This time the editor insisted we sleep at the Sani Mountain Lodge on the top, thus allowing us to undertake
some hiking in Lesotho in the late afternoon as well as the next day, before descending. We reached Mount Hodgson,
the lower peak, leaving the higher one for our next visit. What a wonderful idea! Why couldn’t I think of that?
And she doesn't even earn the big bucks…for that matter, nor do I. What she did forget is that we required
big backpacks, almost full. It made a difference.
The road to the border post is so bad that only a four-wheel drive can make it. We organized a ride to
the commencement and fortunately, a return lift. Aldo was there to collect us at 4pm the next day (see below).
The road between Lesotho and the South African immigration office is in better condition but with many very
poor segments. I am of the opinion, and I would love to try it, that I could beat a motor vehicle, carefully (slowly)
driven downhill, in a race. It would tell more about the state of the road than my prowess. Barry Jahn, are you game?
We should rephrase that. If you’re ‘game’ in the South African context, you could be fired upon.
(Continued after pictures...)
Just completed the hike, returning to border control, South Africa for fourth passport stamp.
Should we do this hike a few more times, we'll run out of passport pages.
A normally dull rock-face comes alive with a full-on sunrise.
Jen heading for the Pass, a little way up...okay, a lot.
Another perspective of dying flowers and a fading sun. The daily occurrences place one in another realm.
The sun looks warm and that's an illusion at 6am.
We kept an eye on the elderly Basuto as he lagged behind upon reaching the very steep ascent. Also kept
a 'couple of eyes' on the rolling hills and dramatic buttresses.
Afternoon stroll on the Twelve Apostles.
Rock climbing and views into the deep valley.
Reaching the peak of Mount Hodgson, a mountain on top of the pass
Views of the snaking road fascinate Jenni more than most.
First step of immigration process: Get yourself the national dress: A blanket, Linus. Shot taken
inside the bungalow.
On a hike from the top of the pass to Mount Hodgson, we are approached (barked at) by a dozen dogs
while master remains indoors. On the way back, the editor used the wind to avoid the dogs. Beats sending
me out in front to negotiate.
The early morning sun changes the look of the valley and its surrounds.
Highest Pub in Africa—he looks tipsy although it's coffee in the cup.
A road to the sky, another perspective.
Another of sunrise, never tire of them.
An early morning view as the sun lights the summits.
We took a ride to the border post with Aldo, a highly educated man who has retired to the area with his
botanist wife. We were fortunate to receive a wonderful education on birds, plants and the mountains
while observing the great beauty and enduring the lousy road. The talk is that in ten years it will be
a blacktop…perhaps, hardtop is a better word in the local context. Ten years in Africa can be a long time,
often a multiple of the number. Aldo also pointed out another interesting factoid. He indicated to
a steep path on a section of the mountain as we bumped, jerked and swayed to the border. ‘That is
a dagga (marijuana) trail’. We thought better of asking him how/why he knew that. We’re becoming
more tactful as we age.
Although our accents are deeply American…um, a little American…well, we’re working on them, the soul
is still South African. Clearly, as we wrote before, there are some deep-rooted issues in the country.
Nevertheless, there are also aspects that are so wonderful and unique to this land that cannot be duplicated
elsewhere. Probably, the attribute lacking in most whites or westerners is that of patience. Should you
not be in a hurry for anything, the country might be suitable. It is not reasonable to expect electricity on demand,
for example. We believe ‘mañana’ was stolen by the Spanish from Africa, those meddling Spaniards.
Final shots and narrative from Little Switzerland:
This zebra has issues. Had he been born in the USA, he would at least have had access to therapy.
Each day he stands before the chalet and charges anyone approaching. We're talking aggression not money.
One has to hope the allocation of a chalet for the night is not the 'striped one'.
Sitting on the hotel patio looking into Africa, Drakensberg style.
Typical route through to the waterfall, not shown.
It’s not too often we get excited about luxury accommodation. Perhaps one of the reasons is that
we seldom spend time in upmarket venues. A hut, a tent, the back seat of a car—teenagers again—and of course,
lodges, motels, inns and many more types of accommodation are our usual haunts. Actually, the funny thing is
that luxury places don’t suit us in many aspects, the reasons are not necessary to explain in this narrative.
Here in the Drakensberg, a national and in fact, a universal treasure and rated as a World Heritage Site,
we found Little Switzerland.
We stopped for a cup of tea at the restaurant situate along the highway a few hundred feet below the hotel.
We were early so we decided to acclimatize slowly. Once we entered our chalet, we were, not for the first
time this trip, mesmerized. Firstly, the unit had two bathrooms and hot water. Wow! What a treat. We passed
the second bedroom on the way up to the main suite. Was this to be shared accommodation? Who knew? It had
six beds, a full kitchen, lounge and two patios and a grassy patch leading off the lounge patio. I could
see Jenni measuring in her head whether there was sufficient space for our tent. Since our trip to Iceland,
she’s ‘flapped out’ about tenting. I wonder what her late parents would think.
We continued up a half-flight of stairs to the main bedroom. This is not to be missed. Once through the doorway,
the width of the room, which was rather large to begin with, had a framed wall of glass plus a sliding door.
Through and beyond the glass, the Drakensberg, or a major section of the mountains stood boldly before us,
to both the left and right. These towering, overpowering icons stare one in the face just as the viewer does
the same in return. Of course, the addition of clouds and mist provide variety as the scene was constantly changing.
By the time one reaches the patio, additional sights come into view. One looks down into the hotel gardens,
filled with trees, shrubs and ground covered with grass. The lawn-mowing gangs, consisting of horses and zebra,
can be seen keeping the lawns in trim. Beyond the immediate hotel grounds, are the rugged and natural flowing hills,
small mountains, rivers and streams. A wonderful waterfall is way below but out of sight. We know its depth because
the editor dragged us down to see it—thank you. The tended gardens meld nicely into the wild. The region is covered
in chirping birds, cattle grazing below, cowboys on horseback moving the cattle, sheep in the distance and
the occasional stray animal grazing on the patio below or from the lounge, right next to it.
For those not tired after hiking, there are pools, bowling greens, tennis courts and if one still has some energy,
a bar. The hotel patio overlooks a pond, the sprawling valley and only thirty or forty miles of mountains, maybe
more but who cares; there’s enough to get the picture. A favorite, Cathkin Peak, is on the extreme left. The trick is
to switch off the alarm clock, keep the curtains (drapes) open during the night and allow the sunrise and
the mountains to wake one. This occurred for two beautiful mornings. On the two following days, the clouds
nearly spoiled the effect for they were too dense.
We undertook a few hikes during our stay and while the conditions of the trail or veld were rough, the scenery
and climbs were incredible providing spectacular views and a few thrills, too. At times, we walked across
the veld (plains) in the tall grass and weeds, got completely covered in ‘black-jacks’ but had wonderful times.
We came across baboons, sheep, cows and even had the opportunity to once again see a newborn calf. The mother
was still cleaning the afterbirth off the little one. Just as in the Kruger Wild Game Park recently, where
we saw a newborn buffalo calf and elephant, we added this little fellow to the list of newborns. We were most
surprised not to have come across snakes in the tall grass. However, on a hike when we were walking along
a jeep path, a puff adder crossed our path. We both feel better that it was exposed than in its home territory,
the long grass through which we walked much.
We are clearly not a promotion board even though it sounds like an interesting position. However, we would
suggest that anyone wanting a luxury holiday in an environment that allows you to go ‘native’ between martinis,
should consider visiting Little Switzerland, at a fraction of the cost of Big Switzerland and twice the fun.
Should you be shy and need company, just call us…better still, send us an email and we’ll join you.
Finally, we would like to invite our Russian viewers to drop us a line, sort of introduce yourselves.
Many Europeans are following the blog but last month, the Russians reached that of American viewership.
Anyway, Russian comrades, ‘dobro pozhalovat'.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
No comments:
Post a Comment