Lesotho I

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Lesotho - Blog One

December topics to write about are: SA26 wraps up their first 3 months at sites with IST (In Service Training) in KwaZuluNatal Province and my first Christmas with my host family here in Mpumalanga Province. Sandwiched in between was my trip to Lesotho which needs to be told FIRST while it’s still fresh in my mind. Blog One is an odd assortment of details, Blog Two is about getting around by public transport (featuring The Bus Ride from Hell), and Blog Three is the treasured parts (where I try to restrain my raptures about Lesotho weavers so I don’t bore most of you).

School starts back up Jan 7 in Mpumalanga and Jan 14 in KZN so PCV’s have a nice long break. Two groups of ten PCV’s planned 5- 6 day backpacking trips to Sani Pass through the Drakensberg mountains. The last day of the hike brings them to the lodge with “The Highest Pub in South Africa”; where my group travelled by public taxi for our first night in Lesotho. (I will tell you more about their adventures when George and Eva get back to Mpumalanga) Besides these intrepid hikers (in their 20’s), other PCV’s planned sightseeing tours with visiting family or friends.

So, IST finished up on Dec 13 and our group left Pietermaritzberg, KZN, for Underberg. It is the shopping town for some PCV’s whose sites are nearby. Underberg couldn’t be more different from my shopping town. Businesses and restaurants cater to tourists on their way to Lesotho to hike, ride mountain bikes, motorcycles, fish, etc. Underberg’s population is mixed, blacks and whites. When we told the white woman at the tourist center there that we were traveling by public transport she was horrified. We were standing there looking at a poster of the road to Sani Pass, hoping that the photographer was going for that “Can you believe this?” effect. (maybe he was, but for the next 3 days of travel, we kept mumbling “Can you believe this?”) Our group is Susan and Lee in their 60’s, me, clinging to my 50’s for 1 more year, and Monica in her 30’s. Monica and I started planning this trip with the help of an old The Lonely Planet travelbook, and talking to Arlene, a PC medical officer who had served in Lesotho. When I say our 8 day trip was “memorable”, what does that conjure up for you? I will enthusiastically describe where we went, list the places I hope to visit next time, but I will positively revel in telling you stories about the “other stuff”.

Lesotho is “The Mountain Kingdom”. King Moshoeshoe I allied his tribe with the English in the 1800’s in their conflicts with the Boers; thus they were an English colony surrounded by lands that later became South Africa. Lesotho, then, never was under apartheid. With only two official languages, Sesotho and English, we were always able to find someone who could speak English well. They are governed by a constitutional monarchy; there were pictures of their royal family in many of our accomodations. Now, for the mountains! We entered Lesotho at one of the eastern border crossings, Sani Pass, where 4 x 4 vehicles are advised. Here are some of my favorite names from a map of the switchbacks. Nip n’Tuck, Hemorrhoid Hill, Suicide Bend...came before the hairpin turns: Reverse Corner, Big Wind Corner, and Ice Corner. (there’s also God Help Me Pass in another part of Lesotho) Elevation levels started at 1577 m, then to 2593 m where the hairpins started, and summited at 2873m. This converts to 9504 ft. which is about the elevation of Bonanza Peak, according to my handy Holden Village bandana. The northeastern section of Lesotho is the most rugged (bordering the Drakenberg Mountains) and we went over still higher passes the next few days. The rest of the country is one mountain range after another...so they boast “The Highest Low Place” of any African country. Take a moment to figure out what that means. They also hold a Roof of Africa Rally for 4 x 4’s and off-road bikes. In Ramabanta we were a day away from Maletsunyane Falls which has the highest commercial abseil drop of 204m...where you are harnessed up and dropped alongside the waterfall. These are a few of the extreme sports that I don’t do..but I enjoy the “remote and challenging” parts for sure. The people of Lesotho, called Basotho, who live in these high mountain regions have rough living conditions. This is where we saw the shepherds (goatherds) wearing the Basotho blankets pinned around their shoulders, wool balaclava hats, tall rubber boots, and hiking sticks. There is also a Basotho hat, woven from reed, which is on the country’s flag. On our 4^th day of travel, we were in the capital city of Maseru on the western border of the country. We did more touristy things like shopping at the Basotho Hat building. We visited a nearby weaving center, travelled out to a beautiful lodge where we went pony trekking, and on our last night in Maseru met a PCV from Lesotho. She was in the city for a medical visit, and travelling back to her village (5 hours away) the next day. We loved hearing what it has been like for her so far..she is helping to train teachers. It is very cold there in the winter...much more so than I will experience in Mpumalanga. Also, Lesotho sounds more remote as far as travel to a shopping town and getting to see other PCV’s occasionally. Since I have become accustomed to my own living situation now, I think her situation would be more difficult for me. But who knows? I have lived in cold, snow and remote areas before...but I think I am just ready to handle what I know now...and a different set of hardships just sounds too much....Does this make sense?

She accompanied the other three PCV’s partway in their travels east across the country to return to KZN by Qacha’s Nek border crossing. I crossed from Maseru right into South Africa and traveled west to Bloemfontein. I arrived there with plenty of time before taking the bus north to Pretoria, so I went to see a movie! In a nearby mall (we’re back in South Africa remember, where the cities have all these glitzy modern conveniences) The Hobbit was showing. This was so perfect..I had brought the paperback along to read on my trip, my travels through beautiful Lesotho brought up pictures of Bilbo and the dwarves on their journey, and Bloemfontein is the birthplace of JRR Tolkien! He lived there until he was 5 years old. It was a great way to end my trip, but I didn’t know that the movie was only Part One. So the adventure continues!

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Comments

[carol witte]

comment on your lesotho 1
I sent a comment on your old e-mail (outhouse) as was not sure if this comment section is public. Is that a good way to reach you or not? Or are comments left here public? Like I have something soooooooooooooo private to say!