve Black has actually done the Sani Pass marathon, which involves running up and then back down the Sani Pass...apparently not that impressive as he has also done a 1000km run!!
Having sampled other South African staples such as Braais and Coinage at Khotso, we are now in big bad Joburg for a few nights staying with the ever lovely and hospitable Jim and Janine, repacking and washing before
we fly to much badder Nairobbery on Wednesday and the East Africa adventures begin.
Hope everyone is well back home, I hear you have beautiful sunshine which you'll be pleased to hear makes me a teeny bit jealous! Much love Fxx
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