Lesotho

31^st October 2013 Sani Pass. Started early and it was a beautiful clear morning. As we wound our way up the pass the scenery became more and more spectacular, absolutely stunning. The pass itself was good dirt, very steep and circuitious but no challenge for the Troopy.

 

 

 

On reaching the top we had a coffee at the highest pub in Africa and were

treated to a musical performance by two boys sitting on a high crag just in front of the viewing platform. One boy played a petrol can guitar, strung with fishing line and no frets, and the other played drums. After Tara, our daughter, returned to Australia after working in Africa some years before, she  brought back such a guitar as a present for myself. I thought at the time, that it was just a tourist souvenir but they actually do work and, when I get back home, I’m going to spend some time on it.

Lesotho is a high altitude country and has a sparse beauty with sheepherders reminiscent of the Massi wandering the plains. We pass the odd rustic village with stone rondavels, round abodes and miniature donkeys.

We had stopped for lunch at a scenic and serene spot when we heard a huge explosion in the next valley the explanation of which was apparent a little way down the track. There was a major road building work in progress and they had blown up the existing road. I thought we would be there for a day or two but the workman we got talking to said it would be ready for us to drive in about an hour, and he was right. In fact we got talking to quite a few people, a bus driver, a Backpacker from Canada and others. The workman told us the road building was a Chinese initiative and that they were hard taskmasters.

At about five pm we entered the large town of Mokhotlong, arranged to stay at the back of the local Mokhotlong Hilton and walked down the road to the market that had very basic products for the locals. Things such as second hand clothing, shoe repairs, horse accessories and coffins that were sold from corrugated iron huts.

Lesotho is a peaceful country with little crime, no electric fencing or barbed wire and the locals are proud of this. They often asked what we thought of their country and always delivered a broad smile when we gave the correct answer.

1^st November 2013 Today we will motor on but before this we will visit the hospital, just across the road and see if we can have a look at their X ray Department as we are both Radiographers.

3^rd November A beautiful country from the green lowlands to the spectacular highlands. Hours of winding roads brought us to the Katse Dam which is huge, one of the tenth biggest of its kind in the world and then hours of winding road brought us back to the university town of Roma. The university buildings are all of sandstone and are a contrast to the rest of the town. We saw a uni student wearing platform shoes, walking on the rocky main street, balancing text books on her head whilst messaging on her mobile phone.