I always enjoy arriving in Lesotho. From the moment a person steps onto Lesotho soil the pace of life slows a little and the prevailing tensions and undercurrents of South Africa disappear. Traveling into South Africa's neighbouring countries gives me a chance to be a foreign tourist again instead of a South African traveling on business through my own country.
Lesotho is a poor country that sits as an island surrounded by its bigger more wealthy neighbour - South Africa. Lesotho's relative lack of natural resources has ironically spared it some of the violent history of South Africa. It can be guaranteed that had diamonds or gold been found in Lesotho 150 years ago it would have been swallowed first by the british and then by the union of South Africa. Part of what makes Lesotho unique from the perspective of its neighbour is the fact that the territory was never conquered in the same way that say the Zulu and the Xhosa territories were conquered. When Lesotho became a protectorate of Britain it was more a case of opportunism instead of conquest that drove its decision to become a protectorate. Lesotho needed a big brother to protect itself from the expansionist boers and the british provided the needed protection.
Travelers cannot help but notice the soil erosion that affects the farming areas of the countryside. Huge dongas are carved out by water as parts of Lesotho quickly lose some of its most valuable topsoil. I was always thought in school (during the days of Apartheid in an all white school) that this was due to bad farming practice and ignorance on the part of the uneducated masses. What was not mentioned in my schooling was that the Basotho lost huge tracts of arable farming land to the expansionist boers thus forcing the basotho to farm on land that is not suited to agriculture. Post 1994 there have been rumblings from Lesotho that they would like some of their stolen lands back. The South African government is intransigent on this matter. What has been happening though is that wealthy basotho farmers are starting to buy up the land bordering on Lesotho.
What I also find interesting traveling through Lesotho is the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. All the statues of Caucasian Jesus and Marie's seems a little out of place in the middle of Africa. They do however make great backdrops against the mountains.. I think someone should invent an African Jesus. Maybe even a Jewish Jesus!
My first stop was Malealea. I arrived relatively early and took the opportunity to relax a bit. There was a whole lot of kids on the property receiving shoes from a dutch charity organisation. It was great to see all the kids lined up excitedly getting their new shoes. Chatting to Di, the owner of Malealea, Di mentioned that the shoe handout is a annual ongoing program.
At sunset I moved on down to the mini amphitheatre to watch the Malealea Choir and Band. Check out my YouTube video... Any comments would be appreciated.
After a hearty meal prepared by mama Dora I settled in the bar to watch the South Africa/Sri Lanka cricket match. The match was painful and right at the crucial moment of the game the power generator went down and Malealea was plunged into darkness. The next day when I was back within cell phone reception I sms'd the office to get the final result.
In the morning I packed up early and made my way to my next stop in Lesotho - Semonkong. Along the way i stopped in for a cup of coffee at Morija Guest House. Lebaka is a great host. If you stay there try and have a look at the wonderful blanket trunks that they have in each room - they are wonderfully colourful examples of chic-kitch religious iconography (yes - try say that last phase 10 times in a row)... For a nice description of Morija town check out this address: http://www.morijaguesthouses.com/about.html
The road to semonkong is one of my favourite drives around Southern Africa. The road is a big climb that start in Maseru and goes through the university town of Roma up into the mountains and down to the town of Semonkong. The altitude at the highest point of the drive is 2800m above sea level before you drop down to 2400m at Semonkong. Have a look out for the Semonkong lodge signs along the way.. Also be on the look out for 'perky breast mountains' - you cant miss them. FLICK PICTURE of the road to Semonkong..
I pulled into town and headed straight to the Semonkong Lodge & Pony trekking Centre. I had an interesting discussion with Johanathan and Armelle the owners of Semonkong about tourists that come to Lesotho and give the kids sweets. Any where that you drive in Lesotho kids will come to the side of the road, hold out their hands and yell sweets (repeatedly). Johanathan has a good point when he mentions that in most western societies we are taught from the time we can start communicating and comprehending that we should not accept sweets from strangers. Then we grow up and teach our own kids the same thing. Why is it then that westerners that travel through Africa think that all of a sudden its all right to give sweets to African children. Of course this is indicative of the old colonial mindset that we (the white people) are trustworthy and can safely be considered the guardians of the natives.. Little thought is given to the fact that these kids that we give these western gifts to have no access to any reliable form of dental care let alone primary health care. The sugar in sweets also robs these little bodies of much needed vitamins and minerals further adding woe to the health of their lives. Another thought worth considering is to imagine that you were not in rural Africa and that you were in a westernised city. How would the general populace view a person who stands outside the school gate giving out sweets? Chances are you will at some stage be questioned about your activities with whisperings that you might be a potential pedophile. Yet tourist think its fine to give sweets to african kids.. Have a look at the Semonkong FAQ page.
Talking of kids and cultural differences..Clowns without borders were staying at Semonkong for the night. Armelle had manages to go see one of the performances they had given at a schools and was impressed with the fact that humour can be such an universal common factor between people of such different cultural upbringings. The performances went down well.
The next morning I made my back to South Africa and on to Johannesburg through the Free State.. I was sad to leave Lesotho again.
