This tidbit is 4 travel to  southern AFRICA

My travel companion and I made our first foray into the Drakensburg mountain ranges of Lesotho.  We started our tour in the capital city of Maseru and went all the way around the country returning to Maseru 5 days later.  We had done part of the tour (to Pitseng) the weekend before to visit friends so did not include that section of the country in the tour.   We managed to do a guided tour of the Katse Dam, Liphofung Cultural and Historical site, and the Masitise Cave House.  The rest of the trip was done at our own pace and with a little help from the locals, managed to stay pretty well on track.  We had some good maps, a list of accommodations, and a list of places of interest that were excellent sources of information.

Travel in the mountains is best done in a 4wheel drive and one that is well up off the ground.  We actually made the trip in a Toyota corolla and although we ran into some tight spots we were able to travel most of the roads. 

The scenery is fabulous and my travel companion speaks the local language of Sesotho and many of the locals also spoke English so we learned a lot of local facts and history.   The Orange River originates in the Drakensburg Mountain Range and in known in Lesotho as the Senqu River and enters the Atlantic Ocean 2200 km. away at Alexander Bay.   The Maletsunyane Falls along the way is the largest free falling waterfall anywhere in Southern Africa at 204 m. as well as being a Guinness record holder for the highest commercial abseil in the world.

The country is well known for the large diamonds discovered in the mines.  The Lesotho Promise was 603 karats of white diamond and the Lesotho Brown at 601 karats is the second largest discovered in the same mine previously.

Mountain life is very simplistic as most residents live in rondavels and do not have electricity.  They have a stone enclosure built onto the rondavel to accommodate the livestock at night.  Farming is done on tiered fields up the sides of the mountains and any available flat land, especially near the river.  Plowing and seeding are done by hand with the use of oxen, horses or donkeys and hand held plows.

I want to thank my friend Rose for the wonderful post and pictures.   I hope to travel there someday

Have a wonderful adventure

Jaye