From Swaziland we make our way down to the kingdom of Lesotho, another small country that is situated in the heart of South Africa. This country-hopping brings us first a couple of days back into SA and the Drakensberg range that forms the boundary between the two countries. There are beautiful hikes to do here and one of them is the hike up to see the Amphitheatre, a wall of mountains that stretches for 4 km. And so Kosta, yes Kosta not me, sets of the next day with 2 girls we just met to do this hike. Why am I not coming? Well, the hike itself is not strenuous but requires climbing up chain ladders and this people is where I draw the line. Like the book on the area says '”People with vertigo should not climb up the ladders”. What a shame, now I have to stay in the super relaxing hostel while Kosta sweats his way up a mountain…. life is so unfair LOL
The chain ladders
Under a sky full of rain we leave the next morning towards Lesotho. Along the way the weather gets better but not for long. We find ourselves driving in fog and rain like we’ve never seen before. It is raining so hard that Kosta is driving the ‘granny drive style’: his nose almost against the steering wheel : ) with me also sitting with my nose against the window, trying to see a bit of the road. And as we are in the mountains this massive amount of water turns into thousands of waterfalls everywhere! Just amazing!
Weather damage
Although we wanted to stop at the Bokong nature reserve we continue our trip to the Katse dam. No way of sleeping at 3000 metres when the weather is like that. So late afternoon we finally arrive at the campsite near the dam where we can enjoy the view of it. It is still raining but at least the fog is almost gone. And as long as we are here , we take the opportunity to go on a tour the next morning to visit the highest dam of Africa. No picture from in the dam unfortunately as we were not allowed to take any.
After the visit we start our journey towards the Sani Pass where the road will lead us into South Africa again. It is a long journey as there is no tarmac. The scenery is a treat to the eye and after being in SA, Lesotho makes you feel like you are ’ back in Africa again’. It is not as developed as its only neighbour and in many ways it reminds us of Ethiopia: poor, beautiful and full of children begging. There are barely any shops, there are people everywhere and as far as the eye can see, the surroundings are lush and green.
And for the second time in two days we don’t make it to our destination. Not that it is still raining, no, the sky is as blue as it gets but because of the rain the day before a bridge we have to pass is fully under water. We decide to call it a day and just camp somewhere near the bridge for one night in the hope the water will have gone down enough the next day. The only other option is to make a huge detour to the Sani Pass but as it is already 3 pm we might as well take our chances and wait.
The bridge : )
The next morning the water has gone down a metre but not enough for the whole bridge to be visible. Again we decide to sit it out, the water will go down enough to get through somewhere in the afternoon. We just wait for the first car to cross and than we will also drive to the other side. And so, 23 hours after having arrived we cross the bridge. Being the reporter of our journey it is of course my duty to take pictures so I first cross the bridge on foot. The very muddy water is still about 80 centimetres high and therefor the small bridge is not visible yet. Helped by two locals to make sure I don’t get washed away by the strong current I make it safe to the other side. I have never been so thankful to walk hand in hand with two men I’ve never seen before LOL. Then it is time for Kosta to drive the car over. While he warms up the engine a bit (it would really not be the moment to have the engine go off) I am ready to eternalize this moment. But Murphy is smiling down on me that day and just when the car is at the highest point in the water, the camera indicates ‘no more space on card’! Shit, shit, shit (pardon the language but shit!)! I can’t really signal to stop the car in the middle of that current, can I? And so by the time I have erased a picture and tried to take another one the car is already standing and dripping next to me. LOL
On the dry side of the bridge, ready to swim
Our fourth and last day in ‘Little Ethiopia’ brings us to the Sani Pass. The scenery is spectacular, and although the road is in bad condition we easily make it down into South Africa. People told us it was a very scary road, with parts where you drive a couple of centimetres next to the cliff but we have not found it so dramatic. We especially took this route to come here and see the pass everybody talks about but we have to conclude: or the other people are ‘sissies’ or the two of us are just as cool as a banana. ; )
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