Lesotho

Forgive me, this blog is a little slow to get off the ground. Bear with us! In lieu of an update about current adventures, I thought I'd share with you a past African adventure, all of which contribute to the rich tapestry of our history and lives here.

The adventure I'm sharing with you today was my first trip to Lesotho.

The 'mountain kingdom' of Lesotho is entirely landlocked within South Africa. It is a relatively impoverished country with high rates of HIV/AIDS - but it is also a country of breathtaking beauty, particularly from a geographical perspective. Much of the country is situated within the Drakensberg mountain range, but there are also 'lowlands' on the western border, which includes the capital, Maseru, the only place in the entire country that I received a cell phone signal. Think rural thoughts.

My first trip to Lesotho occurred on my first trip to South Africa in 2005, a four week voluntary study tour with the Oaktree Foundation. Our group took an epic seven hour road trip from Durban all the way around to Maseru, which is beautiful in itself, with many incredible rock formations dotting the road throughout Free State. We then drove for three hours along roads that can best be described as treacherous (read: narrow one way dirt road through the mountains, massive cliff drop off to your immediate left) to a hospital in a tiny rural village called Masinyane.

Here are some pictures from our winding mountain roads:

Don't judge. These sunglasses were very in when I was 19...

As well as volunteering in the hospital, we did a spectacularly ambitious mountain climb. Particularly ambitious for me, with my exercise induced atmosphere with the thinning air at high altitude. I may have wheezed all the way up the mountain, but it was totally worth it.

We also ran an education seminar in the primary school next to the hospital, and were treated to this singing welcome:

Apparently they weren't singing yet when I took the actual photo :) 

After a three night stay in Masinyane, we road tripped back to Maseru, where we stayed overnight before heading back to Durban. That trip had its own set of adventures. Somewhere on the road between Masinyane and Maseru (read: the middle of nowhere), we came across this accident:

The driver was quite badly injured, though he suddenly had twelve Australians each armed with a first aid kit (it was our first trip to Africa, so we were rather over prepared) there to assist him. He really needed to go to the hospital, but was worried his bakkie would get stolen/stripped for parts if he left it before the police arrived. So we gave him some rudimentary first aid, and waited with him for two hours until the police arrived at the scene. We were quite a site for the locals.

This delay made our trip back to Maseru rather long. But we drove into the most beautiful sunset (nowhere does sunsets like Africa) and finished the day off in the most spectacular way -  with a pizza.