The Kingdom of Lesotho

April 16, 2008

After three busy days in Cape Town it was nice to enjoy a day at sea as we sailed toward Durban South Africa.

Although Durban is the second most populous city in South Africa, it is the busiest port in Africa and the world’s ninth busiest port.....that is saying something!!!

Durban enjoys a healthy tourist trade with its Golden Mile, a popular stretch of beachfront in the city that boasts a stretch of beaches dotted with resorts, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and shopping centers.

I chose to not take advantage of all Durban has to offer and, instead, venture high in the mountains, to the middle of South Africa to a very special place....The Kingdom of Lesotho.

You know how occasionally you have one of those special days that will always stand out in your memory as one of the MOST special days. Well, my day in Lesotho was indeed one of those days! Just unbelievable!!!!

Like an island, the Kingdom of Lesotho (Yes, they have a king, but apparently elect a Parliament!) is “floating” in the middle of South Africa, surrounded on all sides. It is home to some 2 million people, most of whom live in the capital city with the remainder living as nomads. It was to one of the nomad villages that we would go for our unbelievable experience.

We rode through the city Durban toward the country side. Here we passed all manner of housing....from small and beautiful “middle-class” homes, many with swimming pools and manicured gardens. We also passed the so-called Zulu townships: “planned” communities of row after row of simple one-room concrete block houses all aligned, like monopoly houses, on dirt streets with small outhouses aligned behind. With no electricity, no running water, and very little else, it was eye opening to the plight of so many people. Our guide kept emphasizing what an “improvement” these houses were for the people living in them. Improvement? I can’t imagine how bleak it was before if THIS was an improvement.

We passed acre after acre of planned forests....pine and eucalyptus trees....apparently big business. I have never seen so many trees.

As we rode, the hills became more rolling...the sky more open...and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Montana with its big sky and open valleys. An occasional “round-house” would appear...typical Zulu styled housing....some with traditional thatched roofs...but most with more “modern” tin roofs.

Eventually we made our way to Underberg, a quaint and colorful town that appeared to be a week-end getaway city because it was dotted with small cafes and shops and countless “bed and breakfast” stops. It was here that our adventure began.

We changed from our comfortable air-conditioned bus to small four-wheel drive cars....and it was here that we started out on a ride that I will never forget. Paved roads became dirt roads. Dirt roads became rocky bumpy “trails” that soon began their zig-zag cross backs up the mountain. Unbelievable! We bounced, we bumped, we zigged and we zagged! We got near the edge and didn’t dare look over! We forded small rivers! We climbed vertical slopes. We dodged mountain goats....all the while we ooohhed and awed....the scenery was just unbelievable. Finally we arrived at the border control of South Africa where we presented ourselves for a face-to-face “control” and got our “exit” stamp allowing us to leave South Africa. It was then our able driver and guide told us to be prepared...the road was going to get worse. We just couldn’t believe it...but it did! We continued to climb....bounce!...going higher and higher with spectacular view after each turn. My only saving grace was that I had secured the front seat, while my colleagues “struggled” even more in the rear seats....what an experience!
Finally after an hour or so of this experience, we came to the Lesotho border. (I think the South Africans decided to build their check-point at the base of the mountain even though it wasn’t really the “border” thus allowing them to avoid the treacherous “road” to the actual border) We were at 9,000 feet above sea level...at the “Roof of Africa”....we were in Lesotho!

We had traversed over the Sani Pass and we were now in the village of Sani Top! It is here that some 100 nomads have chosen to settle for a few months of the year and have gathered up stones to create a collection of small round stone houses with thatched roofs. These people are herders with small flocks of sheep, goats, and a few cows. They were smiling people all standing very tall and erect and each covered in large heavy woolen blankets. It was around 3 PM when we arrived and, indeed, the air was cooling rapidly. I can only imagine how cold it gets at night...and how bitter it gets in winter. It must be beautiful to see these stone huts covered in snow!

We wandered through the village snapping photos and chatting with these exotic people. Small children eagerly, but politely, gathered to accept the chocolates that some of us had brought along. We were invited into several of these small huts to see the simple life of the people. We marveled at the ingenuity of these people as one Shepard proudly strummed his homemade guitar that he had constructed from a large tin can, a plank of wood, and a few fishing lines. I was particularly intrigued when I spotted one hut that stood out from all the others....the one window and the one door was painted the most vivid blue you can imagine...individuality and creativity exist no matter where in the world you are!

As the day was growing long and we had lost some time waiting for a new bus earlier in the day when ours lost its clutch, after about twenty minutes or so I guide herded us back into the cars to make our way back down the mountain to once again enter South Africa and make our way back to the ship. As we rode back in the dark and I looked out over the townships occasionally spotting a lit candle through the one window of the small concrete monopoly house I couldn’t help but think of how lucky we are to live the way we do. And as I reflected on my extraordinary day I couldn’t help but see the smiling faces of a child whose eyes brighten as I gave him a small piece of chocolate. Such a simple thing but meaning so much to this little child. Yes, it was an extraordinary day!

I was so excited to finally visit Lesotho....a number of years ago I was asked to come to Lesotho to do one of the “missions” that I had done with the World Bank in Madagascar a few years before. Because of work loads and my schedule at the time, I declined that invitation...but I had always wondered what I had missed. I am not at all sure that what I saw on my “day “in Lesotho was what I would have experienced if I had done the mission....I doubt it...because more than likely I would have worked out of the capital city....but at least I finally made it to this most remote and exotic spot in the world....what an experience.....a humbling experience....an exhilarating experience....an experience that makes travel so worthwhile! I have been to Lesotho!