Short: Leave Volksrust early, Action shots of Betsy, Cross the South Africa-Lesotho border, Action shots of Betsy at one of the mountain passes, Arrive at Malealea lodge, Fun night with new friends
Long: We were up and on the road early this morning. So far all of the roads we have traveled on in South Africa have been wonderful, and today was no exception. We made great time to the South African-Lesotho border. The drive brought us through the Free State in South Africa, and was desolate and dry, with the occasional mountain. We crossed into Lesotho in the early afternoon and had no issues with the border. Lesotho is (So we have read) the only country in the world completed surrounded on all sides by another country (South Africa).
It is a small mountainous country (The lowest elevations are around 3500 feet and the highest over 11,000 feet) of two million people. After passing through the capital, Maseru, we continued south and then east into the mountains. At the Gates of Paradise pass we took advantage of the backdrop to take some pictures of Betsy.
We arrived at the Malealea lodge in Malealea village shortly after. The lodge, perched on a mountain ridge, offers great views and is large relative to others lodges we have stayed at. Power is supplied via generators, and is only available between 5pm and 10pm. Before dinner we watched both a local choir, and local band, perform for donations. The lodge sets this up every night as a way to inject some cash into the community. It works well.
After dinner Niki and Mortimer played some pool and around 9 we thought about going to bed. However, Mortimer had other plans. He struck up a conversation with a group of people sitting around the fire outside and next thing we knew it was 1am. Nikolai and I were once again able to play “This is how I bounce my stick,” to the delight and displeasure of those in the group. The group consisted of a recently married South African couple, three girls working at NGO’s in Maseru, and a French guy working at a private water company in Maseru. It was a very fun night.
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