WALKING WITH DINOSAURS IN LESOTHO

Six of us left Cape Town, after Andrew had hired a Landrover from TRAVELSTART. Soon we were on our way northwards on the N1, our destination being Graaf Reinet via Beaufort West.

We had some lovely accommodation at a B&B in Graaf Reinet, as well as a lovely pizza meal.Just north of the town, we were able to go the famous Camdeboo National Park, our primary interest being a visit to the Valley of Desolation. The viewpoints at the Valley provide a breathtaking glimpse of piled dolerite columns against the backdrop of of the plain of the Great Karoo with its timeless sense of wonder. Afterwards we did some 4x4 driving on special trails, as well as view the wide variety of game.

Early the next day we were off on our way towards Lesotho via Cradock and Burgersdorp. We entered Lesotho through the Telle Bridge border post. Thence through the (2003 m above sea level) Gates of Paradise to Malealea Lodge which became our comfortable,mountain base for a few days.



From there we were able to tour around the country side on winding mountainous dirt roads.



After walking around the village we went pony trekking into the fascinating country side and swam in some icy mountain pools and visited some waterfalls. One has to be wary of  beggars but they are mostly friendly children who love being given sweets.           




All too soon we were on our way to Maseru, the capital city where we had comfortable central accommodation. There is a casino there as well as nearby sites depicting Bushman paintings. Maseru is a small, bustling city with outlets for mohair tapestries, pottery, basketware, knitwear and leatherware can be bought.



We were able to traverse the tarred western route up to Teyateyneng. En route we visited a valley that had a museum and interesting tour of ancient dinosaur footprints.

Our final destination in Lesotho was at the Maliba Mountain Lodge at the Tsehlanye National Park. From there we had scenic tour on tarred roads up the mountain side to the Katse Dam. This is a wonderful engineering feat and there is a restaurant there where one can have a simple meal. There are many villages on the way where the inhabitants rely on subsistence farming.


                                                                                             



The final journey was a long haul back to Johannesburg through Sasolburg and Vanderbijlpark. Altogether we had an interesting, exciting and "different" holiday.