Oct 31, 2012 - Bloemfontein to Lesotho

Hi - The trip South on the bus is pleasant enough: modern and roomy compared to many of the buses over the years in developing countries; religious programming plays on the overhead monitors. No livestock aboard but I do end up holding a small child while his mother deals with other issues. We are jointly amused. During our regular rest stops at modern highway stops I have brief conversations with a variety of other passengers and begin to loosen up. At the Bloemfontein station my B&B host, Jan, meets me. I had expected a petite woman and...

Aug 23, 2010 - Lesotho - zu Fuss ins gebirgige Koenigreich

Eine Fahrerlaubnis der Mietagentur fuer Lesotho haben wir nicht, Allrad und eine vorgeschriebene hoehere Bodenfreiheit, haben wir auch nicht. Der einzig oeffentliche Minibus (Toyota Hiace mit in Europa zugelassenen 9 Sitzen) sollte uns spaeter kuehlerrauchend im Schritttempo mit mindestens 17 Insassen samt Gepaeck am Abgund dahinkriechend ueberholen, und kam daher rein „komfort“- und vor allem sicherheitstechnisch absolut nicht in Frage. Esel oder Pferd konnten wir hier auch nicht mieten. Viel Moeglichkeiten gab s fuer uns also nicht mehr,...

Jun 18, 2009 - Man of the Mountains

It was time. I was saying my goodbyes to my parents, grandparents, brothers and sister all of whom were wearing very nervous faces... nervous but excited. Pulling out of the drive way I bumped my little brothers car. "Oops, that wasn't a good start" is all I said while I continued out the drive and around the corner. My first planned stop would be Kokstad which is close on 200km away from Margate. It would be perfect to test how far I could go on my 6 liter tank of petrol. As I say maybe my planning wasn't so good. 196km... that will do....

Aug 30, 2008 - a quick trip to Lesotho – the Mountain Kingdom

We have just had 3 days in Lesotho. Lesotho is a small country which is physically within South Africa. It is the homeland of the Basotho people. It is mountainous (is that a word?) and you need a 4-wheel drive to get around if you are not on the major highways. As a result we were unable to see some of things in the areas we were near, in particular dinosaur remains, 19th century cave dwellings and rock art. We think it was a good country for Arabella to see as it is more like “the real Africa” – as Darren calls it, “black Africa”, which...

Jan 14, 2008 - Entering Lesotho

The lovely noisy cockerel woke me about 5am - damn thing! Dozed on and off after that but was typically sound asleep when Claudine woke me saying she has overslept! Turned out Claudine's car brakes could be fitted in for fixing if we dropped the car at the garage on the way to the border this morning so when we were ready to leave I drove her car and she took her mum's. Pip thought the road was going to be bad because of the rain overnight so I was expecting to have to let Claudine get it through some ditches rather than me wreck it but as...

Dec 30, 2007 - Lesotho

Lesotho - 30th December On the 30th of December, we rose early, packed our saddle bags, loaded the horses on the float and were driven to Bushmans Nek, the border control post out of South Africa. We mounted our horses and whilst Andre took our passports in to the controllers, I crossed my first border on horse back. We had exited South Africa and were in "no mans land", a stretch of national park preceeding the official Lesotho border. After a couple of hours of riding through the spectacular Ukuhlanbou mountains (which means barrier of...

Oct 26, 2007 - Lesotho - Roma

Today we headed out to Katse Dam. Knowing it was 155km away we didn't realise it included 3 very high and steep mountain passes. At one point on the Mafika Lisiu Pass we were driving in thick mist. We entered the Boking Nature Reserve and headed to the visitor centre for some stunning views down the Lepaqoa Valley and its waterfall. We got there just before the mist rolled in and enjoyed the views and a well deserved cup of tea! From here we made our way down driving past lots of small villages where children would happily wave at us. We...

Oct 25, 2007 - Lesotho - Hlotse (Leribe)

As we drove over Oliviershoek Pass, past the lovely Sterkfontein Dam National Reserve towards Harrismith, the clouds broke up and the sun came out - yay! We had a quick stop in Clarens, which is called the jewel of the Free State. It is set against a wonderful rocky outcrop, green hills and the Maluti Mountains. This town is gorgeous. There are 18 art galleries here and the place is awash with money. The town claims Prince Harry and Brad Pitt amongst their locals! Back on the road we drove through gorgeous scenery and landscapes, even more...

May 7, 2007 - Lesootoo, Besootoo, Sesootoo!

Lesotho (le-soo-too) where the Besotho speak Sesotho! This stunningly beautiful little country, aptly named the Kingdom in the Sky, rises like an island in the clouds in the middle of South Africa. The eastern border is formed by the dramatic Drakensberg escarpment where the highveld plunges down over 1000m before spilling onto the plains. All the guides book warn you not to attempt to go into Lesotho unless you have a four wheeled drive, and, even though I got permission from my rental company to take the car into Lesotho, I decided that...

Jan 19, 2007 - Trip to Lesotho

The day after the hike I took a day trip to Lesotho, because my original plan was to travel through there but unfortunately I hadnt left myself enough time so a day would have to do. It was one of the most tranquil and beautiful places I have ever been. Its only small, and has the highest low point in the world apparently, and is surrounded by mountains and its amazing. Its so luscious and green and every now and then you'll pass a little round grass hut with some sheets drying on the mountainside, or a few donkeys trotting by, or some of...

Jan 5, 2007 - Back to the Mountains

My trip to Sani pass was an interesting contrast of cultures. From Durban to Pietermaritzburg I took a minibus taxi. This is pretty much the standard mode of transport all over Africa. I and 15 other people jammed into a micro bus - fortunately we had a newer one and there was a modest aisle that I could lodge my huge pack in. I was a little embarrassed to be luggin such a big bag onto a crowded taxi, but people didn't seem to mind. At least that's what I hoped. Once to Pietermaritzburg, was to meet "Willy" to get the rest of the way to the...

Dec 17, 2006 - Lesotho 911 - Shakedown!

There we were ... on the corner in downtown Maseru delicately working out other options to appearing in court the next day for turning down a one-way street ... a poorly marked oneway street, I might add. In fairness, we were technically in the wrong, we turned off the main drag to get oriented, and unwittingly wound up the wrong way on a one way street. "Why are you driving so recklessly?" I was asked. Now the reckless thing would have been to turn back into the fast moving traffic instead of continuing down the virtually empty street, but...