Another drive of ups and downs and hairpin bends. The drive of 140km took us only 3 ½ hours. The speed limit is 100km/ hour and we average 40 to 50km/hr, it's amazing, imagine if this was Australia, we would have a speed limit of 20.
There are lots of road signs in the middle of nowhere, village or not, I love the names – Ha Ramahope, Ha Nqheku and Ha Ralejoe to name a few.
On the first section, we we went over 3 passes; Blue Mountain Pass, God Help Us Pass, and that was just a warm up for Bushmans Pass.
It's not only the construction of the road passes that amazes us but also the power lines that traverse over the tops and down into the valleys of the Maluti. How did they get there??? Most of Lesotho is now powered by the hydroelectric schemes from the Katse and Mohale dams. Once the project is completed and the other 2 dams are built, they will be self sufficient. SA in return pays Lesotho R 60 million per month for their water. Lesotho, for a country of around 2 million people are doing well out of their natural resources.
Midway we had a respite from mountain passes and drove through a couple of towns. We stopped for fuel, diesel is R4 cheaper in Lesotho and it has to be brought in from SA, something is not right.
This area is bordered by sandstone cliffs, with poplars growing at the base, it reminds us of Clarence, in the Free State. We had descended to 1700m, the lowest we have been in a while. One of the towns we passed through was Roma, home to the National University of Lesotho. It is considered a varsity town, like Stellenbosch and Rhodes.
At some point we took the A5 to Semonkong. Although we ascended rapidly, the road didn't cling to the cliffs, like it has for the past few days.
We turned right into Semonkong Village, a stones thrown and a very bumpy road from Semonkong lodge, where we are staying. The village and the lodge bustle with activity as the Basotho people go about their daily lives. Men and the occasional woman, in their straw hats and blankets trot past on their ponies, followed by scuttling sheep, goats, dogs and donkeys. They are constantly transporting food and supplies, including beer to their villages, some of which are a couple of days travel away.
There is something refreshing and enchanting about the Basotho people. Their culture is one of friendliness and openness. They always greet us as we pass, there is no road rage and we have been made to feel so welcome wherever we go.
Tonight we sleep in a traditional Basotho hut, well it looks like it from the outside, built of stone and thatch but inside we have a small double bed, a fireplace and a hot shower. There is a great view of the river running below us. It’s really cool.
This afternoon we visited the main attraction of the area, the Maletsunyane Falls. The falls are one of the highest single dropping waterfalls in Africa. We have visited a lot of ‘highest’ in Lesotho. The falls create a haze of smoke as the water plummets 186m into the spectacular gorge below. It is from the smoke that Semonkong – The Place of Smoke – gets its name.
The 20 minute drive to the falls was over a really bumpy track (thank goodness for those BF G’s). The falls are so spectacular, not as loud as Augrabies or as dramatic as Victoria Falls but really majestic. The stream at the base of the falls then flows into the Senqu River, then into the Orange and eventually into the Atlantic. It was really chilly at the top with an icy wind blowing, I think we are in for a cold spell.
We had drinks and dinner at the Duck and Donkey Tavern, the pub and restaurant are part the lodge. While sipping on our last Maluti lager and OB sherry in Lesotho we spent a long time chatting to Joseph, the bar man, come abseil instructor, about the area, education, politics and his dreams got the future. After a really great dinner we braved the cold to return to our hut. Here we found the night watchman fast asleep on our bed in front of the fire he had come in to light earlier in the evening. It took a while to wake the poor chap up, he stoked the fire and wandered off. Only in Africa !!
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